Regardless of what you’re fundraising for, relationships will be the key driver of your success. Here’s how to map them in a way that we’ve seen yield results for our clients and partners.

Start with the network you know

No matter how small, every organization or person has a network: board members, staffers, trustees, alumni, current donors, community partners, investors, family, even friends. Start your relationship mapping process by identifying who is in yours; these are the people most likely to open doors.

Starting this way is critical, as opposed to starting with a HNW donor’s profile and then trying to identify a connection to them. The unfortunate reality is that you will not have a tenable introductory path to most donors; instead, it’s about prioritizing the most impactful donors your network is connected to.

Map connections with purpose

Effective relationship maps aren’t sprawling webs; they highlight the specific overlaps that can lead to an intro:

• One of your board members who serves on another board with your prospect
• An alum in your network who was in the same collegiate graduating class or department as your prospect
• A friend in your network who worked at the same small company at the same time as your prospect

The key is to make those paths easy to see and easy to act on. If you aren’t using a tool like DonorAtlas, you can map these connections manually using LinkedIn, alumni directories, board rosters, and annual reports.

Keep your data live, not static

Connections are constantly evolving. A board overlap today might not exist next year, and a peer who gave alongside your prospect last year may have shifted focus this year. Profiles and relationship maps should update regularly so fundraisers walk into meetings confident that the connections they’re relying on are real and current.

Additionally, your network will naturally evolve both as you meet new people and learn more about who is effective at making introductions.

The bottom line

Relationship mapping is most effective when it starts from your existing network, highlights the connections that can actually lead to introductions, and stays fresh over time. Done well, it helps fundraisers move from “who is this person?” to “who can get us there?”