An article in the Feb. 22nd issue of the Philanthropy Journal discusses strides in advancement services and the leadership role John Taylor has played in developing the profession. John wears many hats in the advancement world but is, by day, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement at NC State University in Raleigh. NC State is a WealthEngine client and we want to thank John for his ongoing contributions–and tireless commitment–to the field.

To read the article, please click here.

Individuals classified as public company insiders are likely a small but notable portion of your overall prospect pool, and the only ones with actual, personal stockholdings that you can access. Join us this Thursday at 1 pm EST as we uncover the basics of understanding how to interpret wealth and biographical information of fundraising prospects contained in financial statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We will review how to locate, navigate and read the company proxy statement, as well as forms 3, 4, and 5 insider trading documents. Attendees will learn the meaning and importance of direct shareholdings, indirect shareholdings, options, and compensation so you can understand and better estimate your prospects’ intrinsic wealth.

To register, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/383371288

WealthEngine today announced the expansion of its UK prospect research solution to include data from the FAME company database. Developed by Bureau van Dijk, with data sourced from Jordans, FAME is well respected for its depth and quality. The FAME data extract being integrated into WealthEngine contains comprehensive information on directors and stakeholders at more than 4 million public and privately-held companies in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Subscribers to WealthEngine’s FindWealth UK research tools will appreciate access to details on company stakeholders at a breadth yet to be offered in WealthEngine’s UK products. Clients can uncover directors’ roles, terms, date of birth, contact information and total director’s remuneration in addition to company overviews. The use of this data greatly expands researchers’ scope of knowledge about their donors and prospects.

WealthEngine has scheduled two online introductions to FAME data for the dates below. To register, please click on your preferred date and time:
• Tuesday, February 9, 2010 from 3:00–4:00 pm GMT/10:00–11:00 am EST
• Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 3:00–4:00 pm GMT/10:00–11:00 am EST

For more information, please contact marketing@wealthengine.com or click here to view the press release.

Please join us for a free webinar to review the findings in WealthEngine’s latest white paper, Community Colleges: Growing Individual Giving with Effective Prospect Research. The webinar will provide an overview on giving to community colleges and highlight key strategies for implementing best practices within each institution’s development department.

When: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST/10 -11 am PST
Where: Live via webinar

Click here to register for the webinar.

During the webinar, the author of the white paper, Kimberly Mullins, Director of Marketing at WealthEngine, and one of the paper’s contributors, Alan Klaas, Executive Director of the Mohave Community College Foundation will highlight the methods and resources available to help refine and expand major gifts and other individual gift programs. Those wanting to learn how their peers are using both free and fee-based prospect research tools in their development programs won’t want to miss this practical and results-oriented discussion.

To download a free copy of the white paper, please click here.

What does your prospect management system look like? While industry standards estimate 18-24 months to cultivate and solicit a major gift, in coordination with 7-9 personal visits, and 3-4 prospects for each $100,000 gift, the need for new prospects need to be continuously introduced and the movement of existing prospects the next level are vital benchmarks throughout the fundraising cycle.

Explore the purpose, elements and benefits of a prospect management system during this webinar as we share examples of best practices that have brought research and development staff to the same table, working in ‘harmony’ toward common objectives, and learn the interpersonal and professional skills necessary to make this a win/win situation for all involved. Learn how to create a process that works best within the culture of your organization, builds a team environment, and develops trust among the participants.

Don’t miss out! Register now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/529047529.

We are pleased to announce the release of a new research paper, entitled Community Colleges: Growing Individual Giving with Effective Prospect Research. Following an in-depth 2009 research study on prospect research in higher education fundraising, we challenged ourselves to dig deeper and investigate the extent to which prospect research is used by community colleges, particularly in the area of individual giving. The white paper is the result of this research initiative and provides an overview on giving to community colleges as well as a strategy to implement best practices.

To download a free copy of the WealthEngine white paper, please visit: http://www.wealthengine.com/pub/whitepaper_request.jsp

Further information on the white paper findings will be shared during a free webinar on Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST. To register for the webinar, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/825153472

We are thrilled to share with you the latest issue of WealthEngineWorks, our newly redesigned and renamed quarterly newsletter. This issue is chock full of product updates, company news and fundraising resources that will keep you informed on what’s happening and what’s to come as we work to support your prospect research and fundraising goals. To access the newsletter, please visit: http://www.wealthengine.com/pub/news/nl/.

In the current fundraising environment with corporations and foundations cutting back on funding or leaving an area, what does an organization do when a key funder leaves? How do you fill in the gap in funding? When a large institutional funder leaves an organization that organization needs to rebuild its base of support and it typically relies on support from individuals to refocus fundraising efforts. This month’s Thursday Workshop entitled “Building Your Prospect Base in a Changed Environment” will address these questions and more. Join our Client Service Manager, Tricia Ambler, as she discusses how to use WealthEngine data to build a consistent pool of individual prospects, so that if a large funder leaves your organization will not be left out in the cold.

Register for this session and others scheduled for 2010 at: http://www.wealthengine.com/pub/workshops.jsp.

We hope to see you at our next Thursday Workshop:

Topic: Identify, Focus, Promote: Three Planned Giving Strategies to Enact Right NOW
Date: Thursday, November 19 from 1-2 pm EDT
Presenter: Sally Boucher, Client Service Manager at WealthEngine

Successful organizations succeed and even thrive in poor economic conditions not by cutting back on fundraising investments, but by focusing them more strategically. Because major and planned gift donors are often the most loyal and committed to your cause, and because they may be amongst the least affected by the vagaries of the current markets, now is the perfect time to review your planned giving strategies.

This workshop will cover three opportunities to enhance your planned giving program:

1) Identify and rate your best planned gift prospects
2) Focus on those least hurt by the financial market upheaval
3) Promote gifts that appeal to donors when times are tough

To register for this and other free workshops, please visit: http://www.wealthengine.com/pub/workshops.jsp

The New York Times’ annual Giving section includes over a dozen articles, essays and charity profiles on fundraising and philanthropy. One particulary interesting article, “New Fame for the Everyday Donor”, describes how, given the current economy, charities are rethinking their fundraising strategies to focus more intently on smaller-level donors found through direct mail, online giving and social networking.

“It’s easy to be drawn to the multimillion-dollar donations, but we’re doing ourselves a disservice by not elevating the stories of the working mothers and fathers who also contribute what are significant amounts to them,” says Eugene Cho from the nonprofit, One Day’s Wages.

At WealthEngine, we routinely hear stories of the $25 donor who, through proper prospect identification and cultivation, later became a major donor. We also hear how our Propensity to Give (P2G) score helps to prioritize and segment donors and prospects across multiple campaigns–major gift, direct mail, special events, etc. Now is great time to embrace and plan your 2010 cultivation approaches for the “everyday donor.” Let us know if we can help!