welcome afp/pano collaborative conference, sept. 21, 2015, prospect research on a shoestring
TRANSCRIPT
PROSPECT RESEARCH
ON A
SHOESTRING…
Welcome
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Goals for Session
Specific project
Prospecting for planned giving prospects
How to visualize results
More general discussion of free and low cost resources and projects
Staffing options
Take homes, handouts
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Why an RFM Model?
Broad application• Can apply to all/most non profits
Data• Donor records• Several years worth of donation data• Does not require deep, broad data on your donors
Excel, does not require advanced stats, stats package
Can make it more complex
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
What is an RFM Model?
“RFM is a method used for analyzing customer value. It is commonly used in database marketing and direct marketing and has received particular attention in retail and professional services industries.”
RFM stands for:
• Recency - How recently did the customer purchase?
• Frequency - How often do they purchase?
• Monetary Value - How much do they spend?
Business tool
Way of simplifying your donor data
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
What is an RFM Model?, Cont’d
• Requirements• Donor records• History of donations• IT help
• Excel
• Scoring model• Simplistic• Additive
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Why build a model?
• Will identify donors “flying below the radar”
• Will find people in the next tier• Leadership annual giving/annual fund donors
• Can be used to:• Prioritize suspects• Prioritize unknown groups of prospects, attendees,
results of a screening• Prioritize phonathon calls
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
How to…
Decide on rating scale• 0-10 points, max. of 30• 0-5 point, max of 15
Pull list of donors onlySort data by variable #1, Recency
• Rank best to worst
Look at where the data breaks• Don’t have to divide groups evenly• Want to separate best donors from others
Score donors in a new columnRepeat for Variables #2 (Frequency) and #3 (Monetary)Sum the 3 scores
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Results
• Sort known prospects vs. unknown• Then by score
• Known---review for upgrading• Unknown---review for assignment/visit, more
research
Excel file
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Results, Cont’d.
• Add to the file• As you gather/gain more data• Children? (presence/absence, yes/no)• Gender, age• Giving Trend (up/down/flat)• Engagement score• External screening results
• Add negative variable(s)• Multiple pledge write-offs
• Repeat for different ‘flavors’ of giving• Annual vs. capital vs. endowment vs. reunion giving vs. total giving
• Add RFM score to fundraising system• label score so people know Hi and Low• Allow fundraisers to target the highest scoring in each city
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Prospecting for
Planned Giving Prospects
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Data Visualization• How to use RFM scores and ratings to prioritize your prospect
pool
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Data Visualization, Cont’d.
• Sample report
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Data Mining
• Study your best donors
• Determine what demographics they have in common
• Apply these criteria to your database of donors to see who else has the same demographics
• Sample• Top 50 donors:
What they have in common• 3+ consecutive
years giving• Home zip codes:
17011, 17050, 17055
• RFM score: 250-280• Marital status:
Married• Age range: 58-75
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
The One-Person Research Shop
Creating prospect research program takes timeGets you and your staff focused on top prospectsWhere to StartDatabase
CleanAccurate ConsistentChecklist for GOsImportance of Call ReportsInstitutional memory is lost every time a staff member leaves the organizationIf it's not in the database, it didn't happen.
Create RatingsCapacityAffinity
AlertsNews
Personal (Donor names)Business (Donors' companies)Organization (Yours)
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
The One-Person Research Shop
Now the "Research"Prioritize
Begin with top-rated capacity and affinity donors/prospectsCreate a template for a profile to compile info Create a checklist of sources to search (see handouts)
InternalExternalPersonal
Develop your instinctsIt's like putting the pieces of a puzzle together”It takes just as much time to find nothing as it does to find something."Know when to stop
What next?In depth data miningDevelop (or use established) wealth capacity formulasLook for NEW prospects to your organization
Prospect research partner with development officers to raise more funds more efficiently
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
What PR Can Contribute to an Org.
Value addCapacity buildingPrioritize all workInform ask amounts, not under ask
Skilled in dataData acquisitionInformation and knowledge managementReporting
Is a neutral partyPerformance metrics
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Staffing OptionsWhen PR is not a full-time or a dedicated role
MetricsGoal setting
Numeric goals, e.g., “identify 10 new MG prospects quarterly”
Creative Staffingvolunteers, retirees, interns, admin assistant
OutsourcingConsultant for list prioritizationBuy what you can afford, X hours then stopRetirees
Wealth screeningsCosts have come downScreen all constituents, buy what you can affordBuy just the top 50-100-200+ records ….. that are not yet in your MG pipeline
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Aha! moments
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Questions?
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring
Thank You!
Ted Reese, [email protected]
Jane A. Price, [email protected]
Emily Helman, [email protected]
Cindy Progin, [email protected]
AFP/PANO Collaborative Conference, Sept. 21, 2015, Prospect Research on a Shoestring