Prospect research is all about finding assets and drooling over the gift possibilities, but at today’s AFP Suncoast chapter meeting, I heard all about the challenges of accepting some of those non-traditional assets as gifts. Two accountants from Gregory Sharer & Stuart, Catherine Mary Sullivan and Amy Mierzejewski told us to be prepared to boldly look the gift horse in the mouth!

Taxes and audits are not easy lunch conversation, but Catherine and Amy walked us through the important parts of a gift acceptance policy and why we should have one. Talking to donor prospects is always a delicate dance and having a gift acceptance policy gives you:

*  A graceful way to let the prospect know you’ll be inspecting the opportunity with counsel and possibly decline the gift
*  Talk about who needs to pay for the costs incurred by accepting the gift, such as appraisals and valuations
*  And lets the prospect know your organization is a good steward of its mission by accepting only the gifts it is capable of using

As part of the conversation, Catherine and Amy touched upon the many issues that arise with gifts like gold coins, real estate, gift annuities and more. And of course, it was quite clear that they are accountants and we are fundraisers – which is to say that if I ever had to consider accepting an unusual gift, I would definitely call Gregory Sharer & Stuart for their expertise and NOT try to do it myself!

Prospect research is the same way. If you just need preliminary information to make a first visit with a prospect, Google away. But if you are going to ask for big-hairy-scary-gift, you need to call on someone like Aspire Research Group to provide you with a donor prospect profile that will make sure you walk away with the major gift that rewards your organization *and* respects the donor.

Do you need a donor prospect profile? Contact Aspire Research Group today.