We’ve heard it many times before; fundraising is all about relationships. But it’s not just about the relationships between an… Read More »In Translation: 4 Common Misunderstandings Between Major Gift Officers and Prospect Researchers
When I first heard of a family office, I thought it was a fancy way of saying a family business. Boy, was I wrong! Family offices are a way for families to manage their wealth – as if that wealth was a business. This can include managing family investments and companies, estate planning, education planning, vacations, and philanthropy.
We know that the best way to raise money for our organizations is through face-to-face relationships with our prospects. Like any relationship, we must put in time and effort. But sometimes, you need more than a company biography or what is in your organization’s database to establish that connection and maintain it. Knowing how to find the right information can be a struggle.
That is where prospect research comes in. Using public information and internal information from your organization (if available), prospect research can help figure out how to better cultivate the person. Research will help you learn more about the prospect and give you the confidence to deepen that relationship.
Read More »How Prospect Research Brings Confidence to Your Prospect Meetings
Imagine that you board a plane and just when you have reached altitude, the pilot comes on over the microphone and tells you that although you are scheduled to land in two hours, there is no fuel gauge. The pilot tells you they are optimistic and determined to arrive on time anyway. Would you believe me if I told you this is the way many organizations start their capital campaigns? It’s true!
Knowing how much fuel is in the tank is critical before flying an airplane. Similarly, knowing the gift potential in your donor database is critical information before launching a campaign.
Read More »Warning! Check your Fuel Gauge BEFORE Campaign Launch.By Elisa Shoenberger
Asking for a major or transformative gift is a little bit like asking someone to marry you. You’ve (likely) been dating one another for a while and know quite a bit about your respective interests. Maybe you’ve discussed marriage; perhaps you haven’t. Ideally, you have an idea that the other person will actually say “yes.”
But timing is everything. You probably don’t want to ask your beloved to marry you when they are dealing with their dying father or in front of a crowd of people if they’ve told you that public proposals are not their thing. Maybe you want to ask their father and/or mother for their hand in marriage. The way you approach the proposal may say a lot about the response.
Read More »Strategic Research for Transformative GiftsBy Elisa Shoenberger
Most of us have eaten cheese in our lives. Some of us may have grown up with American cheese, string cheese, and cheddar cheese. Maybe you’ve tried mozzarella, spreadable goat cheese, and a bleu cheese. While all of those cheeses are delicious, it can be a little intimidating to walk into the cheese aisle or a cheese shop. Suddenly there are tens, even hundreds of cheeses in all different colors and shapes. So how do you figure out what goes best on a salad or on a steak?
That’s what it might feel like when you’ve met with prospects in your portfolio. You know something about them; maybe you even requested an Aspire Snap Bio on them before meeting them. But what do you do next? How do you cultivate them towards a major gift in the next few years or so? How do you fit the cheese to the cracker or side?
Read More »Finding the Right Cheese for the Cracker: Using Research to Create Strategies and Tactics for Cultivating Prospects
Remember the first time you got behind the wheel of a car? Maybe you had taken your learner’s permit test or not; maybe you had watched your parents closely as they drove. But when facing the wheel, pedals, and all those buttons for the first time, it might have been really daunting. I was frustrated the first time I got behind the wheel; no matter what I did, I could not get the car to go. I soon realized that no one had told me to push the brake while starting the car!
Naturally, if someone is getting a donor profile for the first time, it can be a bit daunting. There are lots of sections; some filled with charts and graphs while others have lots of information. And what’s with the “likely” and “possibly” speculation?
Read More »Learning to Drive: Using Prospect Research for Early Cultivation MeetingsIt happens. You get that profile and say to yourself, “Well, I knew all THAT,” or you take one look… Read More »How to Unlock the Major Gift Magic in Profiles and Capacity Ratings
Aspire Research Group LLC released Disruptive Philanthropy: A Guide to Donor Advised Funds written by Research Consultant, Elisa Shoenberger. This book was born out of a desire to examine both sides of the donor advised fund – the advantages and the disadvantages.
Just in case you are not experiencing soaring temperatures outside, let me remind you that it is officially summertime. And… Read More »Off the Shelf: The Best of Aspire…and Beyond