Annual Fund and Prospect Research 2911

Annual Fund and Prospect Research

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How do we incorporate prospect research into the annual fund and is it even possible?  Here are some ideas and please share your thoughts on this subject.

For most prospect research shops or for those who are multi-tasking and doing prospect research in addition to other duties you may not be spending a great deal of time researching prospects for the annual fund.  I know for me that when I was the director of research at USC School of Medicine that we were not doing a great amount of concentration here. 

I am starting to think is this really strategic?  Couldn't we be doing something to help transition annual fund donors into being major gift donors?  

I have been thinking about this for some time now but it really came to a head when I was asked to speak at a conference that was focused on digital and online fund-raising.  So here is my two cents on this subject and I want to hear from you all on your thoughts!

So it is not conceivable to do full profiles on annual fund prospects - just not enough hours in the day!  However, I do feel it is important to find ways to assist in the process of converting them into being major and planned giving donors in the future.

So obviously for me, predictive modeling is a great way to start. 

Using just Annual Giving Likelihood (AGL) and Target Gift Range (TGR) can be an option. 

I am also in favor of having a Mid-Level Giving model along with the TGR.  This not only helps section out the constituents to be focusing on for those lower end gifts but ensuring we are asking them at the maximum potential. 

Now we need to know more about these individuals and that is where ResearchPoint and specifically WealthPoint can assist. 

The traditional wealth sources such as real estate, private company and insider securities is great but resources like Larkspur, NOZA, and even Marquis Who's Who helps provide insight on your constituents.  

We are all receiving a great amount of direct mail and online communication and to top it off we are all busier than we have ever been.  So what is going to make me read your direct mail piece or click through the online communication?  

Knowing the passions and interests of that prospect is key.  You want your constituents to take pause when they receive communication from you.  Using philanthropic giving along with interests is the answer and we can create queries in ResearchPoint based on that.  

For instance, who has confirmed NOZA and the gift type is event sponsorship.  Here are a group of people you can be focusing on high end and even low end sponsorship opportunities.  Start looking at the fields in the wealth indicators field in Larkspur - is there anything that can help you segment out a communication.  This still takes time but if you focus on easy to confirm prospects as well as those with a higher AGL and TGR scores you can narrow that group down.  I would recommend no more than 5 minutes per prospect - quick and easy!

So I have given you my two cents - I would love to hear your thoughts.  Are you doing anything like this? 

Can you do this and if so what could it look like?  

The competition for donors is stronger than it has ever been and if you want to ensure that your donors transition into major donors then we need to do our due diligence.   

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1 Comments
Hi Michael, We are doing prospect research on leadership Annual Fund prospects (those who we are hoping to ask for AF gifts of $10,000 or more). We use the research to identify prospects and then to narrow our focus down to about 100. It takes a little time but it is definitely worth it. The AF donors we uncover are generally considered potential/eventual good prospects for our capital campaign too.
Jill

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