Research Fundamentals
201 Look, Ma! No Hands: Lessons Learned From Our First Year
Joni Warner, Director of Research for Development, Saint Mary’s College
Thursday, August 21
8:30am – 10:00am
What is important when you are starting your first few years as a prospect researcher? Is it quality or quantity of research? Creating office policies or defining best practices? This presentation will provide you with the essential elements from the perspective of a small research shop with three staff members, all of whom are new to prospect research with less than three years of experience. You will learn how to manage, simplify and produce information in a small research shop as well as where your time and energy should be focused in your first few years as a prospect researcher.
211 The Basics of Estimating: Asset‑Based Giving Capacity
Jeff Watson, Director, Prospect Research & Management, Pomona College
Thursday, August 21
10:30am – 12:00pm
This presentation is an introduction to the basic process of asset-based major/principal gift capacity estimation. The goal is to help participants establish productive work strategies that will be a permanent part of their research skills set. We will describe, demonstrate and estimate prospects’ giving capacity based on assets found and other indicators. Brief participant exercises follow each of the presentation’s sections.
221 Absolutely Must Have Resources
Monika Dorough, Senior Proactive Researcher, University of California San Francisco
May Yee, Senior Researcher, University of California San Francisco
Thursday, August 21
2:30pm – 4:00pm
What are the basic resources every researcher should know? Which free and paid resources are essential? There are many resources for fundraising: information services, prospect management databases, wealth screening services, data-mining tools and predictive-modeling vendors. Our poll showed that researchers use one search engine and one database constantly and focus on one or two functions. We need to diversify resources, and use features of each to maximize precision, depth, efficiency and cost. A section on Google, Nexis and public library digital resources helps researchers stock their tool kits.
301 Real Estate Research and Financial Analysis
Thomas Hampsey, Director of Development Research, Lafayette College
Friday, August 22
8:30am – 10:00am
A property record is sometimes the only significant indicator of wealth available on a prospect. It is important that researchers develop the best valuation methods and techniques in real estate research. Join this session to learn about the many facets of real estate research including online real estate sources, key real estate terminology, methods for determining a property’s market value, techniques for discovering multiple property ownership, formulas for translating property information into an estimate of an individual’s total assets and giving ability, and a review of free and fee-based sources for conducting real estate research.
311 Putting It All Together — Developing Analysis and Strategy
Christina Pulawski, Principal, Christina Pulawski Consulting
Friday, August 22
2:30pm – 4:00pm
The key to a successful and respected research shop is analyzing and presenting prospect information in a way that’s relevant to your “clients,” and their needs and situations. This session will cover all elements of pulling together and presenting information — from mechanics to analysis. Learn what’s relevant, what to include and exclude in reports and how to design formats and presentation approaches that work for your situation or institution. Most importantly, gain knowledge about crafting and presenting analysis and strategy gleaned from the information you’ve unearthed.
401 The Daily Push — Showcasing Research to Development Staff
Robin Eidle, Associate Director, Research, Emory University
Saturday, August 23
8:30am – 10:00am
Pushing information to the development staff you serve is an excellent way to showcase research capabilities and increase contact with fundraising staff. It also provides a constant flow of proactive information and increases knowledge of your prospects. The speaker will discuss and demonstrate several easy, inexpensive methods for creating a daily push memo from research to development.
411 The Fundamentals of International Research
Maria Estrada, International Prospecting Manager, The Nature Conservancy
Jennifer MacCormack, Associate Director, Development Research, University of Washington
Saturday, August 23
10:30am – 12:00pm
The expansion of fundraising activities to the international arena has forced prospect researchers to think in new and innovative ways about how they collect and analyze personal and financial information. It requires building a new toolkit of research resources as well as learning a whole new culture of philanthropy. Speakers will focus on how their respective shops approached the seemingly daunting task of building international prospect pools — from establishing a protocol to identifying and acquiring the necessary resources and putting it all into practice. The session will focus on experiences with prospect identification in Asia and Latin America.
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