Prospect Research: How it Contributes to Your Successful Development Office

1. Prospect Research: How it Contributes to Your Successful Development Office Presented for Association of Fundraising Professionals March 20 - 2003

2. APRAAssociation of Professional Researchers for Advancement Our MissionTo promote professional development, education and networking for advancement researchers and related advancement services professionals in the non-profit community. www.aprahome.org www.apramokan.org

3. Cultivation & Solicitation • Areas Development Research may support: • Annual Fund • Major Gifts • Planned Giving • Corporate/Foundation Relations • Central Development • Programmatic/Regional Offices • IT/Development Services • Special Events • Communications/Public Relations • Alumni/Constituent Relations • Donor Acknowledgement, Recognition & Stewardship • Other institutional offices as needed

4. Do You Know Who Your People Are? • Corporations • Foundations • Individuals

6. Identification/Qualification/Discovery • Who are your prospects? • Gauging Inclination & Capacity • Investigate Database • Donor Listings • General Internet Searches • Google • News Alerts • FC Search for corporate and foundation info

7. Qualification: Gauging Capacity • Capacity • Financial ability • Real Estate holdings • Stock Ownership (Corporate Proxy Statements) • Compensation (Corporate Proxy Statements) • Industry Publications (millionaire next door types) • Foundation connections • FC Search & Guidestar • Who’s giving you $100 that could really be giving you $10,000?

8. Cultivation – Relationship Building Who should be involved? - colleagues - neighbors - access Other Perks: - participation in organization as an expert - board membership

9. Solicitation • What to ask for? • How much to ask for? • Formulas based on known financials • Giving levels to other organizations • Who asks? • How? • Informal verbal proposal • Formal letter through foundation? - Who is involved in the decision-making?

10. Stewardship/Re-Approach • Stewardship Plan • Types of Recognition • Monitoring Life Events through Alerts • Personalization of Thank You Letters

11. Tips for Success • Keep excellent records! • Continually Scan the Environment! • Think Creatively! Who has a stake in the existence of your organization?

12. Applied Prospect Research • Informationknowledgestrategyresults • Goal of good information is to put it to use • Balance what can be known versus what is useful • What cannot be known?

13. Applied Prospect Research • Managing and applying what you know is as important as finding it in the first place. • Research and your storage system should be: • Thorough and systematic • Accessible • Accurate • Timely • Actionable (ie, allowing you to take action)

14. Applied Prospect Research • Common Challenges when addressing prospect research: • The “Time Trap” • The “Technology Trance” • The “Relevance Reality”

15. Prospect Research? Why Bother? • According to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel (AAFRC) corporate philanthropy in the United States fell 12.1 percent, to $9.05 billion, in 2001, and is expected to decline further in 2002 • 2002 was the third year in a row that foundation assets declined • Chronicle of Philanthropy survey: 131 foundations lost a total of $19.7 billion in assets in 2002

16. I’m “It.” Where Do I Begin? • Explore APRA MO-KAN • Sign up for an AFP mentor • Commit a part of your time to prospect research

17. Effective Prospect Research • Know thy mission • Articulate shared funding priorities based on mission and need • Involve and communicate with others M p C

18. Case Study: OASIS • Mission: OASIS is dedicated to enriching the lives of mature adults (age 50+) • 501 (c)(3) education organization • Network of centers in 26 communities • Serve approximately 325,000 participants • Primary centers located in May dept. stores • Organization is 20 years old

19. OASIS Funding Priorities • Health and wellness • Volunteer services • Educational programs (technology, arts, etc.)

20. Other Stakeholders • Center directors • OASIS Institute network liaisons • Director of Finance • Program Directors • Support staff • Most importantly: the OASIS participants

21. Research Needs • Information on national RFPs • Access to information on local funding sources in 26 cities • Access to supportive information both locally and nationally • A strong database and central file!

22. Case Study: Healthy Aging • Need: Half of all causes of death in the U.S. are related to unhealthy behaviors • About 1.3 million people each year die from conditions that could have been prevented or delayed • The nation spends 95 percent of its health care dollars on treating diseases after they arise

23. Case Study: Healthy Aging • Solution: Ensure older adults throughout the country gain access to OASIS HealthStages healthy aging program • Vehicles: Appeal letters and/or grant proposals that make the case

24. Example Resource Current Awareness in Aging Research http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cdha/caar.html • Sent to my email on a daily basis • Contains the latest health and aging information from leading sources • This information becomes part of the case

25. Finding the Right Vehicle • The Foundation Directory Online http://fconline.fdncenter.org/ • Foundation mailing lists and websites • 2001 survey of 285 OASIS participants: Only 40 percent engage in exercise three or more times per week

26. 2002 HealthStages Grants • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation • The Houston Endowment • The California Endowment • The California Wellness Foundation • The Merck Company Foundation And others

27. Understanding Philanthropy • AFP News • CharityChannel • Chronicle of Philanthropy • The NonProfit Times • http://www.adr.duke.edu/ftpinterface.htm

28. Understanding The Economy • St. Louis Business Journal • St. Louis American Online • InvestorGuide.com • New York Times DealBook and Daily Headlines

29. Summary Points • Make prospect research work for you • Focus on mission and needs • Communicate with all stakeholders

30. Questions and Answers

31. THANK YOU!!