Obituary Data: How to Get Real-Time Updates With Insightful

Obituary Data: How to Get Real-Time Updates With Insightful

Nonprofit organizations face increasing pressure to engage donors effectively while maintaining accurate records and staying informed about critical donor milestones. One critical piece of the donor research puzzle is obituary data, which allows your nonprofit to reach out in difficult times with the appropriate message.

You're missing a huge opportunity to streamline donor outreach if your nonprofit relies on manual research and incomplete data. Ready to revamp your approach? Learn how your organization can leverage obituary alerts in this quick guide.

What Are Obituary Alerts?

Obituary alerts are automated notifications that inform nonprofits when new obituaries have been posted for individuals connected to their organizations. This information enables nonprofits to reach out with condolences and other heartfelt messages during difficult times, strengthening their relationships with prospects, existing supporters, and other community members.

For example, obituary alerts could notify your nonprofit when a long-time donor’s spouse passes away. Sending your condolences can show the donor you genuinely care about them and strengthen the long-lasting relationship between your nonprofit and the individual’s family.

After setting up tracking for specific individuals or keywords within a dedicated donor news alerts tool, like Insightful, your nonprofit can access not only obituary data but also philanthropic activity, life events, board appointments, SEC filings, and more information about the supporters who are closest to your cause. As this data becomes available in real-time, your dashboard will populate like this:

Why Use Insightful For Obituary Data?

Insightful simplifies donor engagement and records management by providing timely, actionable news and alerts tailored to fundraising professionals. With comprehensive coverage of over 14,000 news sources and 27,000 funeral home records, Insightful is designed to enhance donor stewardship, improve efficiency, and support strategic fundraising.

Insightful consolidates services that typically require multiple tools, including: 

• Access to current and archived news from 14,000+ global sources 
• Obituary alerts from 27,000 funeral homes and news sources nationwide 
• Insights into donor milestones, such as awards, business transactions, and philanthropic activities 
• “Negative press” that can cause reputational harm to the organization 

Core benefits of the platform include: 

• Timely Information: Daily alerts ensure teams stay informed about key donor events 
• No Paywalls: Fully licensed content allows access to full-text articles without restrictions 
• Streamlined Workflows: Centralized tools reduce manual research and improve team communication 
• Records Management: Obituary alerts help maintain accurate records, avoiding missteps and fostering appropriate outreach
• Easy Setup: Administrators can upload data and set up user accounts and alerts for as many users as needed 
• Cross-Team Collaboration: A web-based platform ensures that all team members have access to the latest donor information 
• Training and Support: Insightful includes onboarding and unlimited user training, ensuring teams maximize the platform’s value

See how our features stack up against Google Alerts, LexisNexis, and AlmaConnect:

How Much Does Insightful Cost?

Insightful’s pricing is based on contribution level and team size, ensuring flexibility and scalability. Pricing is not tied to user seats or record counts, offering cost-effective access for organizations of all sizes. 

There are other huge opportunity costs when using an alternative. Without Insightful, your team may face: 

• Missed Opportunities: Delayed reactions to donor news or significant life events 
• Inefficiency: Time spent on manual searches detracts from value-add activities 
• “Stale” Records: Gaps in donor records may lead to inappropriate outreach and strained relationships 
• Reputational Risk: Negative press or other sensitive donor-related news could impact public perception or donor relationships if you are not proactive in mitigating harm

What Return on Investment (ROI) Can I Expect?

Insightful is a revenue-generating tool. Just one piece of information—such as a donor’s recognition or milestone—can help close or increase the size of a major gift, delivering up to a 10x return on investment. 

Point Loma Nazarene University’s experience using Insightful illustrates the real-world benefits of accessing critical obituary data. Upon the passing of a foundation leader who worked closely with the university, Insightful notified Prospect Research Manager Melissa Riley’s team. This obituary alert allowed the university to reach out proactively rather than reactively, which helped them cultivate a stronger relationship with the foundation.

As Melissa puts it, “We need that ‘in’…that connection point. Insightful provides alerts of things we should know about our donors and parents. Insightful provides that connection point.” 

Expert Insight: Start Accessing Obituary Data Today

Nonprofits can’t rely on slow or limited donor data to build authentic and meaningful relationships with their supporters. Insightful’s tool is critical to a well-rounded and timely understanding of your supporters’ biggest life events, and sometimes that includes the loss of their loved ones.

To best understand your supporters’ positions and build authentic relationships with them, you need to invest in tools that can help you keep track of their big life events. Reach out to Insightful’s team today to learn how our donor news alert services can help.