• Job Description

  Req#: 936998

  Join Points of Light and Change the World

  Points of Light mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through 120 affiliates in 34 States and 32 countries, and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and businesses, Points of Light engages 3.8 million volunteers in 13.7 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most.

  Cast from the vision of one thousand points of light shared by its founder, President George H.W. Bush, in his 1989 inaugural address, Points of Light was founded in 1990 as an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization to encourage and empower the spirit of service. The organization extends President Bush’s vision that “any definition of a successful life must include serving others.” Today, Points of Light continues to transcend politics and borders to inspire millions of individuals worldwide to take action.

  Join Us: Be part of a movement that changes lives and communities. For more information, visit pointsoflight.org.

  Salary: $55,000 - $60,000

  Reports to: Director, Grant Writing

  Department: Development

  Location: Points of Light is a remote-first organization. Any U.S. location in the Eastern or Central time zone in a market with a major airport. Washington, DC preferred.

  Position Summary: The Manager, Prospect Research plays a critical role in advancing Points of Light’s fundraising efforts by leading donor intelligence, pipeline development, and data-informed prospecting strategies. This position provides comprehensive research and analysis on individuals, corporations, and foundations to enhance donor engagement and support high-capacity donor identification and qualification. Working closely with frontline fundraisers, senior leadership, and the Development Operations team, the Manager ensures a robust and dynamic prospect pipeline, supports strategic donor segmentation, and facilitates the seamless integration of research insights into Points of Light’s overall development strategy.

  Position Functions and Responsibilities include:

  • Prospect Identification: Proactively identify and qualify new individual, corporate, and foundation prospects with high capacity to give, using a combination of internal engagement data (e.g., event participation, volunteer involvement, digital interactions), subscription databases (e.g., iWave, LinkedIn, Foundation Directory, RelSci), and public data sources (e.g., news media, SEC filings, real estate records). Prioritize leads aligned with Points of Light’s mission, values, and fundraising strategies.
  • Research & Briefings: Conduct in-depth donor and prospect research using internal systems and external databases to prepare briefings, profiles, and event lookbooks for the CEO, Chief Development Officer (CDO), and frontline fundraisers. Deliver concise, timely insights to support donor engagement, cultivation, and solicitation strategies.
  • Donor Intelligence & Network Monitoring: Monitor philanthropic trends, sector news, and organizational networks to surface timely opportunities and identify potential connections between Points of Light board members, senior leadership, and prospective donors.
  • Moves Management & Meeting Facilitation: Facilitate and manage regular prospect strategy and moves management meetings with frontline fundraisers and senior leadership to review pipeline progress, assess donor engagement strategies, and ensure alignment with organizational fundraising goals. Prepare meeting agendas, surface key insights, and track portfolio activity to support timely and coordinated donor movement.
  • Portfolio & Data Support: Support CRM data integrity, research tracking, and wealth screening integration by partnering with Development Operations to ensure prospect ratings, research notes, screening results, and engagement details are accurately recorded and consistently leveraged within the system.
  • Resource Library & Team Training: Train development staff on prospect research methodologies—including, but not limited to, ethics, compliance, and the effective use of subscription-based tools—to support confident, responsible, and consistent application of research practices across the team. Maintain a shared library of research templates, best practices, and training materials to strengthen internal capacity.
  • Tools & Vendor Recommendations: In collaboration with the Senior Director of Development Operations, evaluate and recommend research tools, data subscriptions, and vendors to ensure the development team has access to cost-effective, high-impact resources that support strategic fundraising.
  • Other duties as assigned.

  Core Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

  • Strong critical thinking, curiosity, and resourcefulness in conducting donor research and communicating insights.
  • Proficient in a variety of research techniques, including electronic wealth screening tools, subscription databases, traditional periodical-based research, and public sources such as 990s, court and real estate records, and SEC filings.
  • Ability to assess giving capacity and philanthropic alignment, and to translate findings into prospect ratings and gift estimates.
  • Experience developing and applying proactive prospecting strategies using internal engagement data, lead qualification, and basic CRM reporting.
  • Strong attention to detail, data accuracy, and documentation consistency across research outputs.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize and present complex information clearly.
  • Familiarity with APRA ethics standards and best practices in donor research; ability to handle sensitive information with discretion.
  • Adaptable and organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
  • Proficiency with fundraising databases, wealth screening platforms, subscription research tools, Excel, and Microsoft Office Suite.

  Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree preferred (preferably in nonprofit management, business analytics, information science or related field).
  • Minimum of 3-5 years of successful prospect research experience handing high-capacity individual, corporate, and foundation prospects; experience working for either a large, national nonprofit organization or a volunteer-mobilizing organization is preferred.
  • Proficiency in CRM and wealth screening tools is required (e.g., iWave, RelSci, Salesforce, or equivalent platforms); Salesforce experience preferred.
  • Must be able to work remotely with comfort and independence; less than 10% of travel required.

  Culture and Values: Points of Light has a 35-year history that it seeks to honor, while looking toward the future as an innovative thought leader in the social sector. We have a fast-paced, collaborative environment. Our organization values innovation, dedication, teamwork and respectfulness. We enjoy thinking big but also working hard to deliver our best work. Our team is solution-oriented, looking for someone who is always ready to deliver on ways to solve challenges, both internally and with external partners.

  What We Offer: Competitive compensation and excellent benefits including a robust PTO program: 18 days of PTO, 13 holidays, and 1 floating holiday; plus, we are closed for the week between December 25 and January 1. Medical, dental and vision benefits offered, free life insurance, along with long-term and short-term disability, a 403(b) program with employer match, and 1 day of volunteer time off per month.
  

• About the company

  Each year, Points of Light mobilizes millions of people through affiliates in approximately 250 cities and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and companies.

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