Targeting with Precision: How Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland Streamlined Prospecting and Secured Million-Dollar Gifts with DonorSearch

Client: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana
Sector: Healthcare 

“We were able to go into donor meetings with detailed insights, feel more prepared, and as a result, secure million-dollar arrangements. DonorSearch gave us the clarity and confidence to connect the right way.”
– Kendra Fortenberry, Manager of Prospect Research and Portfolio Management, RMHC-CNI

Client Overview:

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana (RMHC-CNI) provides housing and support for families with hospitalized children, offering a home-like environment near local hospital partners. Their mission is to ease the emotional and financial burdens families face during medical crises by keeping them close to the care and each other.

With a lean research team and ambitious fundraising goals, RMHC-CNI turned to DonorSearch to consolidate tools, improve prospect segmentation, and empower fundraisers with deeper donor insights.

The Challenge:

Before partnering with DonorSearch, RMHC-CNI relied on two separate platforms for donor research—creating inefficiencies and driving up costs.

The development team needed a streamlined solution that could:

• Identify high-quality, mission-aligned prospects
• Analyze donor behavior to uncover both high-capacity and consistent givers
• Offer a single source of truth for prospect research and planning
• Integrate directly with Raiser’s Edge NXT to support team workflows

The Results:

• Secured Million-Dollar Gifts: With DonorSearch’s prospect insights, fundraisers entered meetings prepared with a full picture of donor backgrounds and interests—leading to multiple seven-figure gift arrangements.
• Elevated Prospecting Strategy: RMHC-CNI used Most Likely to Respond and RFM scoring to uncover not only top-capacity donors, but also long-time consistent givers who had been overlooked.
• Streamlined Research Process: Replacing two systems with DonorSearch helped reduce costs and simplify the research process. Onboarding and webinars provided the foundation for prospecting that now feels like second nature.

The Solution:

RMHC-CNI implemented DonorSearch in 2022 to centralize its prospecting efforts and gain access to a robust set of features, including:

• Wealth indicators, giving history, political and real estate data
• Gift Search for organizational-level prospecting
• Behavior-based scoring models and prospect alignment analysis

Kendra Fortenberry used DonorSearch’s knowledge base and training webinars to become fluent in identifying and qualifying high-quality prospects. She then shared those insights with her fundraising team—strengthening the organization’s overall approach to major gift strategy.

The Benefits:

• Cost-Effective Tools in One Platform: DonorSearch provided the full suite of research capabilities—at half the cost of the previous two-platform setup.
• CRM Integration: Seamless integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT made it easy for fundraisers to access data without disrupting daily workflows.
• Responsive and Human Support: RMHC-CNI praised DonorSearch’s onboarding and support team for delivering clear training, responsive email assistance, and helpful resources. Kendra specifically highlighted Taylor from the client success team for providing exact and thorough guidance from the start.

Conclusion

Thanks to DonorSearch’s prospect research tools, seamless integration, and dedicated support, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana refined their donor strategy, empowered fundraisers, and secured transformational gifts. With new clarity and confidence, they’re making meaningful connections that fuel their mission to keep families close to the care their children need.