Helen Brown Group

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Demystifying the Forbes 400 and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index

By: Chelsea Morin, Consultant

Chelsea Morin

Chelsea Morin

Have you ever wondered about the methodologies behind the net worth estimates that some major financial and business publications report? What information do they use to come to these numbers and how accurate can it possibly be? Are the details they use for their estimates publicly available, or are they sitting down with the billionaires they are reporting on to get inside information?

For this post, we will focus on the methodologies of the Forbes 400 and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, take a look at their differences, and break down how these estimates can inform our work in prospect development.

Let’s start with Forbes

Over at Forbes, they publish a ranked list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, known as the Forbes 400, once a year. It reflects a snapshot of each individual’s wealth on one particular date but also reports real time net worth updates for the wealthiest people in the world.

The first step the Forbes team takes is meeting with billionaires being researched for inclusion on the list or speaking with them virtually or over the phone whenever possible. They will also interview associates including employees, asset managers, and attorneys. Sometimes, they even reach out to rivals and peers to collect more information!

Some billionaires will provide documentation to support their estimated ranking, but others won’t. In either case, documents from a variety of sources including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), court and probate records, news articles, and more are researched to get a fuller view of an individual’s assets. All assets are considered including real estate, art and car collections, yachts and planes, and other unique holdings. Stakes in both public and private companies are considered. For public companies, SEC insider filings help to provide a clearer view of holdings.

What about private companies?

For private companies, Forbes compares estimates of the company’s revenue with price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, or other relevant ratios for similar public companies and then applies a 10% liquidity discount. The liquidity discount accounts for the difficulty an individual might face when trying to sell a private asset quickly for a fair price. In the case of companies backed by venture funding, several factors may affect the estimated value of the company including how shares are being traded on secondary markets, how institutional investors account for their shares in the company, and the overall health of the company’s sector.

So, what’s not included?

Forbes subtracts any known debts from net worth estimates and excludes any funds donated to charitable foundations or donor-advised funds. Family fortunes dispersed amongst many family members are generally not included either. In these cases, the wealth belonging to the living founder of a fortune and their immediate family will be listed with the addition of “& family.” Occasionally, wealth held by an immediate family member of an heir will be included if relevant.

How Bloomberg Differs

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index tracks the world’s 500 richest people and updates daily after New York markets close and public company stakes are valued using the latest closing price.

Private company valuations rely on peer comparisons based on industry and size, using price-to-earnings or EV/EBITDA (Enterprise Value divided by Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). If direct debt figures aren’t available, peer net debt-to-EBITDA ratios are used instead. Values adjust daily with peer or index movement. Most private firms get a 5% liquidity discount; a country risk discount is added when assets are concentrated in riskier markets, based on S&P sovereign ratings.

Hedge funds are valued using average market cap-to-AUM (assets under management) ratios of similar public funds. Personal capital mixed with outside money isn’t counted. AUM is pulled from SEC Form ADV filings, and returns are considered if reported. A 25% “key man” discount applies when performance depends on one person.

Realized dividends and proceeds from share sales are also included. Taxes are deducted at the highest rate for the person’s country unless evidence supports a lower one.

Although assets may often be transferred to a billionaire’s family members, it is the position of Bloomberg News that this does not change who controls the fortune. As a result, Bloomberg credits family fortunes to the founders or head family members who have the most direct control over the assets. In cases where the stakes of individual adult family members can be verified and those family members are actively involved in the family business, the value of the stake is credited to the individual.

All billionaires or their representatives can respond to questions about the net worth calculation, including the balance of their assets and liabilities.

What’s not included in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculations?

For one, the ownership of closely held assets is not included if it cannot be verified. Additionally, if a billionaire has pledged shares held in a public company as collateral, the value of those shares is not included in their estimated net worth. Fee income for hedge fund businesses is not included because it cannot be verified across the board. And finally, no assumptions are made about personal debt.

A confidence rating between one and five stars is also given to each profile. A one-star rating is used when an individual’s fortune is primarily made up of closely held assets and several assumptions are required to calculate metrics such as company ownership and personal assets. A five-star rating means that most of the individual’s fortune is composed of publicly traded assets or can otherwise be verified through reliable sources, including the billionaire themselves or their representatives.

How to calculate an estimated net worth without the help of a billionaire…

What do you do when you can’t reach out to a billionaire or their representatives to confirm assets? Or when you don’t have the staff to do as much thorough research as a major publication such as Forbes or Bloomberg? Here at the Helen Brown Group if a net worth from one of these reputable publications isn’t available, we generally rely on the total amount of visible assets an individual holds to determine what their giving capacity may be.

What is the difference between estimated net worth and total visible assets? Simply put, an individual’s net worth is the value of all their assets minus all their liabilities. A helpful tool we sometimes use to determine an estimated net worth for high-net-worth individuals is a calculation from the Capgemini/Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report which provides evidence that real estate comprises approximately 19% of their total assets. Forbes or Bloomberg may get close to estimating an accurate net worth for some of the wealthiest individuals in the world, but it’s not very practical, or really even possible, to do this in our daily work. Often, it is not feasible to know exactly what an individual’s private assets, debts, or other liabilities might be.

Instead, let’s just consider total visible assets when calculating a giving capacity. In other words, what is the total of an individual’s assets that we can determine based on public records and searches? This will include real estate holdings and the stockholdings and compensation of public company insiders. When looking at assets for the purpose of charitable giving, it can also include assets held by a foundation if it is solely controlled by the individual. If you’d like, you can try to estimate someone’s compensation based on what information is available about compensation for similar roles or in similar industries. You can also attempt to estimate what an individual’s privately held company might be worth by comparing it to similar public companies or past sales of private companies. Sometimes, you may even get lucky and find information about someone’s private art collection, boats, or planes that they own!

Once you have gathered all the public asset information available, a common calculation to determine giving capacity is to use 5% of visible assets. Always remember though, that this capacity can be adjusted based on factors such as previous giving history.

It was insightful to learn more about what factors are (and aren’t) included in Forbes’ and Bloomberg’s calculations and compare them to my own work. I hope this information is useful for you and your organization as well!

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2024/10/01/2024-forbes-400-methodology-how-we-crunch-the-numbers/

https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/methodology/

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A Conference Field Guide

By: Tara McMullen-King, Director, Research and Consulting

Tara McMullen-King

Tara McMullen-King

Are you headed to NEDRAcon2025, Prospect Development 2025, or another event coming up over the next few months? Conferences are a great way to recharge your professional batteries, pick up new skills and ideas, and connect with people who truly understand what you do. But let’s be honest – how much you get out of a conference often depends on what you put into it. After more than 20 years of attending conferences, I’ve learned that a little preparation can make a big difference! This post shares some of my favorite tips for making the most of your conference experience – before, during, and after – whether you’re attending in person or joining virtually.

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE – Plan Ahead

Choose Your Sessions Wisely : If a conference has a lot of different sessions to choose from, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Take a little time beforehand to scan the agenda and flag the ones that might speak to the challenges you’re facing now – or that fill in knowledge gaps you’ve been meaning to tackle. And don’t be afraid to step outside your usual scope – sometimes those unexpected sessions spark the best ideas!

Find a Conference Buddy : Conferences can be way more fun – and a lot less intimidating – when you have someone to navigate them with. Whether you’re an extrovert who thrives in crowds or an introvert who needs a familiar face, having a conference buddy makes the experience smoother and more enjoyable. Reach out to colleagues, LinkedIn connections, or folks from other professional circles to sync up. Make a plan to grab coffee, share a meal, or walk the vendor hall together. You’ll have someone to debrief sessions with, bounce ideas off of, and maybe even explore the city with if it’s an in-person event. If you don’t know anyone else who is going, many conferences offer first-timer meetups or socials where you can connect with others in the same boat.

If you’re attending a virtual conference – you could still use a buddy! A virtual conference buddy can help you stay engaged, make the experience more interactive, and keep you accountable for showing up (and not just half-watching while answering emails). Reach out to a colleague or LinkedIn contact who’s also attending and suggest syncing up before the event. You can compare schedules, share notes afterward, or even debrief together at the end of the day! Some virtual platforms also have discussion boards, chat features, or attendee directories that you can use to introduce yourself and connect with other attendees.

Set Your Intentions: Take five minutes to reflect. What do you hope to get out of this conference? A skill, a solution, a connection? Jot down a few goals, then revisit them each day. Intention-setting can help you stay focused and make it easier to recognize progress (even in small ways).

Pack Smart: Conference rooms often have unpredictable temperatures – one room can feel like an icebox, while the next feels like a sauna – so try to dress in layers. Also, comfy shoes are a must – you’ll likely be on your feet more than you expect, even if it’s “just” walking back and forth between sessions. And also remember to pack snacks, a reusable water bottle, chargers, business cards, and anything else you may need to feel like your best self!

Virtual Packing: Even if you’re attending from your living room, a little prep goes a long way. Think of it as packing your “virtual conference bag”– just in home-office form. Start by setting up a comfortable, distraction-free space where you can really focus. That might be your home office, a quiet corner with good lighting, or even a cozy spot at the library or a co-working space. Wherever you choose, make sure the Wi-Fi is solid and that your charger(s) are within reach. And try to schedule 5-10 minute movement breaks between sessions to stretch, reset, and avoid screen fatigue… your body (and brain) will thank you!

DURING THE CONFERENCE – Engage, Learn, Connect

Engage With Vendors : Sponsors and vendors aren’t just there for the swag (though that’s fun too) – they help bring conferences to life, and often offer products, services, or expertise that can enhance your work. Take a stroll through the vendor area (or click around the virtual exhibit hall) with curiosity. Ask for a quick demo or grab a brochure or one-pager to review later! Even if you’re not the decision-maker back at your organization, bringing back a helpful resource or tool can show initiative, and maybe help your team work more efficiently.

Be Brave… Say Hi!: Yes, it can feel super awkward. Yes, it might take a little courage. But introducing yourself – whether it’s to the person next to you in a session, in the coffee line, or at a lunch table – is one of the best ways to make meaningful connections at a conference. Most folks are just as eager (or nervous!) to connect, and you might end up chatting with someone who totally gets the challenges you’re facing, shares your interests, or introduces you to someone else worth knowing. In my experience, some of the best professional relationships start from a quick conversation at a conference. That person sitting next to you could be a future mentor, collaborator, or even your next coworker!

Take Great Notes: You don’t have to write down everything – but capturing 2 or 3 key takeaways from each session you attend can be a game-changer. Maybe it’s an inspiring quote, a new resource you want to check out, or a fresh approach you can apply to a familiar challenge. Whatever it is, jot it down while it’s fresh! Use whatever format works best for you – typed notes, handwritten scribbles, even voice memos – just make sure you’re capturing the good stuff so you can refer back to it later.

Take Breaks and Take Care of Yourself : Conferences can be exciting, inspiring… and totally exhausting. With back-to-back sessions, networking, and information overload, it’s easy to forget to hit pause! But pacing yourself is key to actually enjoying the experience (and retaining anything you learn), so try to build in small breaks throughout the day. Step outside for fresh air, grab a quiet corner to decompress, or do a quick stretch between sessions. Even 5 to 10 minutes of downtime can make a big difference in how you feel. If you’re attending in person, look for opportunities to wind down with others, like a casual group dinner, a chapter meetup, or even a walk around the block.

Share the Experience Online: If you’re someone who likes to share in real time, live-posting on your favorite social media platform during the conference can be a fun and valuable way to engage with the broader community. Most conferences have an official hashtag – use it to post your favorite quotes, key takeaways, or sparks of inspiration. Not only does this help others following along (including those who couldn’t attend), but it also boosts your visibility in the field. You might even strike up a conversation with someone new, gain a few followers, or find a session buddy through your posts.

Keep a Spark List: You know that feeling when something in a session makes your brain light up – but it’s not something you need right now? That’s where the “spark list” comes in. Throughout the conference, keep a running list of tools, ideas, resources, books, quotes that spark your interest, anything you want to remember – even if they don’t have a clear place in your work (yet). These are your creative breadcrumbs… the point isn’t to act on them right away, it’s to collect them so you can revisit them when the time is right.

AFTER THE CONFERENCE – Make it Stick

Follow Up With New Connections : If you meet someone great at the conference, don’t let that connection fade the minute you get home (or log off). A quick follow-up can turn a passing conversation into a lasting professional relationship. Shoot them a short email or LinkedIn message within a few days of the event. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy – just a “Great to meet you at NEDRAcon! I really enjoyed our chat about portfolio management. Let’s stay in touch!” kind of thing. Even if you only exchanged a few words in line for coffee, connecting on LinkedIn and dropping a note helps you build your network in an intentional (and friendly) way.

Share What You Learned : Once the conference wraps up and you’re back at work, don’t let all those fresh ideas fade into the background. One of the best ways to make your learning stick – and to show your organization the value of sending you – is to share what you took away. Pick one or two standout sessions and summarize the key takeaways for your team. Sharing what you learned shows leadership, helps your colleagues grow, and builds a culture of continuous learning. And bonus? It’s one more reason for your organization to say “yes” the next time you ask to attend a conference.

Try One New Thing: After soaking up all that conference inspiration, don’t let it sit in your notebook forever. Pick at least one idea you learned and actually try it! It doesn’t have to be huge – the key is to take one thing that sparked something in you and put it into motion. This not only reinforces what you learned, but it also helps make the conference feel like a true investment and gives you something concrete to talk about with your boss or team when they ask, “So, how was the conference?”

Say Thank You : If your employer or supervisor supported your attendance – whether they covered the cost, gave you the time, or just encouraged you to go – don’t forget to say thanks. A quick thank-you goes a long way and not only shows gratitude, but it also reinforces the value of investing in professional development.

Later this month, my HBG colleagues and I will be heading to beautiful Portland, Maine for NEDRAcon, one of our favorite conferences. We’re especially proud to once again sponsor a NEDRA conference scholarship, which helps cover registration and some travel expenses for an attendee who couldn’t otherwise afford it. We’d love to see you there – or at another upcoming event! Here are a few conferences on the 2025 calendar that you might want to add to your radar:

NEDRAcon2025 – April 30 – May 2 (Portland, ME)

LEVEL UP: MARC 2025 Virtual Conference – April 21–25 (Virtual)

2025 Apra Great Plains Conference – April 25 (Ames, IA)

AFP ICON 2025 – April 27–29 (Seattle, WA)

2025 APRA-NW Conference – May 8 (Virtual)

Fundraising Day in New York (AFP NYC Chapter) – June 13 (New York, NY)

Prospect Development 2025 (Apra International) – August 19–22 (Baltimore, MD)

Wherever your conference journey takes you, I hope this guide helps you feel more confident, prepared, and excited for the experience. If we do cross paths – at NEDRAcon or beyond – please don’t hesitate to say hello. I’d love to hear what’s sparking your curiosity these days!

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Make Time to Make a Difference: Finding Time to Be More Proactive

By: Viola Henning, Senior Consultant

Viola Henning

Viola Henning

Many research shops, especially small shops or those with a sole researcher wearing many hats, strive to be more proactive.

However, despite the size of a research shop there seems to often be a common struggle to find the time to do more prospect identification and other proactive research. So how do you get there?

Here are some of the best tips I’ve come across for balancing proactive and reactive research and how to find time to be more proactive as an individual and as an organization:

 

Reducing the time it takes to do reactive prospect research:

  • Communicate: Be sure to communicate clearly with the person requesting research to ensure you understand their needs. Doing this will prevent you from doing unnecessary work and will allow time for proactive tasks or projects. (See “Building Research Systems That Work” / “The one thing every research profile must do” / “Getting Through: 3 Easy Tips to Avoid Communication Death Traps”)
  • Prioritize: Try to match the amount of time that’s spent on requests to the prospect’s stage in the cultivation cycle. This stage-based research practice will ensure that less time is spent on research requests for prospects in identification/qualification that might not be ready or even receptive to meetings or further engagement. Prioritizing the stage will allow you to spend more time on research requests in preparation for an ask for prospects nearing the solicitation stage and well into stewardship. (See “Building blocks for a solid prospect management system”)
  • Automate: Use templates (See “The 4 key elements of every strategic profile”) and/or canned reports that can be generated by your database to make your research expeditious. This can be incredibly effective and time efficient for event bio reports. See this post, “The Secret to Great Event Briefings”, for what can be included. You’ll notice most, if not all of this information could probably be pulled right from your database. You can really cut down on time by just focusing on filling in the blanks – e.g., missing employment info – and doing quick checks for updates, rather than reformatting what’s already known.

 

Other ways to find more time:

  • Cut back on and/or be more purposeful about meetings. (See “5 tips for dealing with meeting overload”)
  • Think about what’s on your plate that can be delegated to someone else on your team that may have more bandwidth. This can include certain aspects of projects and responsibilities that aren’t specific to a unit or client that you solely support where only you have database/folder/etc. access.
  • Utilize work study students/interns/volunteers to help with prospect identification. They can do things like searching your organization’s database for names of people on rich lists or identifying names that live in wealthy zip codes.
  • Brainstorm/search other ways to increase your efficiency. ( See “Time Management in Practice”)

 

So now that you have more time to be proactive, what are you going to do with it?

Check out:

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Adapting to the Times: Creative Avenues to Identify New Donors

By: Josh Ostroski, Senior Consultant

Josh Ostroski

Josh Ostroski

I have recently had the opportunity to get to know the leadership of a few small nonprofit organizations in my local community.  I have had engaging conversations with them about fundraising on both a 30,000-foot and a more granular view based on the organization’s structure and needs. Something that has stood out to me is that they all view fundraising in unique ways.

A discouraging observation that I’ve made is that the leaders at some of these smaller organizations either don’t fully understand what we do as prospect development professionals, or they may feel that it isn’t a fit for their organization.

For some of these organizations, and others similar nonprofits throughout the country, the idea of fundraising may be centered on obtaining foundation grants or corporate sponsorships. I’ve found myself in productive conversations with organization leaders to help them realize that there are creative ways to bring in revenue so they aren’t spending all of their valuable time and resources on an increasingly shrinking pool of donors.

The recent news about the potential pause on federal grant funding for some of these nonprofit organizations is of course yet another big challenge. Here at HBG we have begun to have discussions of what some of the ramifications could be for the nonprofit sector and for our beloved clients; in the end it may depend on the organization and where they get most of their funding.

With challenges like these, I think prospect research has the potential to be more impactful to a broader set of organizations than it has in the past. Something I have concluded is that it will be important for nonprofit organizations to consider how to diversify their fundraising channels and communicate transparently about their needs to their constituents. If a nonprofit can show their community how much funding could potentially be lost, there is the possibility of an entirely new enthusiastic prospect base for many organizations.

The best way for prospect research to play a role may be to help look for potential donors for an organization that they perhaps wouldn’t have had a connection to or thought to reach out to in the past.  Here are four ideas to help get you started:

Past Donor Pool

A possible starting point could be to start looking at past donors, no matter the size of the gift, and try to reach out to them with a thoughtful and honest message. Not only does this add potential past donors to your pool, but it could also be a way to engage with new prospects via their connections. My colleague Jen Turner recently wrote a great blog about prospecting within your database.

Impact Investing

Another possible angle to take is thinking of non-traditional funding opportunities, like social impact investments or social entrepreneurs. Impact investing refers to investments made with the intention to generate positive and measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.

Unlike traditional philanthropy, which focuses purely on charitable giving, impact investing bridges the gap between traditional investing and nonprofit efforts. It allows investors (individuals, organizations, or funds) to support social causes while expecting some level of financial return. Here is a list of impact investing firms that could be a fit for your organization or a cause that is important to you or someone you know.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding could also be a successful strategy for certain organizations, particularly by rallying around a specific cause, and especially if it’s relevant to current events. There is power in rallying people around a movement to make an immediate impact. For example, catastrophic weather events such as the recent the Los Angles fires or flooding in Asheville, NC, are examples of areas that have seen crowdfunding being used to make significant financial impact. Prospect Researchers can monitor crowdfunding platforms to find individuals who support causes like yours. You can then research them further to identify their level of giving and if they could be potential donors for your organization.

An important aspect of crowdfunding is partnering with an organization’s marketing team to create a clear and specific message. Nonprofits have a better chance of capturing donors if they can articulate goals while crafting a meaningful story. To get the word out encourage staff, board members, volunteers, and supporters to share the campaign with their personal networks. Word-of-mouth and social media are powerful tools for reaching a wider audience.

Community Foundations

Working within the local community can also yield good results and can potentially open up a new prospect pool. Community foundations play a key role in nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy by serving as grant-making organizations that support local causes and initiatives. They typically pool donations through donor advised funds from individuals, families, and businesses and distribute them to organizations and projects within a specific geographic region. Community foundations have deep ties to their local areas and focus on creating long-term impact by fostering a culture of giving and supporting projects that address local challenges.

You can prospect for potential donors by looking at annual reports of a community foundation or by utilizing a resource like DAFinitive® to see who is supporting the foundation through their DAF, and then determining if the fund could be a fit for your organization based on the donor/advisor’s interest areas.

As prospect researchers, we are creative and inquisitive by nature. I encourage all of us to challenge ourselves and our organizations to rethink what we know and how we do things to come up with new ways to help nonprofits succeed in these uncertain times.

 

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A Field Guide to Prospecting Within Your Database

By: Jennifer Turner, Senior Consultant

      Jennifer Turner

Over the years, I’ve written several blog posts about prospecting. The focus of these posts has always been identifying new prospects when you don’t have an existing database to rely on. You might think that if you have a database, your job is done for you. For example, do you need to assign a new gift officer a portfolio? No problem – just pull some names from your database! But wait – the database contains thousands of names!

So how do we ensure that we are finding the best names possible? Furthermore, how do we make sure there aren’t any hidden gems slipping through the cracks?

Here are some steps you can take to make sure you are identifying the top names from the thousands of possibilities:

  1. Constantly check to see who is making new gifts. This can be done daily or weekly. Pay special attention to first time givers. Spend a few minutes quickly assessing how much they can give, even if their first gift is only a small amount. Sure, it may be easy to overlook a prospect who gives your organization only $100 to start, but maybe they are starting out small as a “test” to see how your organization handles stewardship. They may, in fact, be sitting on piles of wealth, but don’t want to invest in your organization too quickly. Added bonus: It’s nice being one step ahead of your gift officer by making them aware of the donor’s potential before they even have a chance to acknowledge the new gift.
  2. One of my clients adds new batches of names to their database every couple of weeks (in batches ranging from 50-100 names). Part of my job is to scroll through these names to see if any standout as high net worth individuals. Don’t wait for these new prospects to (maybe) make a gift – flag them early on so your gift officer can start grooming them to make a gift later.
  3. Look for patterns in giving. Here’s where it helps to have a good relationship with your report pulling gurus. Perhaps this is something you can do on your own, but if not, ask your database team to pull some reports that seek to highlight giving trends. This could be something as simple as a list of prospects who have made gifts over the past five consecutive years. Don’t worry about the size of these gifts. In this case, we are looking at consistency as a means of demonstrating inclination and devotion to your organization. Maybe that prospect is only capable of making small gifts right now, but who knows what lies in their future? Maybe their company is about to go public. Maybe they come from a wealthy family and sit on the board of directors for the family’s personal foundation (which, with any bit of luck, will eventually be turned over to them). Either way, they’ve already proven their inclination to give to your organization and deserve taking a closer look at.
  4. Back to those database friends – how about creating a report that focuses on job titles? Ask for a list of anyone in the database with the title “CEO”, “President”, or “Owner.” Job title alone can be an indicator of wealth, thereby giving you a quick method of finding potential new prospects right at your fingertips.
  5. Sometimes I get asked to find new prospects in a specific geographic region based on a development officer’s travel itinerary. This can be a great opportunity to find additional high net worth individuals that may have been overlooked in the past. I continue to be amazed by the new names of wealthy prospects that surface using this method.

Not every researcher has access to a database which they can constantly use to find new prospects. However, those that are fortunate enough to have one (such organizations with alumni and grateful patients), cannot be complacent. It is still important to use as much thought and strategy when looking for new names within the database as you would if you were building a database of prospects from scratch. Think of it as looking for a needle in a haystack, only you have these strategies as threads to guide you!

 

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Access and Enhance Data Without Leaving Your Spreadsheet

by: Kenny Tavares, Senior Consultant & Lead Data Analyst

 

Kenneth Tavares

Kenny Tavares

Microsoft Excel is undoubtedly one of the most adaptable tools I have used in my prospect research and data analysis work. To paraphrase an old commercial: “It slices, it dices, it makes julienne fries!”

Seriously, its many applications have led me to always assume Excel can accomplish what I need and then find a way to make it happen. I love unlocking the formula or macro that makes arduous tasks effortless. Even as I delve deeper into coding for data transformation and analysis in other more sophisticated tools, my foundational understanding of data structure is rooted in using Excel. I’m sure many of you share this sentiment.

Fortunately, Excel is here to stay, with Microsoft continually enhancing its functionality to match our evolving workflows. However, as creatures of habit, we often overlook these new features; we stick to what we know.

I’d like to highlight the Data Types feature, which enhances data, making it more dynamic, thus making analysis more robust. It’s straightforward to use and can save you valuable time. You might be surprised at what you can do without running to your web browser!

There are three Data Types available: Stocks, Currencies and Geography.  We’ll explore Stocks in detail as a case example:

How It Works

Imagine you’re tracking a prospect’s portfolio that includes stocks in Apple, NVIDIA, and Microsoft. You enter their ticker symbols in a column, select those cells, go to the Data tab, and choose Stocks.

Excel will then turn these symbols into linked data fields. If you see an icon next to the stock name, it means it worked:

Clicking on the floating menu next to the cell will give you more than two dozen data points to choose from:

Let’s say you are interested in stock price simply select that option and the data will then be added in a new column — Voila!

Then, you can just multiply the stock price by the number of shares:

Even better, the next time you open the spreadsheet, the stock prices will update automatically. You can also manually update the data by choosing Refresh from the Data menu.

Other Use Cases

Stocks: Another great use for the Stocks type is business valuation. To assess the value of a privately-owned company, create a custom list of similar publicly-traded companies and use the floating menu to add useful info like employee counts, market cap, and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Instead of copying and pasting from a web browsesr, you can gather all this info using Excel.

Furthermore, you can pair the Stocks information with the STOCKHISTORY formula to generate a list of historical prices for a selected date range without exporting from another website.

Geography: The Geography type is great for enriching a list of addresses. By applying it to a zip code, you can get city/town info like population, county, state, and coordinates.

With the Power Map add-in, you can map out your prospect’s locations. From the county data, you can access more info like the largest city. From state data, you can get Census info like median income and home values. In no time, your simple dataset can be transformed into something more insightful.

Currencies:  Using the Currencies type, you can get updated exchange rates by entering the abbreviations for the two currencies you want to check, for example, Hong Kong Dollar to US Dollar (HKD/USD). Excel will give the rate, which you can then use in your calculations. This makes it easier to evaluate an international prospects’ wealth, especially one with a lot of foreign holdings.

Summary

Excel’s continuous evolution and feature expansion ensures it remains an invaluable tool for prospect researchers and data analysts. Hopefully, the Data Types feature will make your workflow more efficient. By leveraging these innovative tools, you can unlock new possibilities and insights, making your data work for you more effectively. So, take the time to explore these features and see how they can transform your approach to data.

 

 

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Crafting a Meaningful Donor Profile: Connect with the Donor Behind the Dollars

by: Susan Barclay, Consultant

Susan Barclay

Profiles are the bread and butter of the prospect research world. We write them day in and day out. But, have you ever thought about what makes a good profile go from good to, well, great?

Say you’re like my colleague Karla Davis and you’ve been asked to research someone like This Guy. Your fundraiser has already had the initial visit with This Guy and is anxious to learn more, counting the moments until your profile is in their hands (or inbox). A good profile includes all the usual information, but what else can make it great?

A great prospect profile goes beyond the numbers; it delves into the prospect’s interests and values and presents a picture of the donor behind the dollars. It answers questions.

Let’s take a look at those different categories, shall we?

 

What’s in a Name?

First things first: always include the essential details. This includes the donor’s name, contact info, and affiliations.

But don’t stop there!

Make it a point to understand who they are beyond these basics:

  • What’s their background?
  • Who are their family members?
  • What led them to philanthropy?
  • What compels them to give?

By grounding your profile in personal details, you set the stage for a deeper connection.

Hint: Two of my favorite sources are LinkedIn (be sure to follow your organization’s social media policy) and Lexis Nexis for Development Professionals.

 

Uncover Their Philanthropic Interests

Let’s dig into what truly drives your donor. Research their giving history to spot patterns—this is where you can find insights that aren’t just about the size of their gifts but also about their values and priorities.

  • What causes are they passionate about?
  • Do you see a consistent history of giving to particular organizations, or are they one-time givers?
  • What are their most significant gifts?
  • Do you see any endowments, major gifts, multi-year gifts, or scholarships?
  • Are they involved with any organizations as a member of a board or as a trustee?
  • Do they serve as a volunteer in other capacities?
  • Do they support those organizations?
  • Have you run across any articles mentioning their involvement with non-profit organizations?

Hint: One of the first sites I always go to when looking for board involvement is ProPublica.

 

Analyze Their Giving Capacity

Look for wealth indicators—like properties or business ownership—but also consider their lifestyle.

  • Do they have an art collection, watercraft, horses, car collection?
  • What about public company securities?
  • Are there any assets held under their spouse/partner’s name or under an LLC?
  • Do you see evidence of a DAF, family foundation, or a family office?

Hint: DAFinitive® is a great tool to help you search for DAFs. It contains over 90,000 funds from over 700 DAF sponsors, with more being added every week!

 

Personal Insights Matter

This is where you really start to connect with the person behind the donations.

  • Can you find any personal anecdotes?
  • How about information on their hobbies, or passions?
  • Has the donor been featured in a local magazine or spoken at events?

Quotes or stories can provide a glimpse into what matters most to them. Occasionally a tiny nugget of information mentioned in an article about your donor can reveal a world of information you never expected.

Hint: My favorite resources here are to check out local publications and newspapers for your prospect’s hometown, as well as their alumni magazine and any trade journals within their business industry.

 

It’s Alive!

Finally, remember that donor profiles should evolve. Update them regularly with new information or changes in the donor’s status.

A dynamic profile ensures you always have the most relevant information at your fingertips, keeping the focus on the person rather than just the data.

Creating a detailed donor profile doesn’t need to be overwhelming or complicated. By keeping it simple, answering the immediate questions and focusing on the individual behind the donations, you can craft profiles that truly resonate.

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Ode to the Obituary – A Prospect Research Perspective

by: Maura Monley Baron, Consultant

Maura Monley Baron

Maura Monley Baron

From the beginning of my career as a researcher I have always been drawn to obituaries. Not only because they provide information essential to our work, but I also love the stories they tell and the generational history that can be learned from them.

I see obits as a window into the lives of individuals and families and the people, places, and things that they care about. Last December I worked with my family to write an obituary for a beloved family member. As a researcher, my first instinct was to be cautious with the amount of personal information shared because I know how researchers use this information, and I knew it could be used for identity theft.

However, as we started writing, I found myself letting go of my concerns and wanting to share because I was proud of my family member, and I wanted to tell their story. This experience advanced my appreciation for obituaries and inspired this blog post.

A Brief History of Obituaries

As I started working on this blog my first step was to do a little research about obituaries. In doing so I learned that obituaries have evolved from simple death notices to detailed narratives that tell the story of a person’s life.

The earliest known obituaries date back to ancient Rome. With the invention of the printing press, the newspaper industry boomed, and the tradition of publishing death notices continued. During the American Civil War newspapers published death notices for soldiers, which included biographical details. This practice helped communities keep track of the living and the dead, making obituaries a vital part of the public record.

By the late 20th century, obituaries had become more personal, including family stories and photographs. Today, obituaries are often published online, allowing for even more detailed memorials. Funeral home websites, and the platforms they utilize provide space for families to share photos, stories, and memories, creating a digital tribute and a valuable source of information for our research.

Sometimes you cannot find an obituary – which is frustrating – however my research informed me that obituaries are not a legal requirement, and certain religions and cultures may choose not to publish them for various reasons. Some families may opt not to publish an obituary due to privacy concerns, financial constraints (most newspapers charge by the word to print obituaries), or because the deceased requested not to have one.

Newspaper archives are the best place to find older obituaries and a subscription to Newspapers.com is helpful. Other resources include Legacy, Genealogy Bank, Family Search, Dignity Memorial, and Find a Grave.

Tips for Using Obituaries in your Research

The Basics

To be clear I do understand that a deceased person is not a good prospect. However, the obituary can confirm key information about a person’s life, including birth date and place, education, career, where they lived, and other life events. This gives you an overview of an individual and is useful for verifying information about surviving family members.

Generational Wealth

A “good” obituary can be one of your most valuable tools when working on a complex prospect with generational wealth. Most obituaries list surviving relatives, including spouses, children, siblings, and sometimes even grandchildren or great-grandchildren. This information can help you build family trees and identify connections between different branches of a family. I often find myself revisiting an obituary as I move through my research, and I like to keep the obit open in my browser for reference.

From the 1870s to the 1950s, in conjunction with the publication of an obituary was the practice of publishing details about a deceased person’s will and estate in newspapers. While this seems like an incredible invasion of privacy, I learned that during this period, newspapers were a primary source of information for the public, and legal notices, including probate notices, were often published as part of the public record. This was how surviving family members were notified of the contents of a will and provided a means for distant relatives to discover information about an inheritance (or a missed one). These articles, though not an obituary, will provide detailed information about how much family members inherited, including cash, securities, and real estate.

Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, February 12, 1944

So Much Can Be Learned from a Name

A middle name or even a middle initial can be very helpful for confirming a prospect with a common name. An obituary can also confirm where a prospect lives. By finding these additional details it will be much easier to confirm your prospect when you utilize research tools like LNDP, Kindsight, or ResearchPoint. I also look for a relative of my prospect with a less common name and search for that person on social media which can lead to more information about the family and the ability to confirm relationships.

Obituaries can be particularly helpful in identifying women’s maiden names. Often, I find an indication of generational wealth from first or middle names which identify a last name of a previous generation.

    Baltimore Sun, May 23, 1973

Finding Clues for Further Research

Obituaries detail community affiliations, such as religious organizations, professional associations, or social clubs. Sometimes they include information about where a prospect’s family has lived, including second homes, that may still be in the family. The name of a business found in an obituary can lead to the discovery of a current company and a history of stock ownership by the family. Following these leads often brings you to additional records and sources of information.

 

Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 6, 1996

 

Sacramento Bee, April 15, 1952

Philanthropy

Obituaries also indicate organizations a person was affiliated with as an alum, board member, or volunteer. This may help you confirm gifts from your prospect to these organizations. Information about where a family directs memorial donations can confirm a family’s philanthropic interests or reveal significant donations recognized through naming opportunities. Sometimes a specific donor advised fund name is provided as well.

Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, February 1, 1995

In the End….

When using obituaries for research, it is important to remember that the information provided may not always be 100% accurate, as it is often provided by family members. Cross-referencing with other sources is always necessary for verification.

As with many things in prospect research the obituary will serve as a piece of a larger puzzle. A detail from an obituary may lead you down the road to finding information about your prospect that influences your rating or creates a connection to your organization. I feel most satisfied with my work when I can provide my client with a strong prospect in terms of capacity but also when I feel I have found evidence of a connection between the prospect and their family and the work of the organization, and an obituary often helps with both.

Obituaries have changed significantly from their simple beginnings to the detailed digital memorials of today. They continue to serve not only as a public record of death but also as a celebration of life.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for obituaries. Like all things their evolution will be influenced by the complex digital world we live in. As a human and a prospect researcher I hope they do not become obsolete as they are important to the process of grieving and provide an opportunity to tell the story of a life well lived while also being an indispensable resource.

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Front Door Locked? Use the back door!

We just celebrated my colleague Jennifer Turner’s fourteenth anniversary with HBG (!), and one of the things Jen has become known for around here is her skill at tracking down hard-to-find information. In today’s article, Jen shares some of her tactics for finding contact information when the usual resources are less than helpful. Thanks, Jen! ~Helen

Jennifer Turner

Senior Consultant Jennifer Turner

Let’s face it – it isn’t easy getting a phone number for the likes of MacKenzie Scott (trust me, I’ve tried). I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever been given the daunting task of finding contact information for a famous philanthropist. It’s hard enough finding all their real estate assets, disguised under the names of various LLCs, let alone a direct phone number.

While it may be difficult reaching that donor directly, I am here to let you know that there is hope! Try reaching them through what I affectionately refer to as “the back door.” Below are some examples of alternative ways to connect your colleagues with those hard-to-reach prospects:

  1. Try to find the prospect’s personal assistant

Company websites usually just list the top executives, so you may need to dig a little deeper to find their assistants. I usually begin by searching the name of the prospect’s company in ZoomInfo’s “institution” tab. From there, I click on the list of individuals. Depending on the company, the number of names listed can range from a few to hundreds of thousands. I then sort this list by title, and scroll through until I find anyone whose title matches personal assistant, executive assistant, administrative assistant, etc. With any bit of luck, you will not only find the name of an assistant, but an email address and direct telephone number for them as well.

  1. Search within the prospect’s company’s website for “hidden” email addresses

Using an extension such as Hunter, you can quickly obtain a list of email addresses within a company’s website (note: Hunter offers a variety of subscriptions ranging in price, but even the free subscription gives you 25 monthly searches, so you won’t need to ask your supervisor to pay for another resource to have success with this method). Sometimes the email address will be accompanied by a complete name, and if you’re lucky, their title. Other times it will not. When I don’t have a name, I simply conduct a new internet search putting the email address in quotation marks. If/when I find the name, I can then run it through LinkedIn to see if I can obtain that person’s title. This method may sound a bit time consuming (which it can be) but has proven invaluable when I cannot find an email address for the actual prospect.

  1. LinkedIn

And speaking of LinkedIn, whether you have a paid subscription or use the free version (I use the free version), this can be a great tool for finding personal assistants. Look up the prospect’s company, then review its list of people. From this list, you can search employees by title, or you can simply scroll through the list of people to see if any titles are for an assistant. Once you have a name, you can then try to find their contact information in ZoomInfo or via an internet search. (Just remember that sometimes people hide their full names in LinkedIn.)

Of course, with these tips also come some hiccups…. 

Caveats

Sometimes there can be lots of administrative assistants. You can handle this a couple of different ways:

  • Include them all and let the fundraiser go from there.
  • Limit the ones you pass on to the fundraiser to those for which you have found an email address and a direct phone number.
  • Check to see if you can find the assistant’s location. Depending on the size of the company, the assistants may be scattered across various locations. Try to make sure the assistant’s name you provide is in fact employed at the same location as the prospect.

 

Outdated titles

  • People change jobs. Often. And sometimes information is outdated. Therefore, whenever possible, try to cross-check titles and companies to ensure the assistant is still, in fact, employed at your prospect’s company.

 

You simply cannot find an assistant.

  • It happens. When all else fails, try to give your colleague something. You may not be able to provide them with the prospect’s personal email or direct telephone number, but putting them in touch with a person whom they can refer to by name is the first step in getting them connected.

In conclusion….

 Don’t just give your fundraising colleagues a generic email (such as info@xxx.com) found on the main page of a company’s website, or their main business telephone number; take that extra step to provide your colleague with a specific name and a title, even if it isn’t for the intended prospect.

Chances are, they will have more luck speaking to an actual person this way, which can then lead to a future conversation with the desirable prospect. While it may be premature to expect an immediate call with the likes of MacKenzie Scott, there’s no harm in having an initial conversation with those connected to her. From there, you can let your colleague work their magic to get a meeting with a billionaire prospect.

 

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The RiF Prospect Research Handbook is out today!

Lots of times we might have a brilliant idea to nudge forward (or perhaps even revolutionize) our profession, but then we think, ugh, is it worth it? That would take forever! And we go back to whatever it was we were doing before our daydream.

Fortunately for all of us that’s not what happened back in 2019 when Ben Rymer, then chair of Researchers in Fundraising (RiF), dreamed up the bold idea to create a soup-to-nuts Prospect Research how-to Handbook. In case you’re not familiar with RiF, it’s the professional association for prospect researchers in the UK. Just like Apra here in North America, RiF has a great conference every year (theirs is in November in London) as well as gatherings throughout the year.

The RiF Handbook (available today!), called Researchers in Fundraising: Best Practice Guide and Handbook for Prospect Research has been a labor/labour of love for many of us in the prospect research community. I was lucky enough to be one of the volunteer editors for a segment or two, and I was impressed at what a well-run machine it was, and what a great job that the project’s manager Ally Lee-Dudley, founder of Adcumulo, did of keeping the operation running so smoothly.

I was interested to learn more about the Handbook and the process of creating it, so I got in touch with Ben, Ally, and Chris Davis, RiF’s current chair, to find out more. Sincere thanks to Ben, Ally, and Chris for sharing these great insights!

Helen: Ben, how did the idea come about to do a Handbook for prospect researchers?

Ben Rymer: When I sent the initial proposal to the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) in August 2019, I’d known for a while that a handbook/textbook/how-to guide was needed. My feeling was that prospect research was still something of a trade, rather than a profession or discipline. We have a huge amount of expertise, experience and goodwill in the community, but it had never completely crystallised into a finished product so we could build on and improve existing good practice.

HB: What was your initial plan for the scope of the project, and did that change at all as it evolved?

BR: All I knew was that the main areas of research practice should be included. Basically I wanted to create something that I would’ve found practically useful in my first job in the sector. We cast the net wide in starting, with plans for 23 chapters. The big trade-off since then has been in response to volunteer availability. All the content is crowd-sourced, and so we have to work in sequence with the expertise of volunteers who come forward … Also, Covid hit a short time after project kick-off, but we pivoted to remote working pretty well, thankfully.

HB: Ally, how did you get involved with the project?

Ally Lee-Dudley: My involvement with the project began in January 2020 when the Steering Group were looking for a Project Manager to move the Handbook from a great concept to a work in progress. At this time there were not yet any structures, processes, or resources in place so this really was the beginning of the Handbook as an active project.

HB: How many volunteers were part of it?

AL-D: To date around 90 volunteers have contributed to the Handbook, some as writers, some as editors, some as beta-readers, as some as micro-volunteers. Volunteers come from 3 different continents, and around a dozen different countries making the volunteer effort an international collaboration.

HB: How many chapters are there, and how was the decision made on which topics to include?

AL-D: At launch, 8 chapters are available for readers plus a Resource Director and Glossary of industry terms and phrases. There are another 7 chapters in progress which will be published as and when they are completed and a further 11 chapters that are yet to be started. Publishing content on a staggered basis like this means we are able to start getting useful content out and into the prospect research community far more quickly than if we wait for a ‘complete’ Handbook. The original list of potential chapters was developed through discussions between the volunteers who make up the RiF Committee. Over time several additional chapters have been added to that list as a result of suggestions made by volunteers involved with the project.

HB: Chris, as the scope of the project evolved, what changes did that cause you to make?

Chris Davis: As we added more chapters to the Handbook, we found ourselves looking beyond our immediate peer group for input and advice, to those with specific expertise or lived experience. For example, in our chapter on Strategic International Prospecting, we were aware that we needed to get as much input as possible not only from researchers with extensive knowledge of international prospect research, but also from those with experience of living or working in different countries and communities. This was definitely a challenge, but I hope we got the balance right! Similarly, when we start work on the chapter on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Prospect Research we’ll be seeking involvement from those who are experts in the ED&I space.

HB: What surprised you most about the process, or what created the most changes or opportunities as things went along?

CD: I think I was surprised by how much content we ended up generating! I knew that the prospect research community would be hugely generous with their time and knowledge, but I was still taken aback at times by the volume of work we ended up producing. At this point I’d have to give a big shout out to our beta-reading and editing volunteers, who were a major help in clarifying and refining the chapters and getting them to where they are now.

HB: Ben, what do you think are the top 3 things that readers will find that might surprise them?

BR: 1. Reach: it is a big thing! Chapters I’ve worked on have ended up being 10,000-20,000 words long. We also have a very broad range of topics, so I think readers will be pleasantly surprised at that.

  1. What’s still to come: by the same token, there are some big chapters in the pipeline, so reader may be left waiting for those. If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to get in touch via the Handbook website, www.rifhandbook.info.
  2. Quality: we’ve put a lot of effort into making the content as good as it can be. For a wholly volunteer-generated initiative I think it is a solid product, but I’m biased of course!

HB: Chris, what do you think are the top things that you think readers will find most useful in the Handbook?

CD: I think that will be different depending on the needs and experiences of readers – throughout the Handbook we’ve tried to ensure that content is relevant for both those who are new to prospect research and for experienced researchers who are looking to innovate and upskill.

For early-career researchers or those who are setting up a prospect research function, we hope our New Researchers Guide chapter and the chapter on The Prospect Research Role will be invaluable. Within the Data & Skills Domain of the Handbook, there is some very detailed, nuanced, and in-depth content on estimating wealth and assigning capacity ratings – topics that we know are of eternal interest to prospect researchers and fundraisers alike!

Finally, we’ve made extensive use of case studies throughout the Handbook, drawn from the real-life experiences of researchers. We hope these will really bring the content the life and illustrate how the principles and techniques outlined in the Handbook can be applied practically.

HB: Chris, what did you enjoy most about the process?

CD: I’ve really enjoyed the experience of being involved in creating content for the Handbook, especially the early stages of this where you are exchanging knowledge with your peers. I’ve been working in prospect research for over a decade, but being involved with the Handbook has absolutely encouraged to rethink some of my settled views about the work that we do, and how we do it. I think the Handbook does reflect this process of peer exchange, and I hope that everyone who uses it will find something new and different in there that challenges their assumptions.

HB: Ally, What tools did you use for collaboration on this massive project and how well did they work? If you had another large collaborative project to undertake, would you use the same tools?

AL-D: The Handbook was always intended to be primarily a remote project, so in that sense we were lucky and the pandemic didn’t significantly affect our plans. In order to help ensure both accessibility of tools at no cost for volunteers and to help embed project sustainability by keeping the financial burden of the project low for RiF, we’ve largely drawn on tools that are available for free. As a Steering Group, our project management hub is a tool called Freedcamp, and this enables us to plot and track actions, deadlines, and milestones and assign task accountability at a strategic level.

For the Handbook’s wider volunteer community, the free version of MS Teams is our collaborative workspace. Teams provides us with a place to create, share, and store documents such as meeting agendas and action plans, and to work collectively on producing and editing content in real-time whilst being able to communicate quickly and easily with each other. Within Teams volunteers can access the web versions of MS Word and Excel so we’re all using the same tools to ensure compatibility plus there is in-build versioning history and storage back-up for those ‘just in case’ moments.  We’ve recently made the switch from using Zoom for our regular meetings to using MS Teams’ video calling service; it doesn’t quite have all the same features as Zoom but it does come at zero cost rather than requiring a subscription to hold meetings for small groups for up to an hour at a time.

The Handbook itself is created using a custom-made WordPress website. We chose the route of e-publishing over hard copy for several reasons and the WordPress platform, with its almost unlimited flexibility and versatility, is the best fit to meet the Handbooks needs both now and in the future. As an e-publication it is not only much easier to keep the Handbook content up to date, it is also far simpler to ensure its availability to readers around the world who can access the content from any device with a web browser.

Overall, aside from the usual occasional IT glitch, (we’ve done the equivalent of turn it off and on again once or twice), the tools we’ve chosen have been effective and created not only a conduit for remote productivity and development, but also a space to come together a a community and experience that sense of being part of a team working towards a common goal that is so important to the Handbook.

Many thanks again to Ben, Chris, and Ally for sharing the inside scoop on the RiF Prospect Research Handbook, and for all of the hard work and coordination that went into creating it! Check out the Handbook website at www.RiFHandbook.info. If you would like to be a volunteer writer or editor for future chapters, please visit this page to learn more.

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