Young Adults and Minors in Your Research

Recently the British government told the arts community, “Folks, it’s time to do things like the Yanks do.”  That’s because many European countries are warning of large budget cuts to arts and culture organizations, including the U.K.  Some estimates predict that as much as twenty-five percent of annual budgets could be withheld.   The possibility that [...]

I cannot remember how many times I would have a major gift officer ask me the age old question: “can you please give me a list of all of John Smith’s charitable giving?”  When I was a researcher in-the-field, some charitable donation search tools existed, but doing my own web research often proved the most [...]

Historic philanthropy patterns of America’s affluent donors are giving way to a more complex and disparate population that represents our country’s patchwork communities. The systematic and predictable giving methods by the rich no longer dominate our donor bases. Diverse communities are emerging with new giving patterns and objectives. The face of America’s philanthropist is changing. [...]

Take a moment to think about the entry points for data collection within your organization.  Is the data that you need to operate effectively being collected consistently?  Are you hindering your work by not standardizing the entry points for data collection? It is easy to overlook the value in collecting multiple pieces of data.  Are [...]

Raymund Flandez blogged at Philanthropy.com about reactions that prospect researchers at the APRA conference had to an article in the Wall Street Journal that came out in May.  That article questioned whether the activities of prospect researchers constituted an invasion of privacy.  The prospect research community was a little sensitive about this as you might [...]

A couple of weeks have passed now since the APRA Conference in Anaheim, but I was recently reviewing some notes and thought I would share.  As is the case at many conferences, some of the most compelling content focuses on the future and what attendees from a specific focus area can expect moving forward.  Prospect [...]

I was lucky to be one of the faculty members for the recent New Researchers Symposium held during the APRA Conference last week in Anaheim. They were a dynamic and engaging group of individuals.  They are eager to learn and have not quite gotten into old habits.  It is very easy just to find one search engine and [...]

I just arrived home from the APRA Conference in Anaheim. Once again, another fabulous conference highlighted by great presentations and workshops on cutting edge issues as well as basic training for newcomers to the profession. No professional organization does it better than APRA! For more than a decade I have attended this conference and have [...]

Politicians think of the voting public in terms of “base,” “swing,” and “opposition.”  Their base is the segment of the population who are dyed-in-the-wool true believers.  They will vote for the party or the candidate no matter what.  The swing is the segment that may be persuaded to vote for the party depending on how the issues [...]