Campaign readiness and prospect research

1. Campaign readiness and prospect research Oliver Taylor, University of Leeds

3. Leeds University donor* * image is for illustration purposes only

4. Campaign readiness and prospect research Oliver Taylor, University of Leeds

5. The campaign stages in brief 1. Pre-planning 2. Assessment/planning 3. Private/quiet/silent 4. Public 5. Post-campaign evaluation

6. An ideal campaign timeline

7. Leeds’s past and projected campaign timeline as of Nov 2011

8. Leeds’s past and projected campaign timeline as of Nov 2011

9. The role of the researcher in all this Traditional pre-planning stage NO ROLE

10. The role of the researcher in all this Traditional assessment/planning stage Limited role Find prospects

11. FIND PROSPECTS NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The role of the researcher in all this Traditional private/quiet & public stages FIND PROSPECTS!!!!!!!!!!! FIND PROSPECTS!

12. The role of the researcher in all this Traditional pre-planning stage NO ROLE

13. The campaign stages in brief 1. Pre-planning 2. Assessment/planning 3. Private/quiet/silent 4. Public 5. Post-campaign evaluation Prospect research should have a role in all of these stages … … but all too often, the researcher might only play a part in nos 3 and 4!

14. Let me be the first to admit it WE WERE NOT READY

15. Slight misnomer: “Unready” in Ethelred’s name is actually a mistranslation – it actually means “badly-advised”! Ethelred the Unready, c. 968 - 1016

16. Campaign unreadiness Our consultants said: “you will need 2312 prospects to make the campaign work” We currently have 1211 in the pool altogether

17. Campaign unreadiness Our consultants said: “you need 100% of all your prospects for the campaign identified by the end of the quiet phase” We currently have 1211 in the pool altogether At present the quiet phase is scheduled to end in July 2012

18. Campaign unreadiness Our consultants said: “You need at least 44 prospects capable of giving a million pounds for this campaign to work” We currently have 1211 in the pool altogether At present the quiet phase is scheduled to end in July 2012 We currently have that – but it’s the rest of them that pose problems of identification!

19. Campaign unreadiness

20. Campaign unreadiness

21. Campaign unreadiness

22. Campaign catch-up It’s almost inevitable that most institutions spend their first campaigns playing catch-up. No of prospects No of gifts No of fundraisers Cause/appeal/projects slow to take shape

23. Campaign catch-up This is where the quiet phase of the campaign comes into its own. Security blanket which can be extended to suit … … as long as it’s not extended too far, or you might never end up going public!

24. Campaign catch-up First campaign (whether successful or not) ultimately a training and testing ground for figuring out what works So you can then do it better next time

25. The campaign stages in brief Pre-planning Assessment/planning Private/quiet/silent Public Post-campaign evaluation

26. Pre-planning stage Prospect researchers can shape the campaign Who else in your office or institution has the knowledge of your constituency base that you have? This fact can be overlooked by those higher up the pecking order Therefore, remember the above and have confidence in yourself

27. Pre-planning stage What’s the campaign for? How big should it be? What should its theme areas be? Are your existing prospects letting you know what interests them? Any trends? A few “tried and trusted” friends Careful read-through of fundraiser meeting notes Survey responses National benchmarking across other campaigns Somewhere to store all this!

28. Pre-planning stage A quick word on benchmarking: for UK higher education institutions, refer to the Ross-CASE survey, whose 2010-11 report is due to be published in April 2012 – a survey of gift income and fundraising costs across the UK HE and FE sectors www.rosscasesurvey.org.uk For an instructive comparison, look at the US equivalent, compiled by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE). Free registration, paid access to advanced features This allows you access to a database where you can compare the progress of specific institutions against any number of variables – number of gifts of certain amounts, total amount given by corporates, as bequests, etc etc. www.cae.org

29. Human Health Climate Change Global Society & Business Arts & Culture Students

32. Pre-planning stage Is your institution going to use an external consultancy for campaign counsel and advice? If so, does the consultancy have a dedicated research expert to whom you’ll have access? If not, consider lobbying for separate research counsel At the very least, make sure you’re aware of sources of potential help, not least the existence of external training providers and the prospect-research-uk listserv

33. Pre-planning stage Obviously easier if your institution has been through all this before! You can examine the trends of the last campaign, and use these to inform the next one

34. The campaign stages in brief Pre-planning Assessment/planning Private/quiet/silent Public Post-campaign evaluation

35. Assessment/planning stage Feasibility study With good organisation, researchers have a real chance to get involved here and drive the direction of the campaign Focuses the mind on who the best prospects really are Chance to test out those gift assumptions Identifying prospects to be interviewed Providing data for the interviews As good a chance as any to get profiles written on prospects you hadn’t done them for yet

36. Assessment/planning stage At this time, the researcher should also consider undertaking their own little study … How ready are you for all this? • Are research staffing needs being met? • Evaluate all relevant procedures you’ve already got in place, and try to predict what new ones you might need – what new measures and stats?

38. Assessment/planning stage At this time, the researcher should also consider undertaking their own little study … How ready are you for all this? • Are research staffing needs being met? • Evaluate all relevant procedures you’ve already got in place, and try to predict what new ones you might need • Could you talk to someone at a similar or more advanced stage at another institution?

39. Assessment/planning stage Feasibility studies a necessary and important part of the campaign … and sometimes they take for granted that things are clear-cut but remember, its findings show what would happen if the campaign ran to an ideal plan and schedule

40. Control freakery Some things researchers have no control or, at best, limited control over Institutional readiness outside the fundraising office Prospects not being interested or seemingly impossible to contact (if you’re new in post) – what’s gone before Staff turnover Writing potted biographies for use at events. This is your job, however much you protest against it. Deal with it.

41. Control freakery But even with these, there are ways in which prospect research can help … Institutional readiness Do your academics / senior frontline workers even know what a prospect is? Often they do, without even realising it …

42. Control freakery But even with these, there are ways in which prospect research can help … Uninterested or hard to contact prospects Do the best you can for your fundraising colleagues – make sure you’ve examined all avenues of reaching them Above all, don’t take it personally – it’s not your fault they are uninterested or hard to get hold of

43. Control freakery But even with these, there are ways in which prospect research can help … What’s gone before Try to understand why things were done in a certain way: there must have been some reason for it! An enquiring mind and a database can lead to some interesting discoveries

44. Control freakery what’s gone before • Even long-forgotten tables in your database can hold the key to prospect discovery • Hey, someone once thought this stuff was worth adding • Ask, probe, experiment! What were they thinking? - why was this guy thought important enough to be invited to that event way back in 2003? What clues are there? - all these 54 records have the same “contact coding”, put on back in 2006, but why?

45. Control freakery But even with these, there are ways in which prospect research can help … Staff turnover Make sure there’s a clear plan in place for the prospects of any departing fundraiser Make sure the incoming person has a prospect pool ready as soon as possible after they arrive

46. The campaign stages in brief Pre-planning Assessment/planning Private/quiet/silent Public Post-campaign evaluation

47. Quiet stage Fundraising - continuous programme of prospect identification, qualification and assignment - research for leadership asks Campaign Goal Revision - reports on annual performance (by canvasser, by theme, by total amount raised) should help evaluate this - research should be involved in supporting or refuting the argument to increase or lower the campaign goal

48. Quiet stage- what to measure, and over what period?

49. Or is it because they need some more? Is it that they’re not seeing enough prospects?

50. Harold ii, c. 1022 - 1066