Are you getting the most out of your research?

Are you getting the most out of your research?

Sacha Newman – Research Manager, National Trust

Edward Brown – Research Manager, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity

About us

Sacha Newman• Currently Research Manager at National Trust• Over eight years working in prospect research• Responsibility for the development of Raiser’s Edge database• Chair of the Researchers in Fundraising (RIF) special interest group and

South West RIF networking group.

Edward Brown• Currently Research Manager at GOSHCC• Eight years working in prospect research• Former corporate fundraising focused researcher• Marketing Officer for RIF

The focus of this session• What makes a good brief?

• Why it is important to have a brief in the first place.

• How to deliver the ‘right’ information for stakeholders

• When to stop researching

• Actionable information for fundraisers

• Getting research – FAST!

• Building the researcher / fundraiser relationship

The Problem – the researcher’s POV

The Problem – the fundraiser’s POV

The Problem…

What you asked for isn’t what you got

The fundraiser thinks they were right

The researcher thinks they were right!

Who was right? – who knows!It all comes down to a inadequate brief and poor

communication

What makes a good brief?Some not-so-good examples:

“His surname starts with ‘Mc’, he lives near Elgin and owns a refrigeration company”

“Oh, just do the interesting people”

“Can you look into a potential corporate trust? Can’t remember the name but it is attached to a financial company based in London”

“I want to know as much as you can find out, along with all of Richard Branson’s connections….” (he has over 4 million…..)

“Can you send me full profiles of the top 100 charitable trusts in the UK by the end of next week…?”

“Can you provide short bios on everyone on our ticketing database…?”

THIS IS NOT ENTIRELY HELPFUL…

What makes a good brief?A good brief is a written explanation - given to a researcher - outlining the aims, objectives and milestones of a project.

A thorough and articulate brief is a critical part of the research process.

It helps develop trust and understanding between the fundraiser and researcher - and serves as an essential point of reference for both parties.

Above all, the brief ensures that important issues are considered and questioned before the researcher starts work.

And the outcome of the brief, the profile, is determined by how useful the end-user found it to move the relationship forward with the potential funder.

The better the brief, the better the profile

What makes a good brief?

In the case of preparing information for a fundraiser, a researcher will want to know the following:

• What makes this prospect of interest?

• What is the information for?

• When do you need this research?

• What type of research is needed?

• Who is the research for and how will they be using it?

• What do you already know about the prospect?

An example of a good brief

Scenario:• Dame Helen Ghosh was going to be in New York for a board meeting with Royal Oak

Foundation (NT’s American friends of organisation - 501c3)

• The Trust fundraising team had arranged for her to meet with one of their top anonymous donors during her visit

• She wanted to know why she was meeting them, what the foundation was all about, who would be at that meeting, what they had supported and an update on the projects’ progress, what our plans were for the future, and what her objective and expected outcome was from that meeting

• The team produced full briefing notes - bullet points - she was very pleased with them

• The most important parts: “who’s who”, “current news” and “conversation openers” were highlighted at the top

• She had a clear objective for her meeting and therefore enabled us to follow up effectively afterwards

Another example of a good briefFor example, if someone requests a list of T&F Prospects who could donate £100,000+ to a disability project, it’s important to know:

• The total sum of funding required?

• Is it for a capital or revenue project?

• Which particular disabilities will be helped (funders are often very specific, particularly in exclusions)?

• How important is the £100k level? What if a funder ticked all the boxed but could only make £75k? Is there a figure above which they would not accept a gift?

• Exclusions: Who are their current donors? Do they have an ethical policy which would exclude certain corporate foundations?

• What about personal charitable foundations? Are these fair game? Or would these fall under a Major Donor remit?

The benefits of a good brief

http://fundraisergrrl.tumblr.com/post/89760262674/when-your-prospectresearch-team-finds-great-prospects

http://fundraisergrrl.tumblr.com/post/89279199746/when-i-write-perfect-briefing-notes-that-my-ceo-likes

A profile is only as good as the brief

What makes a good brief?

PROSPECT RESEARCH REQUEST FORM Prospect Name: What makes this prospect of interest? E.g: Contact with this prospect revealed gift capacity Giving history suggests gift capacity Referral from volunteer Referral from staff Recent change in assets Recent news about person/company/foundation

Reason for request? E.g: Qualification Initial contact Visit preparation Solicitation Planning Meeting Ongoing cultivation

Type of Research Full Profile: includes all known information about the prospect (for solicitation planning) Update: Refresh out-of-date profiles Snapshot: 1 page summary

Date required Please select a date based on when you need/or are likely to do something with the research! If the request is high priority please provide a reason

Additional information

http://forms.london.edu/form.asp?id=13707

What makes a good brief?

Request Forms – good or bad?

The Good The Bad

Brief can be followed to the letter Strips away personal interaction

Researcher can estimate time/resources needed to

completeStrips away context and background of request

All pertinent information on one page Strips away viable solutions

Keeps the requester focused Not always filled in correctly

http://www.supportingadvancement.com/

Preparing the briefWe need the key ingredients• Background to the problem• Description of what is to be

researched• Description of markets to be

researched• Statement of objectives• Background materials• Resources & Budget• Timing constraints• Research methodology• Ethical considerations• Outcomes• Reporting requirements / progress

reports

Preparing the brief

So… Form vs. Face?

• Do both!– Form gives details, but a face-to-face gives the

researcher a chance to question all aspects of the research request

Preparing the brief

A checklist of Qs for researchers to consider to draw out any tacit info:• Who are the key decision makers? What do they look for?• Who else do they support? Do trustees also support organisations

individually?• What is our connection with the trust?• Has there been any indication of an influx of funds (selling of shares,

annual bonuses)• Have you met with any trustee before? What were they like? What were

they interested in?• Are there any details you know regarding submission of proposals?• Are you happy for us to make contact with the Trust correspondent to

verify the application process?

Outcomes of the brief

• Importance of communication– throughout the organisation, as well as between

fundraiser/researcher

• Testing your objectives, expectations and assumptions– requester needs to think about the brief, as well as the researcher.– Needs to consider ultimate objectives– Needs to be flexible in how information is produced

• Progress reporting– Are we on track? Has information gleaned so far met or challenged

our objectives or assumptions?

• How can we measure success of a research project?

Delivering the ‘right’ information for fundraisers• Obviously differs from org-to-org and person-to-

person, request-to-request– What might be classed as an ‘in-depth’ profile at one

organisation might be classed as a two-page brief at another

• A full profile: – “…contains data a professional researcher can ethically

find in publicly held sources that are relevant to the successful fundraising process and which helps build a stronger bond between the donor and the organisation”

Delivering the ‘right’ information for fundraisers

A full profile can contain all of the following:

• Name• Link to the organisation• Addresses• Photo• Career history• Spouse and family information• Philanthropic interests / Giving History (where available)• Trusteeships of grant-making or family trusts• Relevant networks• Wealth indicators• Recent news

How should this information be presented?...

Delivering the ‘right’ information for fundraisers

Imagine…You have a £1m prospect – every indicator shows that she wants to give a BIG gift, and you have great access to her and she already supports your charity on a small scale. You want to tell everyone!

What’s the first thing you say?

“Mary Jones was born on 2nd July 1950 and is the daughter of Michael and Judy, she

married James Smith in London in 1974 and has two children”…

How should this information be presented?...

Delivering the ‘right’ information for fundraisers

NO!Obviously you would say:

“I’ve found a £1m prospect! She already gives, she loves us and is best friends with our

biggest advocate!”

However, many research profiles are written as formulaic dossiers and information is hidden – if info is buried, there is a chance it may not get read!

How should this information be presented?...

Delivering the ‘right’ information for fundraisers

So:• Put best information front and centre –

what’s the most important thing fundraisers need to know?

• Go out on a limb – have an opinion and tell people about it!

• If there is potential, suggest how the fundraiser should approach the prospect

• FOLLOW UP – find out everything the fundraiser learns, and use this as the next part of research

“The true test of research…

…Is whether people use it for reference, for influence, or most importantly, for change”

As researchers, we want our work to mean something, and it is soul-destroying when it’s not used.

Are you using research? Speak to your researchers if not and find out what is useful and what isn’t!

Simply asking for what you want in the briefing, and how you want it is probably the most effective way to get the information you want.

Delivering the ‘right’ information for fundraisers

Who the Brief is for? Internal vs ExternalIn-House: Yourself | Researcher | Research Team | Volunteer/Intern

Pros – access to internal colleagues and information to fill in the background and have follow up questions without adding to the price tagCons - less formal brief, tempting to side-step the briefing process because of internal knowledge; perceived lack of accountability? Can also be mis-used because there is no “obvious” price-tag

External: Research Agency | Freelancer

Pros – formal brief; greater accountability; lots of experience in a wider environment; potential for them to have more resources available to them; Customer Satisfaction as a motivator to do a good jobCons – limited in what information you’re allowed to share; budgetary restrictions/considerations; lack of internal knowledge

Who does the research can often dictate how good the brief is. Where money is parting hands, more attention is often paid, but in the right way?

Typical Research Projects1. Finding prospects for a campaign or more specifically,

researching new Trusts for a new campaign or in a new region2. Briefings for an event/meeting with Programme/Executive

Staff or Board Member3. Reactive profiling on existing donors or prospects the

fundraiser just met4. Identifying completely new prospects 5. Wealth Screen/data mining of your database for

philanthropists/Trustees6. Network mapping of Trustees etc – visualisation tools7. Due Diligence research8. Focus on researching the individuals behind the charitable

trusts – the decision makers

Dealing with urgent requests

These will ALWAYS come up, but how you handle them depends on….• Have an agreed prioritisation system

• Get agreement from your boss on your workplan

• Have a workplan, so you know what projects’ timelines can move

• Outline notice periods required for different types of research projects

• Be realistic – if you can’t produce a full profile, what can you produce instead?

• Are their other options (outsourcing) if you really can’t resource this yourself?

When to stop researching

Researchers will hunt and hunt for information

However, they can spend a long time getting lost in lots of info, which can cost a charity,

as could potentially be missing out on other opportunities to

do more impactful work

When to stop researching

When should you stop researching?

Some answers include:

“After I’ve got to the 5th or 6th page on Google”

“When search results start showing info on the wrong people”

“After about two hours”

When to stop researchingA similar question – instead of research, you are talking about a trip in a car, and want to know when you should stop driving…If consider the previous answers and apply here:• “After 500/600 miles”• “When the car runs out of petrol”• “After two hours”

Obviously the answer to this is “when you reach your destination”

Same for research – you stop when you find the info you need! You can always stop for directions!

By knowing where you’re going, you know when to STOP

Actionable Information

IMAGINE…

• You have two hours to prep and cook a meal for guests:– Is this time to pull out a 25 ingredient recipe for a gourmet dinner?– NO! Not enough time. Wouldn’t you go with something shorter to

prepare? Something you know is good, quick and appropriate? Maybe even five ingredients?

– Even if had two days to prepare, might an extravagant recipe be a bit over-kill for the first meeting?

So why when a fundraiser meeting a prospect for the 1st time would a researcher create a full profile?...

How to know when too much info:• Look at actions discussed at a fundraisers first meeting

with prospects, or first interactions.– What is discussed?– Who brings up what topics?– What needs to be learned?

Working with the fundraiser, researchers should create a menu of 10 (or 5) pieces of critical info every fundraiser should know before speaking with a prospect – which gives Actionable Information

Actionable Information

Getting research - FAST

• Tailor request• Tell researcher everything you know already• Ask specific questions that you would like the

research to help answer, e.g. do they have an interest in the environment

• Don’t ask for a full profile if you know you’re not going to read it, and it’s not the level of information you need

Building the researcher / fundraiser relationship

Two components help – the right people, doing the right things

The right things:• Communication and relationship building• Informed interactions

The right people:• Researchers can be viewed as insular, un-gregarious – but not

always the case!• Researchers need to be relatable and easy to get along with

Poor PlanningWhy do we need to prepare a brief?

• Helps prepare the method, maximise time and resources so you get the information you need when you need it

• CICO – Crap In Crap Out

• British Army 7P motto: “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance”

Conclusions

• Be as specific and detailed as you can at the outset

• Check-in with each other on expectations, assumptions and progress

• Make the process relevant for your team• Feedback to each other• Be realistic• Talk to each other!

Any questions?

Thank you!

[email protected]

[email protected]