The Prospector
Blackbaud's Prospect Research Blog

November 2009 - Posts

Upcoming Web Seminars... November & December
We here at Target Analytics understand your need to get the most out of your fundraising and prospect research efforts. With that in mind, we have several new events scheduled to help you do just that!   Join us for these upcoming online client events:

How to Build a Strong Planned Giving Program - Difficult economic times can produce uncertain fundraising efforts  A strong planned giving program, no matter when established, engages and celebrates the generosity of our organizations’ supporters.  Increase your knowledge about planned giving donors and their behavior in a slow economy; examine your legacy gift program’s markers for success and set your sights on a brighter future.
November 6, 2009; 2-3:00pm EDT ~ Katherine Swank  Register Now


How to Talk to Donors About Planned Gifts - Donors want to make a difference in the world they live in, both now and in the future. So successful planned giving programs start with simple messaging and evolve into life-long relationships with constituents. Join Katherine Swank to learn how to start your planned giving program today by throwing out the law school admissions form on your desk and learn to talk with donors about their dreams and wishes for your organization!
November 19, 2009; 2-3:00pm EDT ~ Katherine Swank  Register Now 


Planned Giving Marketing Strategies - Once we know the characteristics of planned giving donors, how do we market the planned giving option to these prospects in an efficient and effective manner? From seminars and direct mail, to testimonials and the Internet, which strategies are best suited for your type of organization? How is planned giving marketing successfully integrated with other ongoing development functions? How do we know when our efforts are successful? These questions and more will be addressed and answered in this session with Lawrence Henze, Managing Director of Target Analytics! Learn now to incorporate proven planned giving marketing tactics into your existing development efforts.
November 11, 2009; 2-3:00pm EDT ~ Lawrence Henze Register Now


 
Ideas that work: Building a strategy for prospect research
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 by Kelly Dewald | with no comments
Filed under:

Erin McHugh Saif, Target Analytics Product Manger, was recently feautured in Philanthropy Journal sharing ideas that help nonprofits reach their long-term fundraising goals.

"Fundraisers everywhere are being asked to implement bold strategies to ensure program stability. Add to the mix the fact that donor and prospect information changes at lightning speed, and you can understand why fundraising professionals are feeling anxious. Organizations that have implemented analytics and prospect research best practices are weathering this environment better than most. Good use of analytics brings stability to the development office, builds accountability with leadership and board members, and successfully uncovers new prospects with strong affinity for your mission." Read the entire Philanthropy Journal article.



 
Target Analytics... Break it Down for Me (Part 2 - WealthPoint)

On more than one occasion, you've probably asked yourself (or a customer support analyst) "...what is the difference between The Researcher's Edge and ProspectPoint? What about ResearchPoint and WealthPoint? Well, what services does my organization have? I'm confused..." We hear you and want to make your experience with Target Analytics much less confusing. Over the past few years, we've undergone some changes here at Blackbaud. From Blackbaud Analytics to Target Analytics, a Blackbaud Company, we've created new partnerships through acquisitions and mergers, and our product menu has changed to meet the needs of our nonprofit customers. Because we do offer different products and services, depending on your organizational goals and needs, we want to make sure you're clear on the products you're currently using.

WealthPoint (wealth screening services): How well do you know your donors and prospects? Could you report on their salaries, private business and public stock holdings, real estate purchases, and other wealth characteristics in a matter of minutes? If not, that's where Target Analytics steps in to assist in your research efforts. Oh WealthPoint, how we love thee. WealthPoint has many faces; you've seen it in The Raiser's Edge and The Researcher's Edge, where you can run searches on your prospects and donors. In ResearchPoint, search from a prospect record (receive auto-refresh of data sources) and run searches for groups of records at a time. If you don't use Blackbaud software, we can even return a file with the results of your wealth screenings (to be imported into your fundraising system). Many organizations employ our wealth screening services by sending us large lists for batch screenings, and other use a subscription to screen donors and prospects at their own page.

So, to recap, WealthPoint is an asset and philanthropic history tool that allows you to plug in names and addresses to find many different wealth data points. Learn more about our wealth data sources. Check back for other posts in the series, including WealthPoint OnTime, custom modeling, and ResearchPoint.



 
ResearchPoint v1.6 is released - November 9!

New Batch Types

We significantly improved the data import process in this release, including the ability to edit or append constituent data, modeling scores, educational history, and giving summary information.

To accommodate these improvements, we added several new batch types:

  • Constituent Update Batch: Updates and adds records based on information included in an import file or batch. When importing, to identify existing records, the import process compares the record ID included in the import file to system lookup IDs and alternate lookup IDs.
  • Modeling and Propensity Update Batch: Updates constituent modeling and propensity data based on information included in an import file or batch.  When importing, to identify existing records, the import process compares the record ID included in the import file to system lookup IDs and alternate lookup IDs.
  • Giving Summary Update Batch: Updates constituent giving history data based on information included in an import file or batch.  When importing, to identify existing records, the import process compares the record ID included in the import file to system lookup IDs and alternate lookup IDs.
  • Education History Update Batch: Updates constituent education history data based on information included in an import file or batch. This batch type also allows you to update spouse education information. When importing, to identify existing records, the import process compares the record ID included in the import file to system lookup IDs and alternate lookup IDs.

All four batch types are available in Batch Entry. For more information, see the Batch Entry and the Import chapters in Data Management.

New Fields in Query

  • The Prospect manager, Research status, WealthPoint search date, and WealthPoint updates enabled fields are now available in Query.

Research Group Report Added

  • You can now prepare and print prospect research reports for all members of a research group.

Automatic Logout Disabled

  • In ResearchPoint 1.6, we disabled the automatic logout feature to improve usability. To ensure data security and privacy, application users do need to make sure they close their Web browser after using ResearchPoint on a public machine.