Essentials of Prospect Research Researchers in Fundraising Conference

November 2009Presentation Notes

Matt Ide Finbar CullenResearch & Resource Manager ResearchPlusTHINK Consulting Solutions finbar@researchplus.co.ukmatt@thinkcs.org

All the material in this document is copyright of THINK Consulting Solutions and ResearchPlus. Replicating this content without prior permission (for the purposes of presentations and training for example) constitutes a breach of copyright.

What we’ll be covering ...

What is covered:

• Using the internet

• Key research resources

• Identifying major gift prospects

• Tracking prospects

• Profiling

• Data protection

• Database screening

What is Prospect Research?

• Prospect researchers gather, analyse and present biographical, financial, company, foundation and other philanthropic information using only publicly available information.

• Prospect research provides accurate and up to date intelligence that can be utilised in a fundraising environment.

• The aim is to optimise an organisation's chances of obtaining the largest donations (or major gifts) it can from its prospective donors or 'prospects‘.

Search engines

Using search engines effectively:

• A web search engine is an application that searches for, and retrieves, data based on some given search criteria.

• Google claims to have indexed over 3.3 billion web pages.

• Results are listed by relevance, but that doesn’t mean they’re relevant to you!

• The key to finding what you want without having to trawl through thousands of web pages is to use specific search criteria + boolean logic.

Google Search Functions

Phrase search = “ ”By putting double quotes around a set of words, you are

telling Google to consider the exact words in that exact order without any change.

Google Search Functions

AND function = +The AND function allows you to add specific ‘identifier’ words to

your search. This is useful if you’re looking for a person and know where they work or what they are famous for (see

below). N.B There should be a space between the ‘plus’ sign and the word (see below).

Google Search Functions

NOT function = –The NOT function allows you to exclude specific words

indicating that you do not want pages that contain this word to appear in your results. This is useful if you are looking for

someone who has a common name or shares their name with someone ‘famous’. N.B There should be no space

between the minus sign and the word you want to exclude.

Google Search Results…

Results:

• Searching for Duncan Cameron in Google with

no quotes returns 872,000 pages

• Searching using the phrase search (“duncan

cameron”) returns 62,000 pages

• Searching using the phrase search and the AND

function returns (duncan cameron +

moneysupermarket) just 2,000 pages

This goes to show how utilising Google search

functions and Boolean logic (+ - etc.) can

significantly increase the number of appropriate

search results and eradicate unwanted ones.

THINK about it…

When searching the internet:

Think logically

• What is it I’m looking for?

• What key words will help in the search?

• Try different spellings of words/names

• Try different combinations of key words/phrases

But remember

• Don’t use more than two or three search terms at any one time (inc. phrases)

• Avoid common words like ‘the’ or ‘and’ as search engines ignore them anyway

Be flexible in your thinking…

Advanced searching

Searching specific websites…

If you’re looking for a person and know where they work for example, you can utilise Google’s site search function. Go to ‘Advanced search’ on the Google homepage and type in the web address and the

person’s name. Try it out for yourself…

Analysing results…

When analysing search results:

1. Learn to skim-read information

2. Identify key indicators (i.e. keywords; page title; website address; format)

3. Remember, information does get repeated!

4. Once you’ve clicked on a web page use Ctrl + F to find what you’re looking for quickly

Types of information…

Always assess the validity, date and source of the information..

• Is it from a primary source (i.e. biography or interview)?

• Is it from a secondary source?

• Who wrote it?

• When was it written?

• Is it reliable?

• Reference everything

Research resources

Research resources

• 1,000’s of resources but DON’T PANIC!

• Subscription vs. Free

• Small % produced within charity sector

• Internet is your window to the outside world – learn about the for-profit world i.e. how to read company accounts, how wealth is comprised etc.

Trust & Foundation resources

Trusts and Foundation resources

Free:• Charity Commission (www.charity-

commission.gov.uk)

• Guidestar (www.guidestar.org.uk)

• List of UK Corporate Foundations 2008 (pdf)• Trust & foundation websites

Subscription:• Trustfunding (DSC)• Charity Funding Online (CaritasData)• Invisible Grantmakers (SPM)• Trust & Foundation News (ACF)• Funding Information (Inspiring Vision)• New Trust Update (Factary)

Competitor research

Competitor analysis

A great way of finding new funders (particularly trusts and foundations, is to see who funds similar organisations..

• Make a list of charities who are similar to your own or might be competing for the same resources – i.e. based on location, beneficiaries/area of interest etc.

• Start with the larger organisations as they will be more likely to be transparent

• Search each organisation for their Annual Reports/Accounts to find out who their donors are

Corporate resources

Corporate resources

There are lots of resources you can use to find information on companies and directors, including:

Free:

• Internet• ‘Top’ business lists• City of London Directory & Livery

Companies Guide• Corporate websites• Annual reports

Subscription:

• DASH; Lexis Nexis; OneSource; Companies House Direct etc.

High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs)

Researching wealthy individuals

Again, there are lots of resources you can use depending on what you’re looking for and some of these can be accessed for free!

• Internet

• Crawford’s Directory of City Connections

• Debretts

• Who’s Who

• Directory of Directors

• Rich Lists

• Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage

• Mouseprice/Zoopla

Research budget - how much is enough?

Research budgets

• Review subscription resources to see which best suit your needs

• Make a case for which resources you need and why

No budget?

Access some subscription resources for free through libraries…

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/weblibs.html

• i.e. British Library – FAME/Lexis Nexis

• Join Westminster Libraries to access their 24/7 remote access library (Who’s Who, NewsUK, KnowUK, Credo Reference)

• Utilise free trials• Ask fellow researchers/fundraisers for help (forums etc.)

Identifying Major Gift Opportunities

Identifying major gift opportunities

3 key challenges for researchers in identifying major gift prospects:

1. Defining a manageable number of your top potential supporters with sufficient affinity and capacity

2. Using identification methods that are ethical, accurate, efficient and cost effective

3. Obtaining information that is actually useful and is updated on an ongoing basis

Key indicators

Key indicators of potential support:

• Affinity - Direct personal experience;

Relative/Spouse; Genuine interest; Work-related

• Motivation - Repaying a personal ‘debt’;

Childhood; Right thing to do; Easing their conscience; Personal gratification

• Wealth - Inherited (inc. landed); Self-made;

Liquid; Fixed

• Connections/influence – don’t

underestimate the importance of gaining access to someone’s networks. Can be just as important as a cheque

Wealth

Wealth

Wealth can be comprised of:

• Salary

• Stocks & shares and other investments

• Inheritance

• Savings

• Dividends (paid annually)

• Property

• Art

• Pensions

• Luxury items (yachts, cars etc.)

But remember, where there are assets, there are also liabilities…

Identifying wealth

How do we know someone has the capacity to give?

• Database screening identifies wealthy and/or influential people

• Find out who your donors bank with (i.e. private banks)

• Utilise free lists – rich lists; wealthy postcodes (Millionaires Club)

• Find out how much their house is worth/wealthy neighbourhoods –Mouseprice/Zoopla

Tracking prospects

Prospect tracking

• Important to stay connected to prospects

• Intelligence dates and needs to be continually replaced/updated with the latest information

So how do we do that?

• Internal database

• News tracker (i.e. Lexis Nexis)

• Google Alerts

• Subscribe to relevant magazines (i.e. Management Today; Trader; Asian Business)

• Sign up to newsletters (i.e. Wealth Bulletin)

Profiling

Profiling

Profiling is about creating a picture of your prospect based on certain key information, that might include:

• Name• Address• Date of birth• Family/Marital status• Career/Biography• Education• Clubs & interests• Memberships• Directorships• Connections & networks• Wealth• Philanthropic interests (trusteeships; giving history

etc.)• Ethical issues/concerns

How long should I spend on a profile?

How long do I spend on a profile?

• No rule of thumb

• 2 hours to 1 day+

• Knowing when to stop can be crucial

• Public vs. non-public figures (amount of info you can find)

• Repetition (stop when info found becomes too repetitive)

Data protection

Fundamentals

• Fairly and lawfully processed

• Processed for limited purposes

• Adequate, relevant and not excessive

• Accurate and up to date

• Not kept for longer than is necessary

• Processed in line with the rights of the data subject

• Secure

• Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection

Must be fair and lawfully processed…

Lawful

• Consent has been obtained

or, if data held is not sensitive

• Processing is for the legitimate interests of the data controller

“So long as there is no likelihood of a significant adverse effect on the individual as a result of processing their information, the specific consent of the data subject will not always be required.” ICO

Fair

• The data subject must not have been misled or deceived as to the reasons why data was requested

• Information must be provided to data subjects about

-The identity of the data controller

-The purpose(s) for which the data is being processed

-The consequences of such processing

-Whether particular disclosures are envisaged.

Sensitive data

Unless the data subject has made the information public, the following is sensitive:

• Racial or ethnic origin

• Political opinion or affiliation

• Religious or other beliefs of a similar nature

• Membership of trades unions

• Physical or mental health or condition

• Sexual Life

• The commission of any offence or criminal records

Note:This does not include financial, employment or family information

Remember…

Remember:

The ‘information’ you collect is put through a ‘process’ by yourself (collation, selection etc.) to produce ‘intelligence’. It is this intelligence that will give your organisation a competitive advantage.

Read this article which was written about prospect research for people outside the sector:

http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/find/2638

Database Screening

Finbar Cullen

ResearchPlus

Database Screening

• What is it?

• Who offers the service?

• What are the differences

between the services?

• What do you need to

think about?

Database Screening

What is it?

• Screen your electronic database against

a database of wealthy people, well-

connected people, trustees of grant-

making trusts, etc

– Format to be agreed – e.g. title, first

name, second name, surname,

honourifics, date of birth, address 1,

address 2, address 3, address 4, town

county postcode

What is it?

What matches do you want?

• Wealthy people, well-connected

people, trustees of grant-making

trusts, etc

• Direct matches v family matches

What matches do you

want?

Who offers the service?

• The Prospect Research Toolkit:

www.fundraisingresearch.info

– Brakeley

– Chapel & York

– Datapreneurs

– Factary

– Fundraising Research & Consultancy Ltd

– Milestone Research

– Prospecting for Gold

– ResearchPlus

– Telos Research

– NB DIY?

Who offers the service?

Check them out!

• Not enough time to discuss all screeners

• How detailed are the results of matches?

• Factary - NB New Trust Update, so lots of trustees of unpublished grant-making trusts

• Prospecting for Gold – huge database of wealthy people and …..

Check them out!

Data Protection Act

• Register www.ico.gov.uk

• Data security contract

• Check data destroyed after

screening

– See also RiF Data Protection

Action Group guidelines

Data Protection Act

How clean is your data?

• Clean database first?

• Do you want matches on old

addresses?

How clean is your data?

Consider second screening

• Screeners have different

databases

• If so, exclude matches from

first screening

Consider second screening

Profiles

• DIY?

• Get other quotes?

Profiles

Finbar@ResearchPlus.co.uk