1. Identify prospects including your own donors. Research their background and history and find appropriate ways to approach them.
2. Resources are available and need to be read under the fundraising lens. Press releases, annual reports, directories, internet searches, files and fundraising databases are some examples.
3. Manage and update your information on a regular basis. You want to be able to identify links between donors, organizations and giving history.
4. Database. You should a have a solid, reliable database that can be used for research and analysis of giving and soliciting. It can be a spreadsheet to begin...anything that captures your data.
5. Find prospects through your own "6 Degrees of Separation". Each donor can open up new avenues and ways to turn prospects into donors
6. New prospects can be found through your research to find new groups or funders who are aligned with your organization's interests.
7. Match prospect interests with your own and your work. Do not force the fit. Do your research.
8. Personal intelligence gathering and experience to confirm your research, find out new details, names and other bits of information, but beware of GOSSIP! Don't assume anything.
9. Approach strategies define preliminary approach plans, revise your angles for asking and always look for the best 'ask' based upon your research.
10. Supporting donor development by growing relationships and through support of your own donors. This includes capturing information about how they like to be approached, how to keep them informed and how you can improve the relationship in the future.
Adapted from: "Prospecting Strategies for Online Research" JMG Solutions, Inc.
~Cheers!
