I am finally back from vacation, somewhat rested and very tan. 2010's gonna be a great year! I am planning on no brain surgery, and plenty of blogging.
I am kicking 2010 off with a speaking engagement in Vancouver, Washington. Please join me for "Beyond Google: Quick and Easy Prospect Research Tricks for Development Officers," on Tuesday, January 12th at 8:30 a.m.
More details are available on the Willamette Valley Development Officers website here. Hope to see you there.
2 comments:
Hi Amanda -- I very much enjoyed your presentation today and learned a lot. I would like to know your thoughts on purchasing donor prospect profiles. This practice was suggested to my ED, and she would like to try it. I prefer the old-fashioned way of finding prospects: using relationships and networking to figure out who knows who. Do you have thoughts on the matter?
Many thanks,
Libby
Hi Libby!
Thanks so much for attending. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I would consider purchasing profiles for prospects with whom you have unsuccessfully tried to secure a meeting, or whom you are ready to solicit for a major gift.
To make it worth the purchase price, the profile would need to serve a strategic purpose for you: discovering a connection so that you can secure a meeting, or learning more about the prospect's capacity so you can make the ask without leaving money on the table.
The days of the big prospect profile are waning. Because so much data is now readily available on individuals, research is becoming much more targeted and strategic. As Betsy Cooper at Reed College has put it, "What do you need from research to make your next move?"
You may wish to look into purchasing a database screening, as that may be a better use of your resources than purchasing one prospect profile at a time. That way, you can identify a bunch of prospects at once, while procuring data about the assets and philanthropy of individual prospects.
Hope this helps!
Amanda
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