Thinking about a new job? Maybe it’s the advent of summer that makes us think about stretching our legs and trying something new. Since we’re hiring here at HBG, it made me think about the search process – what I hope to see from candidates, and how they can get our attention.
Let’s say that you’ve found an interesting career opportunity. You know that you’re qualified, but how can you stand out above all of the other candidates in the eyes of your potential employer? [Read more…]
It used to be that it wasn’t all that often that a bombshell like the Panama Papers dropped during your professional lifetime. The practice of accidentally or purposefully sharing sensitive, confidential, or downright incendiary information is becoming lots more commonplace lately.
Meanwhile, there are people and companies and governments struggling worldwide with questions of how to maintain the privacy of individuals’ personal data, and just who should have access to it. There’s the desire by some to be erased entirely from the internet (sorry, but good luck with that). Cross-border information-sharing agreements, like Safe Harbor and its next-gen, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, hold little consumer confidence. [Read more…]
The inventor Charles Kettering, who held more than 180 patents and was responsible for major revolutionary advances in the automotive industry, was clearly no stranger to the field of research and its challenges. As a fundraising researcher, I often take his words to heart. In our field, we sometimes spend hours scouring resources, seeking to find as much information as we can on a prospective donor –those useful bits and bytes that we need to obtain useful insight. What has their career looked like? Who are the members of their family? Where do they live? And, ultimately, do they have a passion for philanthropy, and the financial resources to generously support this passion? [Read more…]
You know that the Sunday Times Rich List came out this past weekend, right?
The list is a tremendous feat completed annually by Philip Beresford and Robert Watts (who will take over for Beresford later this year). For me it’s like someone showed up at my door handing me keys to a snappy convertible, a box of Lake Champlain chocolates, and a leash with a wee sleepy puppy at the end of it. 
Yes, I’m self-aware about my tendency toward hyperbole, but seriously, I’m pretty sure I heard angels weeping on Sunday.
Wonderfully, the ST list of the top 1,000 wealthiest isn’t just one list, it’s actually 28 glorious lists. There’s some overlap, of course, but Beresford and Watts don’t just rehash and reorder the 1,000 – there are many more names to be found in the separate, searchable, lists. [Read more…]
It’s early April, and you’re trying to get in touch with your New York-based board member to schedule a meeting. If you guessed that he’s in Georgia (at the Masters), you’re probably right. Want to know more about where he’ll likely be in May and June?
Well, here you go: global real estate experts Knight Frank teamed up with NetJets and WINGX Advance to track worldwide private jet migration patterns for the wealthy worldwide. The information they found is illustrated in a cool global event calendar on page 35 of the 2016 Knight Frank Wealth Report. [Read more…]
This month I’m delighted to welcome as guest blogger HBG team member Heather Willis (who took this picture from her “back yard”)! A skilled ranch hand herself, Heather is our resident expert on all things farming and ranching, and in this article she shares her knowledge on researching major gift prospects who bought the farm.Have you come across prospects every now and then who own a farm or ranch? Valuing these assets can vary widely depending on what part of the country they are located. Often we are left with more questions than answers as to how to use the information to estimate wealth.
Having lived in the West most of my life, currently in Montana, I am gaining an understanding of which ‘types’ of farmers and ranchers are the better prospects. There are so many variables to consider that I think it might be more helpful to look at farmers and ranchers in terms of characteristics, like a modeling project, in which you evaluate which ones indicate more wealth than others. [Read more…]
I know you know this, but you are awesome.
As we say au revoir to another #ResearchPride month, I wanted to let you know that I (and all of the other #ResearchPride bloggers**) deeply appreciate that you have read, supported, and enthusiastically shared this month’s posts through social media and word of mouth. It’s a big deal to us, and we thank you. [Read more…]
With Prospect Development Pride Month 2016 fully underway, it’s been an entertaining parade of great stories, slices-of-work-life moments, and celebrations of success in the blog articles, LinkedIn posts, and tweets that folks from five countries have shared. (I count the USA, Canada, England, Ireland and Spain so far. Have I missed anyone? How about it, Aussie cousins? Any pride in Scotland? Join the party!)
#ResearchPride is growing! [Read more…]
Often in recent years, when I have spoken about the growth of my company, I have pretty much always used one particular word to describe our success. In response to friends remarking on the growth of HBG, I’d always say, “Yes, we’ve been very lucky.” And then I’d knock wood.
(I’m not superstitious, but, hey, it can’t hurt, right?)
Then last October, I was having lunch with my friend Maggie in a you-have-to-go-there kind of bistro in London. She remarked happily on HBG’s growth and success, I replied with my usual reply, knocked on the table, and looked down at my plate to fork the next amazing mouthful. After a couple of seconds, I realized that Maggie had gone quiet. I looked up and saw that she was giving me an interesting look that I hadn’t seen on her face before. [Read more…]
One of the things that makes me so proud of our profession is the way we so eagerly share tips, tools, tactics, and techniques with each other. At APRA International and chapter conferences, you can just feel the excitement in the rooms. Even in webinars and tweetchats, there’s still a vibe somehow.
So in honor of #ResearchPride month, my colleague Elizabeth Roma and I recorded a video podcast for you on researching grant-makers, including foundations and donor-advised funds. Here’s our webinar on “Researching Foundations” – we hope you enjoy it:
Here at HBG, we’re also preparing for more teaching this spring and summer:
We hope you can join us. We’re excited to be sharing our knowledge and looking forward to learning from you, too.
