Expanding Fundraising Globally: How Xapien is supporting proactive global research and due diligence at one of California’s top-ranked public universities.

‘Xapien quickly surfaces controversial risks, allowing our team to efficiently provide leadership with timely information to make strategic fundraising decisions.’ – Director of Prospect Research

Background 

A large public university in California drives world-class research and education, with over 100 fundraisers supporting individual, corporate, and global giving. 

The Prospect Development (PD) team and Prospect Research (PR) team manage due diligence for prospects worldwide – from alumni in Asia to corporate partners in North America.  

Until recently, the university had no dedicated DD specialist and relied on a mix of internal research and external recommendations. A re-evaluation of current DD processes was also underway to explore ways to become more proactive.

The Challenge

With an increasingly global portfolio, DD often came too late – frequently after solicitation, creating difficult conversations and slowing gift progress.  

International prospects in India, China, Canada, and Mexico were particularly challenging, with fragmented information or language barriers.  

At the same time, the university wanted to expand corporate fundraising without losing focus on individuals.

Key Priorities emerged:

  • Conduct due diligence earlier in the fundraising process, as part of prospect research  
  • Build confidence in insights on global prospects.  
  • Enable the team to scale corporate fundraising alongside individual giving.  

Where Xapien Steps In

Xapien allowed the university to streamline DD across all prospects, surfacing insights from millions of sources in 200+ languages.  

Red flags – from sanctions to adverse media – are now identified before solicitation, enabling fundraisers to act with confidence. Reports are structured, easy to interpret, and can be produced quickly, reducing reliance on specialist expertise.

‘Xapien is increasingly becoming a valuable tool in many of our Prospect Research tasks, in addition to due diligence review.’  – Director of Prospect Research

With Xapien, the PD and PR teams can train new users in minutes and scale research globally, with comprehensive insights on domestic and international alumni, along with corporates and foundations. 

The Impact

Xapien has delivered a transformative shift in how due diligence supports fundraising:  

  • Proactive insight: DD happens earlier, avoiding blockers and awkward conversations.  
  • Global reach: Reliable multi-language research builds confidence across international markets.  
  • Efficiency gains: During the first year using Xapien, our team reviewed over 300 additional prospects, allowing for enhanced pipeline development.  

‘Xapien has been a wonderful partner – allowing us to enhance and streamline some demanding Prospect Research tasks, not only providing inherent value, but also freeing up our staff members to deliver even more of their incredibly significant work.’ – Executive Director of Prospect Development