Is Prospect Research A Priority For You This Summer?

Is Prospect Research A Priority For You This Summer?

Published

I’ve heard a lot lately that clients plan to take advantage of the change of pace that comes when donors travel for the summer and colleagues (and hopefully you too!) take vacation. It’s a great time to catch up on your research if the first few months of the year required your attention elsewhere—and an equally good opportunity to get ahead before the fall rush kicks in.

Here’s the good news. You only need about 15 minutes per record to make a lot of progress.

The key is prioritization and to keep moving!

Here are a few things that might work for you, especially if you're using WealthPoint searches in Research Point to get started:

Start with what you know about a prospect and probably already have on hard—their giving history and their relationship to your organization.
What data points can you confirm easily? Real estate is often time well spent.
If you find career details, those can make a big difference.
Are there indicators they are philanthropic to other organizations? You can’t go wrong if you focus on more significant gifts, like those of $10,000 or more. Maybe they even have a family foundation!

Would you take a minute and share with the group your process—or maybe a tip and trick that’s a time saver? We’d love to hear what works for you!

News ARCHIVED | Blackbaud Target Analytics® Tips and Tricks 05/10/2016 1:58pm EDT

Added by Liza Turcotte

1 Comments

Jessica Wade May '16

In ResearchPoint, I go through our screened constituents as follows:
--I use the details saved in RE regarding their relationship to our organization.
--If there is no home address on hand in RE, I use AlumniFinder to locate their probable current home address. Only with a home address can you find proper assets relating to real estate...unless of course they own the property on which their business address is located.
--I confirm assets including real estate and securities, and note Wealth Indicators.
--I confirm Giving based on their career, educational background (alma mater, major, children's schools), and spouse's background.
--I add their spouse for the Household.
--I confirm Biographical Data under the Biographical Information.
--When finished, I link/Sync this record in RP with the record in RE.

Our subscription to RP doesn't include WealthPoint, otherwise I would have tips that include that as well.