Kindsight, a provider of enterprise fundraising and donor intelligence software, released its 2026 North American Prospect Development Benchmark Study. Released in partnership with practitioner advisor Apra International, the study is a large-scale benchmarking effort designed specifically for the prospect development profession.
Based on survey data from 500 organizations across the United States and Canada, the study gives fundraising and advancement leaders data-driven reference points for staffing, technology investment, pipeline conversion, and more. It also introduces the Prospect Development Maturity Index (PDMI), a first-of-its-kind scorecard that measures how effectively an organization runs its prospect development operation.
“Prospect development has always punched above its weight,” says author Cherian Koshy, CFRE, CAP, ACFRE, Vice President of Market Insights at Kindsight. “This study gives the field something it has never had: the evidence to walk into a budget meeting and show exactly what research contributes to the bottom line—and the benchmarks to keep raising the bar.”
Key findings from the study include:
- Modest investment, outsized impact. Most organizations dedicate less than one full-time staff member to prospect research and spend roughly $50,000 a year—a small outlay relative to the fundraising revenue it helps generate.
- A staffing gap worth closing. The best-performing organizations staff about 1 researcher for every 3 fundraisers, while the typical organization has 1 for every 6—a gap that shows where investment is being left on the table.
- A measurement blind spot. Nearly 1 in 3 organizations cannot tell whether a donor identified by research ever made a gift, making impact difficult to prove.
- A high-value habit that costs nothing. Looking up donors more frequently is one of the strongest predictors of a high-performing program.
- How you work beats how big you are. Among organizations with limited staff and resources—which describe nearly 4 in 10 organizations in the study—how a research team works matters more than how big it is.
The study’s most exciting output is the PDMI itself—a statistically validated composite score that links day-to-day practices to fundraising results. An interactive self-assessment tool lets organizations score their own operations against the index.
“For too long, prospect development teams have operated without these specific data points,” said Lindsey Nadeau, CFRE, Apra International President-Elect and VP of Philanthropy Insight at UNICEF USA. “This report gives our field a common language and the evidence needed to connect prospect development work to revenue outcomes, while advocating for the staffing, technology, and operational support required to drive revenue growth.”
The 2026 study represents the first wave of what Kindsight and Apra International intend to be an ongoing longitudinal research effort. Future editions will expand the sample size, deepen sector-specific analysis, and track changes in field-wide maturity over time.
Access the “2026 North American Prospect Development Benchmark Study” here.
