Any parent of a toddler is likely to have seen the Disney film Frozen several times. As I was watching it for the 50th time, I realized that Frozen actually has a lot of lessons that we as researchers and major gift fundraisers can take to heart. Using the movie as a lens into creating a better more sustainable prospect management system, following are five lessons from Frozen about Prospect Management.
1-Don’t Shut Yourself Off
We all know how well isolating Elsa from her family and the rest of the kingdom went for her and everyone else. Frankly, it made everything worse for herself and her loved ones.
The same goes for prospect management. You have to reach out to those new prospects, even the cold ones. You can’t shut yourself up in your office, calling the same prospects over and over again. You’ll tap them out and miss out on opportunities with new prospects. You’ll find that there’s some real diamonds in the mix who want to help your organization.
2-Be Prepared
Anna quickly realized that she was not quite prepared for her venture into the snowy forest so she went to find some supplies, notably boots and a jacket.
Fundraisers need to be prepared before working to fulfill their major gift fundraising goals.
The tools for success include a portfolio full of promising prospects; a pool of not yet qualified or not quite ready prospects to pull from when they need new prospects; and good intel about prospects to have more meaningful conversations with them.
On top of that, it’s important that major gift fundraisers and prospect managers review the portfolio to make sure the prospects are the right fit. That can mean having semi-annual (or ideally monthly) meetings where you review the portfolio, prospect by prospect, by prospect stage, or discuss open gift opportunities. The team talks about how cultivation is going, what is needed, or if that person needs to be removed from the portfolio and/or other pressing fundraising needs.
With a healthy portfolio, fundraisers will be able to reach their fundraising goals.
3-Find Another Way
When Anna lost her horse trying to follow Elsa up the mountain, Anna did not give up. Instead, she looked for another way to get up the mountain. That’s when she solicited the help of Kristoff (and Sven) to help her.
With reaching out to prospects, if one way doesn’t work, like an email or letter, you should try another way. Picking up the phone or inviting them to an in person event might get a better response than other methods. Or vice versa. Just because one way of contacting prospects doesn’t work, doesn’t mean that there’s no way to reach them.
Similarly, prospect management and research can help strategize with you to figure out the best way to cultivate a prospect. We can look at their philanthropy, their work, and more to help identify possible strategies to better engage a prospect, hot or cold.
4-Ask for Help
And if you are still unable to contact a new prospect, it’s time to ask for help. Not only did Anna ask Kristoff (and Sven) to help her, but Elsa learns that there are people around her who can help her. She does not have to go it alone.
Neither do you. Major gift officers and research and prospect management can team up to find those hot new major gift prospects. And research can find new contact information or help you get to know a little bit more (or a lot) about a prospect. That way you can spend more time developing those relationships than doing your own research.
5-Let It Go
Yes, sometimes like Elsa, you have to just let it go. For Elsa, she had to accept herself and let go of those feelings that she hid inside. For fundraisers, sometimes we have to admit when something isn’t working.
Sometimes a prospect just isn’t working out. They may not be interested; they may not have the means to give a major gift. Despite everything, your major gifts team cannot reach them. It’s time to let the prospect go back into the pool or be disqualified.
Sources
How Prospect Research Brings Confidence to Your Prospect Meetings l Aspire Research Group 2024
Stepping Into Prospect Management Workshop l September 3, 2024 l Aspire Research Group
Add Speed to Major Gift Portfolios with RPM | September 2, 2024 | Jennifer Filla Blog