Every charity needs to top up its pool of prospects regularly and, if planning a major appeal, to expand it significantly. This is the work of prospect research, which is a specialist area of fundraising. We talked to Robin Jones, one of our prospect researchers, about what this involves and what to consider before you begin.
Robin began working in prospect research in 1995 at the Factary in Bristol, eventually becoming MD there, before working independently from 2003. Since then, he has worked with a very wide range of charities across all fields to identify prospects in the areas of trusts, companies and high net worth individuals (HNWIs). He is one of the most experienced prospect researchers in the UK and is well known as a trainer and writer in this field.
A Changing Landscape
Since Robin began working in prospect research, he says “everything and nothing has changed”. In the 90s, everything was paper based. Then came CD databases, followed by online tools and social media. AI is the latest change. However, although the tools and techniques have changed, the fundamentals have remained the same. Charities still need funds and want to identify good prospects. Potential donors are still out there to be found – it is only the methodologies that have changed.
Key Skills
So which skills does an effective prospect researcher need? Robin is clear they require a forensic approach, good time management, a clear focus and self-discipline. A good prospect researcher must be interested in people and what motivates them. An understanding of current technology helps too. Prospect research is not a frontline role but today is much more integrated into fundraising teams than before. It is no longer a backroom function, so researchers need to be team players. They also need to manage expectations and be assertive about what level of information is needed, especially initially, as more can always be added as donor relationships develop. Otherwise, it is too easy to waste time on large volumes of detail, which may then be wasted. Sometimes, less is more.
Approaching a new Assignment
Robin’s approach to a new client assignment is to ask some key questions. What does the charity need funding for and how much? Is this for revenue, capital or core costs? Who does the charity know already? Is there a database of supporters and what is already known about them? How many prospects are needed? Are they looking for trusts, companies or HNWIs (or all three)? It is always quicker and cheaper to start with warm prospects than to look for cold ones. A brief from the client should spell out what is required and provide the basis for the assignment. It is also important to know how the charity will manage the research output when it is delivered. Research is like bread. It goes stale and so cannot be left too long before use. So there is no point conducting a large research project if the charity does not have the capacity to use it, ideally within three months. Robin gives the example of a museum that commissioned some database screening which identified 800 prospects, which was far too much for the sole fundraiser to handle, so the output had to be further segmented to make it manageable. From a GDPR perspective too, it is not good practice to hold on to unused research output. It should be used in good time or deleted, so charities need to match their prospect research to their capacity to use it promptly.
How to get the best out of a Prospect Researcher
Robin stresses that clients can positively influence the outcome of an assignment by playing their part. Apart from providing a clear brief, as discussed, it is important to set out why the research is to be done, how it fits with the fundraising strategy, how it will be used, by whom and when. By working with the researcher over time (as opposed to just seeing the task as a one-off), the research can be integrated into the fundraising process, enabling the charity to gain more value from it.
Research Specifics
For trust fundraising research, there is a lot of information in the public domain, so a lot of charities conduct this themselves (although there are a lot of trusts not to be found in the popular subscription databases, so once these are exhausted, it can still make sense to commission external research). Robin mainly focuses on looking at the people behind the trusts and foundations he researches, in order to enable contact mapping, as well as looking at the source of funds for due diligence. This can add a lot of value and also avoid future problems. He also screens databases to identify trustees of trusts, who may appear as individual supporters, in order to facilitate an approach to their trusts.
Corporate prospect research varies considerably, with many companies now having corporate foundations, which can easily be researched. However, Robin adds value by looking at those companies with less public forms of giving, to identify decision makers, past recipients and examples of support. He also conducts due diligence to see whether a potential corporate partner is a good ethical fit with the charity or not.
HNWIs are still an important source of funds for many charities and, despite the advent of GDPR, can still be researched as before, providing compliance is followed correctly. It is a matter of being disciplined about data storage, handling and deletion. Crucially, the client charity must have a sound privacy notice and full records must be kept. The charity will always be the data controller and will commission research on the basis of legitimate interest. As with trusts and corporates, Robin will always start by looking at existing, warm supporters to identify any HNWIs before looking externally. This is likely to lead to quicker donations and a higher response rate. Where looking externally, he advises that 8 or 10 prospects will probably be needed to achieve on major gift. For warm prospects, the ratio is nearer 3 or 4 to 1.
The Impact of AI
As in all areas of fundraising, AI is starting to impact prospect research, where the main benefit is to speed work up. Accuracy can still be an issue, so everything still has to be checked, ideally with both primary and secondary sources. AI is still not very good at identifying prospects but can be good for helping to research markets. For example, Robin recently produced a report on trusts and foundations in various European countries, where AI provided a useful overview and starting point for further research.
Will AI ever replace prospect researchers? Robin thinks not. “There will always be a role, even if the nature of this is evolving. So how we access and manage data will change, but there will always be work for experienced prospect researchers who can add value. AI is just another tool in the kit”. Increasingly, AI is being incorporated into how charities carry out research, but humans are still needed for critical thinking and ethical judgement.
Why use an External Prospect Researcher?
In Robin’s view, there are some key reasons to consider using external research, including:
- You can access many years of experience at low cost
- Professional researchers subscribe to a wide range of databases and sources
- It saves a fundraising team a lot of time and effort
- Information and capacity can be provided quickly if needed
- It provides flexibility, so charities may not need their own inhouse researcher
For Further Information
If you have questions about prospect research or would like to discuss commissioning some, please feel free to contact Ben Ansell on ben@wgconsulting.co.uk or call him for a free chat on 01903 723519