Prospect research tools

Prospect research tools: which kind fits an agency, and which fits a nonprofit

Last updated: November 2026Published by Tim Kilroy

The best prospect research tools depend on who you are researching: agencies need company briefs before sales calls, while nonprofits need donor research.

Agency Call Intelligence covers Discovery Lab, Tim Kilroy's free prospect research tool for agencies, which returns a company overview, recent news, conversation starters, and questions in about 60 seconds. Most pages ranking for prospect research tools describe donor tools for nonprofits. This page explains both, so you choose the right category first.

Published by Tim Kilroy. Discovery Lab is his tool. Other tools are described only with neutral facts from their own public pages.

Question

What are the best prospect research tools?

For an agency preparing for a sales call, the best fit is a tool that researches companies, such as Discovery Lab. For a nonprofit preparing a major ask, the best fit is a donor prospect research tool or wealth screening service.

It depends on one honest question: are you selling services to a business, or asking a person or foundation for money? Discovery Lab wins the first case. Donor and grant prospect research tools genuinely fit the second, and Discovery Lab is not built for it.

Definition

What is prospect research?

Definition card

Prospect research, for agencies

For an agency, prospect research is learning enough about a company before a discovery call that the conversation can focus on its real problem. On Agency Call Intelligence, that is what Discovery Lab does: a brief with a company overview, recent news, conversation starters, and smart questions.

Tim Kilroy's discovery call playbook names skipping this step as the biggest mistake agencies make. They do not think about the prospect's business before dialing in, so the call drifts back to a pitch.

Definition card

Prospect research, for nonprofits

In fundraising, prospect research means identifying and qualifying potential donors. Wealth screening is a related step that estimates giving capacity. The Association of Fundraising Professionals gives an example: wealth screening might reveal that a monthly donor who gives $500 each month has increased their giving capacity significantly.

Source: AFP, Wealth Screening vs. Prospect Research

Comparison

Prospect research tools compared on the same criteria

Agency Call Intelligence comparison of prospect research tools. Published by Tim Kilroy.
Tool	Researches	Built for	Output, as described by the provider	Price
Discovery Lab (Tim Kilroy)	Companies an agency may sell services to	Agency founders and account leads preparing for discovery calls	Company overview, recent news, conversation starters, smart questions	Labeled Free
Blackbaud ResearchPoint	Donors and prospective donors	Nonprofit fundraising and prospect research teams	Described by Blackbaud as donor prospect research	Check provider
DonorSearch (via DonorPerfect)	Donors and prospective donors	Nonprofits	Described by DonorPerfect as wealth screening for nonprofits	Check provider

Free tools

Are there free prospect research tools?

Yes, for agencies. Discovery Lab is labeled Free in Tim Kilroy's Agency Growth Stack and produces a brief in about 60 seconds. It is a free online prospect research tool for company research, not donor research.

People also search for free prospect research tools for nonprofits, grant prospect research tools, and prospect research tools in the UK. Those are donor and funder tools with their own providers; confirm free tiers, regional coverage, and pricing directly with each one.

By the numbers

What do organizations spend on prospect research?

Numbers card

2026 prospect development benchmarks (nonprofit sector)

Among participating organizations, the median research staffing is 0.75 FTE, with a median annual research spend of $50,000. (Kindsight)
Tool and technology expenditures sit at a median of $17,500. (Kindsight)
Median rates among respondents who track them: Qualified-to-Assigned at 12.5% (n=500), Assigned-to-Solicited at 17.0% (n=386), and Solicited-to-Closed at 14.5% (n=352). (Kindsight)
23% of respondents do not track solicitation rates, and 30% do not track close rates. (Kindsight)
Nearly 39% operate as micro shops: less than half a research FTE and one to two gift officers. (Giving Institute)

These figures describe nonprofit prospect development, not agencies. They show how much organizations invest in research tools when research is a formal function.

Procedure

How to research a prospect before an agency discovery call

Run a Discovery Lab brief on the company the day before the call.
Read the recent news and note one thing that may affect their marketing or sales.
Pick two of the suggested questions and rewrite them in your own words.
Write down what you think is broken, then plan to test that guess rather than pitch against it.
After the call, review it with Call Lab to see whether you learned what you planned to learn.

How we chose

This page is written by Tim Kilroy, who publishes this site. Discovery Lab is included because it is his tool. Blackbaud ResearchPoint and DonorSearch are included because they appear among pages ranking for prospect research tools; they are described only by what their own pages say, on the same criteria: what they research, who they are built for, and what they output. No tool was tested or rated. See the methodology, or return to call intelligence for agencies.

FAQ

Questions about prospect research tools

What is Discovery Lab?: Discovery Lab is a free prospect research tool. It researches any prospect in about 60 seconds and returns a brief with a company overview, recent news, conversation starters, and smart questions to ask. It is designed so you walk into a discovery call already understanding the prospect’s business.
Are there free prospect research tools?: Yes. Discovery Lab is a free prospect research tool for agencies, labeled Free in Tim Kilroy’s Agency Growth Stack. It builds a company brief in about 60 seconds. Free prospect research tools for nonprofits are a different category focused on donors; check donor-research providers directly for any free tiers they offer.
Is Discovery Lab a donor prospect research tool?: No. Discovery Lab researches companies for agency sales calls. Donor prospect research tools, such as Blackbaud ResearchPoint and DonorSearch wealth screening, are built for nonprofits researching potential donors. If you raise money for a nonprofit, a donor-focused tool is the better fit, and Discovery Lab will not replace it.
What are the best prospect research tools for nonprofits?: Nonprofits usually look at donor-focused tools. Pages ranking for this search include Blackbaud ResearchPoint, which describes itself as donor prospect research, and DonorSearch, which offers wealth screening for nonprofits. The 2026 Kindsight benchmark reports a median tool and technology spend of $17,500 among participating organizations. Discovery Lab is not built for donor research.
What are grant prospect research tools, and is Discovery Lab one?: Grant prospect research tools help nonprofits find foundations and funders likely to support their work. Discovery Lab is not one of them. It researches companies before agency sales calls. Organizations seeking grants should use tools built for funder research and confirm coverage and pricing with each provider before committing.
Can I use Discovery Lab for prospect research in the UK?: Discovery Lab’s published description does not state any geographic limits. Its brief draws together a company overview, recent news, and suggested questions. Because the tool is free, the simplest way to confirm coverage for UK prospects is to run a brief on a company you already know and check the result.

Read all 45 answers in the FAQ

Want help turning better calls into more qualified clients?

Tim Kilroy coaches established marketing and PR agencies that have outgrown referrals. Reach out to talk about positioning, lead generation, and a repeatable way to win clients.

Contact Tim Kilroy Take the 2-minute assessment