Nonprofit research support: grant prospects, donor intelligence, & impact data — without pulling staff off mission

Nonprofits run lean, and research work — whether it's identifying viable grant opportunities, building donor profiles, or pulling program outcome benchmarks — tends to pile up on whoever has a spare hour. A Trusty Oak EA takes on that backlog systematically, so your development director isn't spending Sunday nights on Candid or your program manager isn't manually compiling data for a board report. This is research work that needs to get done well; it just doesn't need to be done by you.

Fractional research support for nonprofits

How Trusty Oak handles research for nonprofits

When a nonprofit client engages Trusty Oak for research support, the first step is a Strategic Delegation Plan developed with your Client Success Manager — this is where we get specific about your research priorities, whether that's foundation prospecting, peer organization benchmarking, or constituent data gathering. From there, your EA works inside tools like Candid (Foundation Directory), GuideStar, DonorSearch, and Google Scholar depending on the task, and delivers findings in whatever format is most useful — a formatted spreadsheet, a briefing doc, or a summary slide. The client's role is to review outputs, flag what's useful, and redirect as priorities shift; the EA handles the digging. For grant research specifically, EAs track deadlines, eligibility criteria, and funder priorities so your team is working from a current, organized pipeline rather than a scattered browser bookmark folder.

What your EA takes off your plate

Before your first session, pull together one or two examples of grants you've successfully received or prospects you've already qualified — this gives your EA a concrete filter for what 'a good fit' actually looks like for your organization, rather than starting from scratch. The most common mistake is handing off research with vague criteria like 'foundations that fund education,' which leads to a broad list that still requires heavy internal review; the more specific you are about geographic restrictions, funding minimums, and program areas, the more actionable the output will be from day one.

1

Foundation and Grant Prospect Research

Using Candid's Foundation Directory and funder websites, the EA identifies grant opportunities that match your organization's mission, budget size, and geographic focus, and compiles them into a prioritized prospect list with deadlines and giving history.

2

Donor and Major Gift Prospect Profiling

The EA pulls publicly available wealth indicators, philanthropic giving history, and board affiliations from tools like DonorSearch or iWave to build profiles that help your development team prioritize outreach.

3

Peer Organization and Benchmarking Research

Using GuideStar/Candid financials and IRS Form 990 data, the EA compiles program, staffing, and budget benchmarks from comparable nonprofits to inform strategic planning or board presentations.

4

Program Impact and Outcome Data Compilation

The EA researches published studies, government datasets, and sector reports to gather statistics and evidence that support your theory of change or strengthen grant narratives and annual reports.

5

Corporate Partnership and Sponsorship Prospect Research

The EA identifies companies with active CSR programs, local giving priorities, or cause alignment relevant to your work, and builds an outreach-ready list with contact information and giving focus areas.

Tools our team works with

We adapt to your existing stack — no forced migrations.

SEMrush
SimilarWeb
Apollo.io
Statista
G2
LinkedIn Sales Navigator

...and many more!

Trusted by nonprofits

Trusty Oak supports nonprofits including Clayton Christensen Institute, Educational Testing Services (ETS), Real Discussion — handling everything from research to broader operational support.

What research support costs for nonprofits

Drag the sliders to build a monthly plan that fits your workload.

Executive Assistants
~$35/hour
10 hours $350
Specialists
~$50/hour
20 hours $1,000
Fractional Executives
~$95/hour
0 hours $0
Your monthly budget
$1,350

Starting at $1,000/month. One-time $300 onboarding fee includes your Strategic Delegation Plan.

Book a Discovery Call

Frequently Asked Questions

EAs can work inside any platform you provide access to — if your organization already subscribes to Candid, DonorSearch, or iWave, your EA can log in and conduct research directly. If you don't have subscriptions, your EA can work with free-tier tools, public 990 data, and funder websites, though the depth of prospect research will reflect those limitations.
Research support and grant writing are related but distinct — a Trusty Oak EA handles the intelligence-gathering phase: finding prospects, documenting funder priorities, tracking deadlines, and organizing your pipeline. Grant writing itself requires a different skill set and is typically handled by a Specialist or Fractional Executive at Trusty Oak, or by a dedicated grant writer on your team working from the research your EA provides.
Trusty Oak's monthly budget starts at $1,000, which covers roughly 28 hours of Executive Assistant time at $35/hour, and unused hours roll over month to month. If your research needs are lighter, those hours can flex across other administrative tasks — donor communications, scheduling, data entry — so you're not paying for capacity you can't use.

Put your grant pipeline and donor research on a consistent schedule

Trusty Oak matches nonprofits with US-based EAs who understand development workflows and can start contributing within days of onboarding. Schedule a call to talk through what your research backlog actually looks like.