Can You Raise Millions Without Prospect Research?

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“You’ve been raising MILLIONS with no prospect research and no prospect management?” I’ve asked this question incredulously in my head many times during my consulting career. As 2019 draws to a close and I have been reflecting over the work we’ve done at Aspire Research Group, I had an “aha!” moment. I finally have a real understanding about why and how some organizations are so successful at raising money, even when there is no prospect research.

It’s the Relationships

I know, it sounds lame. We hear it all the time. People give to people. Donors have to trust you before they give. And maybe it is no coincidence that some of the most successful organizations Aspire serves are religious-based. Their religious leadership excels at creating deep, loyal, and long-lasting relationships.

One client has a team of development officers scattered around the country, each responsible for major gift fundraising. When the new vice president joined the team, among other things, he introduced some moves management practices and he purchased wealth screening services. Who needs a prospect research professional with all of those millions going on?

But this vice president knew he would have to raise significantly more and do it efficiently, to fund the president’s new vision. Wealth screenings are great, but they only provide very raw data. He needed his best prospects prioritized and he and his team needed to confirm information about them as they entered into a unique short-term giving opportunity.

In other words, the team needed to break through to the next level of major giving at their organization.

Identify and Prioritize | Engage and Ask

There are two categories of activities that most often awaken fundraising leadership to prospect research. First, they need to identify and prioritize prospects. A new and pressing vision or opportunity pushes leadership to dig deeper. There is a desire to identify all good prospects and to prioritize them as best prospects, not just wealthy prospects. Best prospects are ones that can be reached, are likely to give, and can give big.

Second, once there is confidence in the prospect pipeline, the next task is to engage and ask for a gift. Once a client has witnessed the power of research, the discussion is not usually “should we?” Instead it is usually along the lines of “how much information do we need and when?”

Internal and External Relationships

But research alone is never enough to break through to a new level of giving. And that’s why I love working with leaders. A leader hires great people and trusts them to do good work. And when an organization demonstrates great relationship-building with donors, it often follows that the organization has a relationship-building culture embodied in and modeled by its leaders.

It was when I was reviewing and reflecting over our list of active clients that the “aha!” hit me. When there is a culture of relationship-building internally, this is likely to spill over externally to donors – and consultants – too. And this means two things for Aspire: (1) The vice president or director of development is not going to have to fight to get research because leadership is likely to hire people they trust to make those decisions; and (2) using research such as wealth screenings, prospect management, and prospect profiles is going to be much more successful because development officers already know how to build great relationships.

And sure enough, when reviewing our client list, those indicators are there:

  • A longer sales process involving more up-front meetings to talk about needs and services, but a quick turnaround on signing the agreement and starting the work. The development officer is trusted to make a good decision and in turn, is concerned about what kind of relationship s/he can have with us.
  • The development director brings the executive director or vice president on a review call and I hear the supervisor saying things to the development director like: “it’s up to you to decide” or “that’s why I hired you, because you’re the expert.”
  • We screen the active donor base for wealth and a high percentage of donors are highly rated for wealth and philanthropy. When listening to the conversation as the team recognizes some of the top names, it is the same story of relationship-building over and over again as they recount how donors were engaged by leadership.

These smaller development offices with maybe one or a handful of staff have tremendous fundraising opportunities. How? Because they and the organizations they serve build strong relationships.

Aha! It really is about Relationships!

I wanted to share my “aha!” moment because a shift in perspective opens the door for innovation.
Consider the following statements:

  • Yes, you can raise millions and millions of dollars in gifts without prospect research. On the flipside, data and information increase in value if an organization excels at relationship-building.
  • Yes, you can break through to new and higher levels of giving with prospect research. On the flipside, information and data cannot solve a lack of relationship-building skills.

Relationship-building is not something you can read about and then excel at. It is a skill that requires practice. In this month of reflection as we await the New Year, how well are you and your organization doing at relationship-building–internally and externally?

Additional Resources

Every human being needs to learn and practice how to build relationships. I picked these two resources because they are easy to read and adopt and they complement each other. Enjoy!