Summer Institute for Communications and Marketing Pre-Institute Sessions-Intro Prospect Research and Management_CASE SIEFR FY2023_LaRue

Intro Prospect Research and Management_CASE SIEFR FY2023_LaRue_Final

Pdf Summary

Prospect Research is a technique used to gather information about potential or existing donors, including their backgrounds, giving history, wealth indicators, and philanthropic motivations. The goal of prospect research is to evaluate a prospect's ability to give. This involves seeking publicly available information, identifying connections, and estimating capacity and inclination to give. The information gathered is used to develop a strategy for cultivation and solicitation, as well as to fast track access and engagement with prospects.<br /><br />Prospect Management involves planning, recording, and reporting on significant moments in the relationship between prospect donors and a non-profit organization that lead to a gift. This includes tracking portfolio movements, recording prospect interactions, estimating pipeline activity, and tracking towards goals. The focus of prospect management is to track and report metrics and progress of development officers, coordinate development activities, manage prospects through the fundraising cycle, and maintain continuity in relationships.<br /><br />Ethics is an important consideration in prospect research, as researchers must balance an individual's right to privacy with the institution's need for information. Four fundamental ethical principles to guide researchers include integrity, accountability, practice, and conflict of interest.<br /><br />There are various resources and tools available for conducting prospect research, including databases, social media platforms, wealth screening services, and third-party vendors. These resources can provide basic biographical information, event attendees, capacity scores, wealth screenings, connectivity scores, and more.<br /><br />Capacity assessment is a key aspect of prospect research, and it involves evaluating an individual's financial factors such as income, real estate values, luxury items, stock holdings, and foundations. There are different methods and tools available for estimating giving capacity based on these factors.<br /><br />Affinity is another important factor in prospect research, and it refers to an individual's connection to the organization. This can be determined through engagement scores, interests, memberships, event attendance, volunteering, and social media interactions.<br /><br />Prospecting is a collaborative effort that involves multiple roles within an organization, including development assistants, annual giving teams, alumni relations, engagement teams, stewardship and donor relations, development officers, and government/community relations.<br /><br />Overall, prospect research and management play a crucial role in identifying and cultivating potential donors, and ethical guidelines should be followed throughout the process.

Keywords

Prospect Research

Donor Information

Giving History

Wealth Indicators

Philanthropic Motivations

Prospect Evaluation

Capacity Assessment

Ethics in Research

Prospect Management

Relationship Tracking