New to research-based fundraising? Here's how to get the most out of your budget
February 2021
Over the last year, more and more organisations have embraced research-based major gift fundraising to survive the financial hardships of the pandemic. If you’ve never had to rely on it before, it can seem overwhelming but research-based fundraising works even on a limited budget. Here’s how to get started.
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Review your existing privacy policy
Respecting your supporters’ data is at the heart of research-based major gift fundraising. This means keeping them informed about how their information is being used and adhering to data protection regulations. It might sound tedious but it’s not hard to do and means you can start your research-based fundraising with a privacy by design approach and the best practices possible. Start by undertaking a data protection impact assessment of the way your organisation uses personal data for major donor fundraising. This should describe the purpose for which you collect data and look at information flows e.g. how data will be obtained, used and retained. During this assessment, you should also identify the privacy risks and evaluate solutions to those risks.
Once you’ve completed your data protection impact assessment, move on to your privacy notice. This should clearly describe all the ways you use personal data and the safeguards in place. It must also show your supporters how they can exercise their rights over your processing of their data. It might be that you have already included research in your privacy notice – if so that’s great. If not, get on with updating it. Once you have made the updates, you need to inform all of your supporters of any changes you’ve made and give them the opportunity to opt-out of further processing.
Our top tip for ensuring your privacy notice is fit for purpose is to get someone outside of your organisation to read it and explain it back to you. If they can’t explain it, take another look and simplify it.
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Find out who your supporters are
Once you’ve informed your supporters of any changes to your privacy notice and given them the chance to opt-out of processing, you can get started with your research. A wealth screening might be a good place to start. A well-planned screening can transform your fundraising by helping you find the existing supporters that could become major gift donors if asked in the right way. Your screening will identify who among your current supporters are capable of making a high value or even transformational gift to your charity. It can also identify which of your supporters are known philanthropists and the business leaders supporting your cause.
If you’re not already engaging with these prospects, it’s time to re-evaluate your fundraising strategy. Make plans to approach the prospects you can reach and do some research to replace the ones you can’t.
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Move on to other forms of prospect research (if you need to)
Most charities on a limited budget find that a well-planned wealth screen helps them get on the path to successful major gift fundraising. But there are other types of prospect research that can really help to boost your fundraising. This can be more in-depth research on your current supporters to help you understand their philanthropic affiliations and how to approach them. Or research on new individuals, who are not connected to your cause but, research suggests, have the capacity and inclination to become a major gift donor.
All forms of prospect research need to be approached in much the same way as wealth screening. This includes undertaking a data protection impact assessment, making your fair processing available to your supporters, and letting them know of any changes you’ve made to it.
Our team provides prospect research, wealth screening, consultancy, regulatory compliance and training support to charities of all sizes. We'll help you get the most out of your research budget, learn more about the people who support your cause, give you a detailed insight into your best prospects and identify new ones. We can also work with you to develop the best strategy for approaching them.
To start your research-based major gifts journey, call us on 01491 577311 or email us at info@prospectingforgold.co.uk.
