4,150,000.
That’s how many hits a Google search of my first and last name bring up. That’s an endless amount of information, the vast majority of which has nothing to do with me personally. How do you narrow this down so you’re only seeing information about the person you are looking for? At The Dennis Group we have a few quick tricks we’d like to share.
You would think it might be easier if I were a high-profile individual, but it’s not that simple. Peter Gilgan, CEO of Mattamy Asset Management and one of Canada’s most prominent philanthropists has 101,000 hits for his fairly unique name. Without having gone through them all, I would suggest that most of these links have to do with the Peter Gilgan we’re talking about. Now the question is how to synthesize all this information?
These are some the challenges that prospect researchers face as they seek to learn more about potential supporters. Within Canadian not-for-profits, prospect research staff remain few and far-between. According to a recent report, prospect research represents only 3-4% of all staffing allocation at not-for-profits. Fundraising professionals understand the value of prospect research, however, it remains under-resourced relative to other aspects of fundraising operations.
With limited staffing allocation, it is important to understand tools and tips to conduct high-level prospect screening efficiently. For not-for-profits who want more information about prospects or their current donors, there is an abundance of material available online. The internet is a prospect researcher’s best friend, but it can be challenging to navigate the endless sea of information. Ultimately, you want to know two things about a potential prospect:
- Is this individual likely to support my organization, either with time or financial resources?
- If so, to what extent?
There are tried and true ways to answer these questions, but without access to costly prospect research tools such as Wealth X, iWave, or CharityCAN, you will have to rely on searching the internet for your answers.
There are a few ways you can narrow the parameters of your search. For example, if you search a prospect’s name on Google, put their full name in quotations marks to ensure that you are only seeing hits that include an exact match. In my case, this brought the number of search results from 4,150,000 to just 3,900.
The best way to do prospect research is to know exactly what you’re looking for. Are you looking for volunteers? Craft your search towards finding out a prospect’s area of interest rather than their financial capacity. Looking for your next major gift? Search specifically for wealth indicators such as past charitable activity, business affiliations, and real estate ownership. As you paint a picture of your prospect, make sure you understand how you want that individual’s support.
Information has never been more accessible. The internet provides an incredible solution to time-strapped charities who need to know more about potential prospects. Optimizing your web search is the best way to turn a mountain into a mole hill.
Prospect research is one of the tools that The Dennis Group Inc. offers to our clients. To find out more about this and other tools in our kits to help your organization, contact us at info@thedennisgroup.ca.
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