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.
But you need more than data – and more than just an assessment of wealth.
Because you know that giving is not about the money. Philanthropy is about the relationship, the feelings – the impact a gift has on the cause.
At Aspire, we help organizations segment their donors by multiple variables, starting with affinity or how close the donor feels to the organization. Next are philanthropic indicators and last, but not least, are wealth indicators.
Yes, you need to know about the wealth potential of your donors, but that needs to be framed by the likelihood those donors will give to your organization.
And you definitely need more than a data dump.
We have spoken with many campaign fundraisers over the years. They are talented and successful, raising millions of dollars a year. But when they purchase technology that promises to identify major gift prospects, they find themselves face to face with spreadsheets and endless search results.
It is not their fault that all their hard work honing their development and relationship skills didn’t include data analysis!
Thankfully, we love data analysis at Aspire. And we love finding ways to bridge from the data we love to the campaign you are planning. In fact, we take our standard framework and customize it for every single client we serve.
Because every fundraiser, every organization, every constituency, and every campaign is different.
Learn how prospect research supports you at each stage of your campaign, complementing the work of your campaign director and/or campaign consultant.
You need actionable information for your unique campaign.
Just as you take the time to get to know your donors so that you can ask them for meaningful and appropriate gifts, Aspire takes the time to get to know you, your campaign, and your data.
We use proven research techniques and combine that with good questions and a lot of listening.
Because sometimes there are opportunities in the data that can help shape your approach. For example, you might not have all the prospects you need at the top level, but you might be “bursting the column” with the count of warm donors at a giving level one or two rows down.
Or you might have some unusual activity in your gift dates and amounts or even geographic location that is either a surprise or a reminder about your organization’s historical activities. These could be exciting opportunities or areas that need to be recognized and addressed in communications.
You need advice, meaningful information, and insights that let you clearly decide on the right actions to take.
That’s why you need a research partner.
With the rapid pace of change in information technology, Aspire guides you to the right amount of research at the right time, right up to the moment you cross the campaign finish line – and beyond.
Find out how prospect research intersects with all the phases of a campaign. Download our free Guide to Leveraging Research in a Campaign. This guide clearly spells out how prospect research supports you at each stage of your campaign, complementing the work of your campaign director or campaign consultant.
