It’s no secret that we’re advocates of prospect research, which simply means getting to know your supporters better, so you can deepen your existing relationships and build new ones.
Done right, prospect research can transform your major gift fundraising, providing you with the resources to make the right asks of the right people. Over the years, misinformation about prospect research has spread, so we’re here to set the record straight.
Prospect research invades privacy
This couldn’t be further from the truth. The cornerstone of prospect research is respect for donors, their privacy, and their personal information. To make sure your prospect research complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you must inform your supporters of any research you plan to do before you do it. You can do this by updating your privacy policy, informing your supporters of any changes and giving them ample time to opt out of data processing.
Your high-level supporters expect you to undertake this kind of research, and as long as you tell them what you’re up to, they won’t mind in the slightest. Best practice fundraising puts privacy by design at the heart of your processes, protecting your supporters, their privacy, and your organisation.
Only multi-millionaires are worth researching
There might be more millionaires in your database than you think! That aside, if you’re only chasing prospects that pop up on the Sunday Times Rich List, your organisation is missing out. By wealth screening your supporter database against our Wealth Intelligence Database, you’ll not only find the prospects well-suited to make a significant donation, but also the connectors in your network who can make introductions and open doors.
As well as our Wealth Intelligence Database, which contains over 270,000 HWN and well-connected individuals in the UK, our Million Pound Properties dataset has over 800,000 properties valued at £1 million or above. This can help you stream supporters into different funding programmes. For example:
- Major Gifts — people living in ultra-high-value properties.
- High and mid-value gifts, higher value annual giving asks — people living in high-value properties.
- Legacy campaigns — long-term residents.
Small charities don’t need prospect research
This myth is particularly damaging, as it can lead to smaller organisations feeling excluded from major gift fundraising. Prospect research works for all charities, big or small! Arguably, smaller charities need it even more, so they can focus their limited time and resources on the right prospects.
Prospect research takes the guesswork out of major gift fundraising. Instead of wasting time making all the wrong asks, you can develop a personalised outreach strategy for each of your major donor prospects. With research on your side, you can make asks that match your prospects’ interests and giving capacity, increasing your chance of securing a major gift.
Ready to get your prospect research project off the ground, but struggling with organisational buy-in? Join our free webinar, Pursuing sensitive projects – getting prospect research across the line, on Wednesday, 22nd October.
Led by Kerry Rock, we’ll cover:
- Concerns and fears
- Building your case
- Winning support
- Building on success
We’ll be focusing on prospect research as a case study, but the methods are relevant to a range of projects where buy-in is required to build success. Book your spot.