Do-It-Yourself Prospect Research: Discovery Exciting and Innovative Research Methods You Can Take Back to

Your Shop Today!

Tracey Church, MLIS, Tracey Church & Associates

November 22, 2017

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Who am I? And who are you?

• Tracey Church, MLIS

• Who is in the room?

– New to prospect research?

– New to fundraising?

– Less than 6 months in position?

– Research is a full-time or part-time part of your

position?

– One man shop?

– Zero researcher shop?

Agenda

• Recognition

• What is Prospect Research?

• Organizational considerations for big and small shops

– Service levels

– Time expectations

– Metrics

• What are some prospect considerations?

– Research Staging

– Prioritizing

• What common resources are used for researching

– Foundations

– Corporations

– Individuals

– Capacity and linkages

• What should be tracked in the database?

• Summary

• Questions

Recognition

• We wish to recognize and acknowledge that

we meet today on the traditional territories of

the Mississauga and Haudenosauenee

nations and within the lands protected by the

Dish With One Spoon wampum agreement.

What is prospect research?

• Prospect researchers are hired by their organizations to find major giving donors for their organization through background research on individuals, corporations and foundations to find which will be the most likely to give to your organization

• BUT, smaller organizations that don’t have the resources to have their own researcher can still do some basic research before meeting a prospect

• Apra: Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement

– Ongoing education: conferences, webinars, regional meetings

– Mentors, publications, websites, networking

– Job listings

• Apra www.aprahome.org (US $195/year)

• Apra-Canada www.apracanada.ca ($45/year)

Now available!

Available today at: http://hilborn-

civilsectorpress.com/products/prospect

-research-in-canada

Apra-Canada & student discount price: $65

Non Apra-Canada member price: $85

Business card

draw today!

The promise of prospect research

• Every charity deserves targeted, relevant, well-timed asks

• Research is necessary for a development team to meet their goals with well-matched prospects

• Researchers work strategically with development teams to provide the “right prospects” for the “right programs”, at the “right gift amount”, at the “right time”

• Use your research resources to find: individuals, corporations & foundations that match a charity’s mission & financial goal

• Manage the database to be able to easily add your prospects, rate them, and extract them according to fundraising needs

• Part of a researcher’s worth is steering the fund development team AWAY from those prospects who have neither the capacity NOR the affinity to give to your organization!

Organizational considerations

• Align prospect research for impact

• Small fundraising organizations

– Focus on day-to-day donor-driven data (Annual Fund, $ cheques in door, Tribute)

• Large fundraising organizations

– Focus on qualification of high-value prospects (capacity, interest, affiliation)

– Generational research / Founder family engagement

– Webbing Board Directors, Trustees, volunteers

– Purge fundraiser’s portfolios

Research Stages - don’t try and do it all at once – or you will become

overwhelmed!

Identification

Qualification

Stewardship

Cultivation

Solicitation

Research

Research

Research

Research

Research

How a Prospect Researcher “Sees” it:

The Cultivation Cycle

Levels of Service

You don’t always need a full profile:

– Full or long profile

– Short profile / Snap Shots

– Research memo/Briefing note

– Capacity rating

– Database update • Focus on keeping the database updated with the latest research and

reserve classic “profiles” for senior volunteers on a call, if needed.

Levels of service can be determined in a

variety of ways:

• By the person requesting the information, e.g., the

organization’s president might receive different

information than a major gift officer

• Where you are in the relationship cycle with a prospect,

e.g., do more detailed research when the organization is

ready to solicit the donor than when you are at the

cultivation stage

• The level of prospect, e.g., spend more time researching

high-level prospects versus donors with a lower capacity

• Priority goes to the solicitor who has booked a meeting!

1. Record All Activities – this will also help you during performance review

season

Good thing we have a database for this!

Or, create a work spreadsheet

2. Determine Primary Goals

You can even rank them A, B & C

A = high priority/asap, B = medium, C = low (when/if you can get to it)

3. A Different 80/20 Rule

Which 20% of my activities will yield 80% of my results?

4. What’s Important versus Urgent

Deadlines, reaaaallll deadlines! Is a major giving officer going out on a call?

5. Create a schedule – and stick with it!

6. Revisit Goals and Adjust – what has changed?

7. Purge – sometimes you can get rid of stuff!

Share your research queue with MG team – can anything come off?

Learn How to Prioritize!

Dale Carnegie Time Management Guide,

2011

Simple Research Request Queue

Better yet, set these up as Research Actions in your database

• This needs to be shared (in a Lunch & Learn is best) with the fund

development team – priority always goes to MGO with a meeting booked!

• Rule of thumb – don’t go down the rabbit hole!

How long does research take?

Research Task Scheduled Time*

Quick Turn-Around (gifts to other orgs) 1 hour

“Snap-Shot” Profile (1-2 pages) 3 hours

Foundation Profile 4 hours

Corporate Profile 5-6 hours

Individual Profile 8 hours

* doesn’t mean this will all be in one day, depends on research queue!

Prospect Considerations: Stage of Life

Generational Impact

Prospecting Steps

1. Qualify those currently giving to your organization

– These could be lapsed major giving donors, mid-level giving donors, and/or

donors who have given frequently at the annual giving range

– Do they qualify to give at a major giving level, and, are they interested in

meeting with a development officer?

– Can you establish a scoring system for qualification?

2. Identify those who may be potential new donors

– These could be identified through your network of executives, senior

volunteers, committee members, and major donors

– Or, those who have an affinity to your organization (alumni, grateful

patients, family of clients) who may not have given yet

– Or, those who support other “like” causes

– Or, those who have identified certain areas of support in their corporate or

foundation documentation

People, people, people!

• First and foremost! – Do research which looks within at LINKAGES to :

• Staff Members

• Board Members (key volunteers) – e.g.) Peer Screening

• Committee Members

• Event Volunteers

• Event Attendees

• Sponsors

• Vendors

• Current Major Donors

• Advisory Groups

• Professional Groups

• And your database: RFM* – *recency, frequency, monetary

Key Elements in Foundation Research

Foundation Name Examples of Gifts to Other

Organizations

• And your organization if applicable

Contact Information

• How do they like to be contacted?

Possible Linkages to Your Organization

• And past activity with your

organization

Contact Person(s) Application Process & Guidelines

• Follow these!

Key Board Members & Staff Initial Estimated Capacity Rating

Foundation Overview Date of Research

Philanthropic Interests

• Which ones align with your mission

Person Who Completed Research

Geographic Focus Sources Used

Foundations

• Private Foundations – Non-profit giving entities formed by individuals or

families to serve as the primary vehicle for charitable giving

• Community Foundations – Non-profit giving entities that amalgamate the giving

of groups of usually unrelated donors

• Company Foundations – Non-profit giving entities established and

administered by companies

Favourite Resources: Foundations

• Imagine Canada Grant Connect (fee)

• Charity Village Directories – Funders (free)

• Canadian Charities Listings (CRA) – T3010s (free)

• BIG Online Foundation Search (fee)

• iWave PRO – Prospect Research Online (fee)

• CharityCAN (fee)

• Ajah Fundtracker (fee)

• Philanthropic Foundations Canada – Topical issues (free)

• US GuideStar (free, basic) 990s

• US Foundation Center (free, basic) 990s

• Foundation websites (~25% have their own website)

• Public or university libraries (free)

Grant Connect Funder Search

Key Elements in a Corporate Research

Corporation Name Examples of Gifts to Other Organizations

• And your organization if applicable

Contact Information

• Address, phone, email, social media,

regional

Sponsorship History

(Community) Contact Person(s) Possible Linkages to Your Organization

• And past activity with your organization

Key Board Members & Staff Application Process & Guidelines

• Community giving site?

• Online application form?

Corporate Overview

• Do they have a foundation as well?

• Include annual revenue

Initial Estimated Capacity Rating

Philanthropic Interests Date of Research

Geographic Focus

• Is it just in regions in which they

operate?

Person Who Completed Research

Recent & relevant news Sources Used

Types of Companies in Canada

A corporate prospect may be:

• A publicly-traded Canadian company

• A private Canadian company

• A subsidiary of another company

Corporate Ways of Giving

Companies financially support their communities in

various ways, including:

• Donations

• Sponsorships

• Deep discounts

• Collection from the public (scan when buy)

• Strategic partnerships (CRM – cause-related marketing

e.g.)

Identifying Corporate Prospects 1. Locate, understand and align charity programs with stated donation

guidelines

Corporate giving sites can be called:

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Community Commitment / Investment

• Community Giving

• Social Responsibility

• In the Community…

2. Identify alignment with corporate interests (e.g. Ronald McDonald House

and family friendly marketing).

3. Take note of senior executives and board members – and their areas of

interest

Corporate Websites

• Business Interests

• Business Locations

• Executive Speeches

• Press Releases

– Gift announcements

– Executive and board changes

– Financial situation

– Corporate developments

– Regional news

• Philanthropic and community involvement

• Corporate Responsibility Reports

Favourite Resources: Corporations • Google Finance or Globe Investor (free)

• Canadian Business Resource (CBR) (basic free, also by subscription)

• CNW (Canadian Newswire) (free, track your prospects using RSS feed)

• Charity Village (free)

• D&B Canada (dun & bradstreet): Hoover’s Business Directory (fee) – Also available in iWave PRO

• Scott’s Ontario Manufacturers (fee) – smaller businesses

• Industry Canada (free) – has contact names

• SEDAR (free) – Canadian public company reports

• SEDI (free) – Canadian public company shares

• EDGAR (free) – U.S. public company shares

• LEDC (free) City of London directory (new businesses & contact names)

• BIG Online Corporate Directory (fee)

• iWave PRO – Prospect Research Online (fee) – ZOOMInfo & D&B

• CharityCAN (fee) – Corporate Canada Directors

• PUBLIC or university libraries (free!)

*Tracey’s rule of thumb: Have ONE really good business directory – you don’t need them

all. Or better yet, see what you can get through a library

Example: CBR

Example: D&B (iWave PRO)

Key Elements in an Individual Research

Biographical Details Age, Family, Contact Information, other relevant

information

Career / Employment Highlights focus on current & recent

employment, corporate directorships

Other Philanthropic Activity Donations, personal/family foundation, volunteer

activity

Wealth Indicators Rating in Canadian Business, Salary &

Compensation, known stock holdings, private

company ownership, real estate, inheritance,

other notable indicators of wealth, i.e. art

collection, private school tuition

Connection / Link to your Organization Summary of Giving, relationship connections,

current assignments, summary of recent

activities

Other Honours & Awards, Education, details on the

research itself (when compiled, by who, for who,

sources)

Research Rating & Gift Rating Estimated capacity, affinity, and likelihood

Favourite Resources: Individuals • Canadian Business Resource - by executive (some free and by subscription)

• CharityCan (fee)

– Canadian Who’s Who*, Donations to Other Orgs, Political Donors, Corporate Canada Directors, ZoomInfo, Public Sector Salaries, Charity Directors, Profiles, Relationship Mapping, ProspectPRIME

• iWave PRO – Prospect Research Online (fee)

– ZOOMInfo, D&B, Donations to Other Orgs, Real Estate, Wealth Ratings, Political Giving, Foundations, Matching Gifts, SEC Filings, PROScore and PROScreen

• Alumni directories (some free to alumni, or in libraries, online & print)

• Obits - for family connections (free)

• Financial Post Directory of Directors* (some free and by subscription)

• Who’s Who in Canadian Business (defunct 2005) Print & CD*

• Top 100’s (some free and by magazine subscription)

• Realtor.ca / MLS & ZooCasa - for real estate information (free)

• SEDAR (online) holdings/info for each public company (free)

• SEDI (online) share holdings in public companies (free)

• EDGAR (online) - US Securities (free)

• Charity Village News – Newsbytes (free)

• PUBLIC or university libraries (free)

* = older directories are good for retired people

Warning!

For all resources check if they are “auto-generated”, when last updated, and double-check

family connections.

Canadian Who’s Who* *also available in CharityCAN

Realtor.ca

iWave PRO: US Real Estate

SEDAR: Executive Compensation

CharityCAN: Executive Compensation

Public Salary Disclosure (above $100K)

• Only Ontario has the salaries available in 1 location:

– Government of Ontario site

– The Sunshine List (new searchable site).

• BC

– BC (via Vancouver Sun $75,000+):

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/public-sector-salaries/basic-

search.html

• Quebec & Nova Scotia – through multiple sites through organizations

• Manitoba – through multiple sites – MB: Public Sector Compensation (Government)

– MB: Hydro

– MB: Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

– MB: City of Winnipeg

Social Media: not just for the young at heart, or those light in the

wallet!

As of the 3rd quarter of 2017…

• Facebook had 2.07 billion monthly active users

• Twitter, 330 million monthly active users

• LinkedIn, 467 million members

• Instagram, 800 million monthly active users

“People Resources” influence their peers!

Source: Statistica.com

Is Heather Reisman on your prospect list?

… then shouldn’t you be following her on Twitter?

Other Sources

• Online news, media scans, RSS Feeds Reader (e.g. Feedly.com – push)

• Regional Newspapers & Magazines

• National Newspapers & Magazines

– Globe & Mail

– National Post & Financial Post

– Canadian Business

– Canadian Jewish News

– Canadian Immigrant Magazine

• Regional Directories

• Public (& university) libraries

• TSX & Dow Jones (what’s trending)

• Chronicle of Philanthropy (US online)

• Canada411 (online) – Reverse Look-Up

• Google – News alerts, Street View

• StatsCAN reports & tables

• And many more…

That’s my

prospect!

What activity is expected of your fundraisers? This relates directly to research activity, proposal writing and stewardship needs

Pipeline Metrics

– how many prospects do you need?

Calculating Wealth

Wealth indicators help to determine the “right” ask amount. We use the

word “indicator” because this is based on small amounts of information.

This does not provide a complete financial picture of a prospect. The

sources to use include:

• Prospect review: meeting with staff and volunteers. Peers would

understand the circumstances of their situation therefore have a

good idea how much they can give

• Donation history: to your organization and other organizations.

• Wealth lists: e.g.) Canadian Business Rich 100

• Articles: such as those detailing a sale of a private business, etc.

• Information circulars: provide information of directors and top

executives of public companies

• Real estate holdings estimates

• Salary estimates

Common Formulas

“Total Philanthropic Capacity” (TPC) is an estimate of the amount an individual

can give to all charities over 5 years.

You know… The Estimate / Rule of Thumb is.. Sample Calculation

Net Worth Total Philanthropic Capacity is 5%

of an individual’s Net Worth.

Net worth of $10 million X 5% =

$500,000 TPC

Annual Income Annual Income (salary + bonus)

represents 10% of Net Worth.

Annual Income of $300,000 / 10% X

5% = $150,000 TPC *works better for

higher income prospects

Primary Real

Estate

Holdings (i.e.

value of home)

Real estate holdings represent 20%

to 25% of an individual’s Net Worth

Real Estate of $3.5 million / 20% X

5% = $875,000

$3.5 million / 25% X 5% = $700,000

TPC range is $700,000 - $875,000

Stock Holdings Stock holdings represent 30% to

35% of an individual’s Net Worth

Stock holdings of $3 million / 30% x

5% = $500,000

$3 million / 35% X 5% = $430,000

TPC range is $430,000 to $500,000

Estimating Giving Capacity Other formulas exist including:

• By Private Company sales, it is calculated that:

– TPC = [Company value or annual sales] X ownership percentage X 5%

• Traditionally, total philanthropic capacity was considered “known assets times

5%” and this has been the basis for many a campaign formula

• However, fundraisers know that philanthropic capacity increases with age and

studies have supported that, therefore, an adaptation of the 5% formula for

giving rates is shown as:

– Age 21-39: 1%

– Age 40-49: 2%

– Age 50-59: 3%

– Age 60-69: 4%

– Age 70+: 5%

• Of course we also know that someone’s giving rate also fluctuates with an

affinity to the organization and often increases during a campaign or program

which may resonate with the donor

You can create tables for TPC calculations

Estimating Giving Capacity (TPC) FormulasProspect Name

Prospect ID Based on 5% Based on 5%

Published Net Worth $10,000,000 Real Estate Value Estimate $3,500,000

Capacity (TPC) Based on 5% of Known Net Worth $500,000 Estimated Net Worth Based on 25% $14,000,000

Estimated Net Worth Based on 20% $17,500,000

Annual Salary $250,000 Capacity (TPC) Based on 25% $700,000

Bonus $50,000 Capacity (TPC) Based on 20% $875,000

Total Compensation $300,000

Net Worth Based on Salary as 10% $3,000,000 Private Company Sales $25,000,000

Capacity (TPC) Estimate Based on Salary $150,000 Ownership Percentage 30%

Capacity (TPC) Based on % Ownership $375,000

Stock Holdings Value Estimate $4,500,000

Estimated Net Worth Based on 35% $12,857,143 Estimated Annual Giving Range

Estimated Net Worth Based on 30% $15,000,000 Estimated Major Giving RangeCapacity (TPC) Based on 35% $642,857

Capacity (TPC) Based on 30% $750,000

Setting up Capacity & Affinity Ratings

Capacity estimates what a prospect is able to give (think predictive &

external)

• Researchers may look at what donations, if any, a prospect has

given to other organizations or foundations.

• An individual’s salary may be found on SEDAR, if he or she is a top

executive of a public company.

• Corporations often have written commitments to community support

on their web pages or in their annual reports.

• Foundations usually list their totals assets and also their gift ranges.

• From all of these sources, and more, a researcher may be able to

estimate how much a prospect is able to give to any organization.

Setting up Capacity & Affinity Ratings

Affinity rates how likely a prospect is likely to give to your organization based on a closeness or connection with your organization.

• In health-care organizations, a grateful patient may have a high affinity to your institution.

• Unfortunately, or fortunately, because of the privacy laws in Canada, unless a grateful patient comes forward to declare his strong affinity, we may never know it.

• But, there are other ways to see affinity:

– Past donations to your own organizations or others like it

– Volunteer activity in your organization or others like it

– Common business associations with your organizations, and so on.

Setting up Capacity & Affinity Ratings For capacity, researchers & solicitors can set up potential gift ranges, such as:

• Under $1,000

• $1,000 – 4,999

• $5,000 – 9,999

• $10,000 – 24,999

• $25,000 – 49,999

• $50,000 – 99,999

• $100,000 – 499,999

• $500,000 – 999,999

• $1 million or more

Similarly, affinity ratings can be created, such as:

• 0 – Unknown

• 1 – Low

• 2 – Moderate

• 3 – Excellent

Capacity vs Affinity

High Capacity Low Affinity

Major Giving Potential Needs Cultivation

High Capacity High Affinity

Major Giving Potential High Priority MG Prospects

Giving Potential Low Affinity Low

Don’t Waste Resources Low Capacity Low Affinity

Major Giving Potential Low

Affinity High Good Planned Giving Prospects

Low Capacity High Affinity

Move

Notes on Capacity & Affinity Ratings

• In addition to rating prospects for capacity (wealth)

and affinity (to your organization), you can also add

in ratings such as:

– Linkages (to your organization)

– Likelihood (e.g., is this a good time?)

– Inclination (very subjective based on solicitation)

• Capacity and Affinity ratings are always dynamic and

change throughout solicitation.

• Often prospects are given a “general” capacity rating

(in the ratings area of the database) and then a

“specific” capacity rating for each particular ask.

Linkages

• Becoming more and more important in solicitation

• Peer to peer screening is used regularly with senior

volunteers

• Both iWave PRO (RelSci) and CharityCAN (Relationship

Paths) have added a “linkage” feature to their tool boxes

• Universities subscribe to the highest subscription of

LinkedIn to work with linkages

• Imagine Canada Grant Connect (higher subscription)

has added (your) LinkedIn connections to their records

• Linkages are now expected for full prospect research

iWave PRO – RelSci

CharityCAN – Relationship Paths

Grant Connect - LinkedIn

What should be tracked in the database?

• Everything!

As review: where are we going with this?

• A charity deserves targeted, relevant, well-timed asks

• Research is necessary for a development team to meet their goals

with well-matched prospects

• Researchers work strategically with development teams to provide

the “right prospects” for the “right programs”, at the “right gift

amount”, at the “right time”

• Use your research resources to find: individuals, corporations &

foundations that match a charity’s mission & financial goal

• Manage the database to be able to easily add your prospects, rate

them, and extract them according to fundraising needs

• Part of a researcher’s worth is steering the fund development team

AWAY from those prospects who have neither the capacity NOR the

affinity to give to your organization!

Business Card Draw Time!

Available at: http://hilborn-

civilsectorpress.com/products/prospect

-research-in-canada

Apra-Canada & student discount price: $65

Non Apra-Canada member price: $85

Questions?

Tracey Church, MLIS

www.traceychurchresearch.com

traceychurch024@gmail.com