FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[August 20, 2026]
New tool gives development teams modern research capabilities while preserving TFG’s relationship-first approach to fundraising.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The FOCUS Group (TFG), a fundraising consulting firm that has served nonprofit and ministry leaders for more than 40 years, announced today that it has acquired Rōmy, an AI-powered donor prospect research platform. The acquisition, finalized Aug. 14, 2026, will give TFG clients access to affordable, high-quality donor research tools in order to accelerate their fundraising efforts.
Rōmy uses artificial intelligence to help development professionals research their existing donor base and identify supporters with greater capacity to give, a process traditionally handled by prospect research platforms that are often cost-prohibitive. The Rōmy platform was designed to make this important capability accessible to all nonprofit organizations, regardless of budget or size.
“The FOCUS Group has been a part of my career in development since my first days as a fundraiser more than 25 years ago. I’ve been a TFG client at three different organizations,” said Howard Freeman, founder of Rōmy. “I believe that what we have built offers our clients a powerful new tool while also allowing us to serve the broader nonprofit sector looking to learn more about their donors.” As part of the acquisition, Howard Freeman has now joined The FOCUS Group as a Senior Consultant and Director of Research.
“This acquisition puts easy-to-obtain, high-quality research directly into the hands of development teams,” said Brad Layland, CEO of The FOCUS Group. “AI-assisted prospect research isn’t categorically different from the work our consultants have always done to learn about a donor. It simply makes that process faster and more accessible. It will never replace the relationship at the heart of fundraising. What it does is give our clients better information so our consultants can focus on what matters most: the strategic, relational work of connecting donors to a mission they believe in.”
David Wills, President Emeritus of the National Christian Foundation and a key partner in funding Rōmy’s launch, said the platform reflects TFG’s broader commitment to helping ministries operate with excellence.
“Every ministry deserves the same quality of insight into its donors that only the best-resourced organizations have historically been able to afford,” Wills said. “Rōmy closes that gap. Pairing it with The FOCUS Group’s decades of relational fundraising expertise gives ministries of every size a real path toward sustainable growth.”
TFG said the acquisition is currently in a beta phase ahead of a broader rollout. They emphasized that Rōmy is a research tool that will augment their current services, but not alter the high level of personal attention TFG consultants provide throughout a feasibility study, capital campaign or fundraising training engagement.
Rōmy was founded by Howard Freeman and generated its first revenue in December 2025. The FOCUS Group’s acquisition brings the platform under the umbrella of an organization that has directly contributed to more than 400 successful capital campaigns and helped raise billions of dollars for ministries around the world.
About The FOCUS Group
The FOCUS Group (TFG) has served nonprofit leaders for more than four decades, helping them fundraise more effectively and sustainably through biblically grounded principles of relational fundraising and strategic planning that position ministries for long-term growth and healthy stewardship. TFG’s work supports frontline organizations building God’s kingdom across a wide range of ministry areas, from schools and seminaries to rescue missions and sending agencies. Over its history, TFG has partnered with hundreds of ministries and helped guide well over a billion dollars in combined campaign giving toward kingdom-building work. Learn more at thefocusgroup.com.
About Rōmy
Rōmy is an AI-powered donor prospect research platform built to help nonprofits identify major gift capacity within their existing donor base at a fraction of the cost of traditional research solutions.
Media Contact
Audrey Reeves
Marketing Lead, The FOCUS Group
[email protected]