Affinity to give: The key to unlocking donor support

Every major gift begins with a personal connection: affinity. It’s what distinguishes donors who give out of obligation from those who give because your mission feels like their own.

A strong affinity rating often drives meaningful, long-term relationships. Building these connections goes beyond luck—it requires a strategic approach that blends insight, careful prospect research, and thoughtful relationship-building.

What is affinity?

Affinity is one of the three key factors in the PAC (propensity, affinity, and capacity) framework that guides major gift fundraising efforts. Together, these indicators help nonprofit organizations understand who is most likely to give, why they give, and how much they’re able to contribute.

While capacity looks at a person’s financial ability to give, and propensity reflects their history of charitable activity, affinity measures connection. It reveals how closely someone’s interests align with your mission and whether they’ve supported similar causes in the past.

In practice, affinity is all about relationships—the emotional and personal ties that link a donor to your cause. Understanding that connection helps you make more meaningful, informed asks and build long-term donor partnerships based on shared purpose.

Why is affinity so important?

Affinity is the strongest predictor of lasting donor engagement. Wealth and past giving tell you what someone is able to do, but affinity reveals what they want to do. It’s the emotional thread that connects a person’s values to your mission and drives real, lasting support.

You see this play out every day in fundraising. A prospect has the means to give a major gift, but if your cause doesn’t resonate with them, the connection ends there. On the other hand, someone with a genuine link—through lived experience, shared purpose, or heartfelt belief in your work—will give more consistently and stay engaged year after year.

When you focus on affinity, you move beyond wealth screening to understand who truly aligns with your mission. That’s what transforms donors into advocates who believe in your long-term success. 

A quick case study on affinity: Bill Gates

Helen Brown, a respected voice in prospect research, describes donor inclination, also called affinity or linkage, as the most decisive factor in any donor rating scorecard.

To illustrate, she points to Bill Gates, whose capacity to give is unquestionable and whose philanthropy spans decades. Yet his giving follows a clear pattern: Gates directs billions of dollars through the Gates Foundation toward global health, education, and disease eradication, including major initiatives against malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. His donations reflect deep personal alignment with causes he believes in, not every request that comes his way. 

So while he has both the capacity and the propensity to give, he’s unlikely to donate to an animal shelter or law school. Why? There’s no personal connection, and that lack of affinity makes all the difference. 

The takeaway is clear: wealth and history matter, but affinity determines where generosity flows. Start with shared values and relationships, and you’ll build a donor base that gives with both heart and intention.

How to find donors with an affinity for your cause

The strongest donor relationships grow from shared values. When people see themselves reflected in your mission, giving becomes personal and long-lasting.

1. Look to your current donors

Start with your current donor database—people who already believe in your mission. Use prospect research software to look for patterns that reveal genuine connections: repeat donations, volunteer hours, event attendance, or steady engagement with your emails or social media posts. These are signs of emotional investment in your cause.

Affinity also shows up in subtle ways:

• A retired business consultant donates each year and attends events with his wife, a board member, but his involvement with your mission ends there. Inviting him to consult on a special project or lead a fundraiser transforms his passive support into active advocacy.
• A former varsity soccer star and alumna turned physiotherapist gives modestly each year. When the school launches a new soccer facility with a training and rehabilitation center, inviting her support aligns perfectly with her passions and increases her gift potential.
• A lifelong volunteer has been involved with your hospital foundation since childhood, dedicating hours each week and knowing patients and families by name. Though he lacks the resources to make a major gift himself, his passion and credibility make him a powerful connector. Engage him as an advocate to attract new donors who share his enthusiasm. 

2. Ask everyone in your database for an annual donation

Every donor in your organization’s network should be invited to contribute annually. Don’t assume board members or volunteers will give automatically. Consistent outreach and donor stewardship are essential for maintaining engagement and fueling future fundraising success. 

3. Leverage your networks

Finding donors with a strong affinity often requires digging deeper. Wealth screening helps prioritize prospects, but your existing donors are also valuable connectors. Think of the lifelong hospital volunteer mentioned earlier, whose network extends to people you don’t even know yet. Encourage advocates to share your mission within their networks to expand awareness and identify new aligned supporters.

4. Use wealth screening tools strategically

Wealth screening is the first step in finding new prospective donors with the capacity to give. Prospect research software reveals wealth indicators such as: 

• Estimated net worth and asset holdings
• Real estate and business ownership
• Philanthropic and foundation involvement
• Patterns of past charitable giving

These insights give your team a strong idea of potential capacity, but wealth alone isn’t enough. The next step is determining who also has a connection to your cause.

Use donor affinity scoring to refine priorities

A fundraising intelligence platform that prioritizes affinity is key to finding your next major donors. After identifying high-capacity prospects, donor affinity scoring shows who truly connects with your mission. This stage in the prospect research process considers past giving, volunteer activity, event attendance, and affiliations to see how deeply a prospect’s interests align with your cause.

The best research tools help you prioritize prospects by: 

• Identifying individuals who give to causes similar to yours
• Understanding a prospect’s giving priorities by reviewing the foundations or organizations they’re affiliated with
• Gaining a full picture of each donor’s giving history, including when they gave, how much, and what type of gifts they’ve made to your organization and others
• Spotting hidden gems in your database who share your mission but give significantly more to other nonprofits than to yours

Combining wealth screening and donor affinity scoring gives you a full view of both ability and alignment. This ensures your outreach focuses on the prospects most likely to engage, helping you build stronger, long-term relationships with high-potential supporters.

Pro tip: Don’t limit your search to your core mission. For instance, if your university is fundraising for a new nursing program, look beyond prospects with educational affinity and include those with an affinity for healthcare as well. This broadens your reach to donors who share your values but haven’t yet connected with your organization.

5. Cultivate affinity

Affinity doesn’t always reveal itself immediately, but there are ways to proactively nurture it. Build personal relationships by sharing your organization’s goals and telling your story in ways that resonate. Recognize and thank supporters regularly—small gestures like a handwritten note, a phone call, or a spotlight in your newsletter make donors feel seen and connected to your cause. 

Example: A local hospital foundation highlights its volunteers in its newsletter and invites them to behind-the-scenes tours of new medical facilities. These experiences make their donors feel part of the mission and often lead to deeper engagement through increased volunteering, event attendance, or larger gifts. Over time, these efforts turn casual supporters into engaged advocates who champion your cause.

Turning affinity into lasting impact

Finding donors with true affinity for your cause takes more than just luck—it takes strategy. By using prospect research tools with wealth screening and donor affinity scoring, your team identifies people who have both the capacity to give and a genuine connection to your mission. This data-driven approach helps your organization focus energy where it matters most—on relationships that create lasting impact.

Affinity is what turns one-time gifts into long-term partnerships. When you actively nurture those connections through storytelling, gratitude, and engagement, you inspire donors to invest in your mission at a deeper level. With the right tools and thoughtful cultivation, you’ll build a community that believes in your work for years to come—and increase your chances of finding your next major gift donor.

Jill Mccarville

Jill Mccarville is a marketing leader and content creator. She's been working with nonprofits, healthcare and higher education for 10 years, helping to share their stories and tactics for more effective and efficient fundraising.

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