Angie Herrington Archives - Helen Brown Group

August 15, 2024 By Helen Brown

365 Days, Six Continents, and 26 Countries

This week the blog belongs to Angie Herrington, who is one of the most resourceful research professionals I know. “Resourceful” in two ways – because not only does Angie always have a great stack of resources in her back pocket, she is the undisputed magnet on our whole team for the most complicated/obscure prospect research assignments, and that has made her very canny. We’re all very lucky to have Angie sharing her resources this week on her new favorite topic – international research. ~Helen

Angie Herrington

My supervisor: “We have a new client you’ll be working with, and they want to focus only on international research.”

Me: …

Me: Sounds great!

The past year has been a travelogue through six continents (sorry Antarctica) and 26 countries. I began with a severe case of imposter syndrome but within a few weeks realized I loved doing international research! In the past my initial reaction was always “where do I even start” or “I’m never going to find anything.” I now look forward to the challenge and creative ways to approach finding actual substantive information to help my client.

The thing about international research is you can’t rely on databases to do the work for you. Channel your prospect research ancestors who looked at primary sources like phone directories and business registries. You have to jump off the modern and well-paved path that’s become a push of a button with data aggregators and start putting together clues to build a picture. Even if you only have a name and a city, the odds are still in your favor you can find something helpful.

Corporate Directories

Corporate directories can be the key to your success when you don’t have information from your database or LinkedIn to rely on for biographical information.

First search to see if the country has a government corporate registry database similar to the U.S.’s individual Secretary of State offices. Examples include the U.K.’s Companies House, the Australian Business Register, or Switzerland’s Central Business Name Index.

There are several sites with varying levels of information searchable by an entity or company’s name. Although some require a subscription, most provide basic details for free. Be sure to use more than one source to verify its accuracy.

B2BHint – search over 100 jurisdictions
Dato Capital – search companies and officers for 14 countries
Infobel – covers 73 countries from 300 telephone subscribers and 270 million businesses
Infoclipper – search companies in over 200 countries
Kompass – search companies in 70 countries
North Data – search companies and officers for 18 countries
OpenCorporates – search companies and officers in over 140 jurisdictions
OCCRP ID (The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a partner with the ICIJ) – search 181 countries for links to corporate and director databases, stock exchanges, land, legal sites, and more

By using a combination of these sources, you might find incorporation and dissolution dates, addresses, directors, and business descriptions. Look for patterns:

Names or addresses connected to other companies or people
An address might be their residence
Family members who are also part of the company
Several sites let you search by a director’s name, and you’ll find current or past employers or board affiliations

Real Estate

Even if you don’t have an exact address, you can still provide an estimate based on the general area, neighborhood, city, or province they might live. Start your search with the full address and based on what you find work backwards by removing the house number, street name, and so on until you can get a sense of the price range, reputation for highly sought after areas, and other indicators. Don’t expect to find exact home values but you can give estimated ranges which are enough to determine wealth, lifestyle, and an initial estimated capacity.

Examples include:

Switzerland is one of my favorite countries to research because of its easy to find real estate, even down to the exact address. I’ve had a lot of success with ch, a phone and address directory to find or verify a person’s most up to date home address or phone number. RealAdvisor lets you search homes, rentals, and provides the median value for homes in a postal code. Another good one is immobilier.ch.
Idealista Spain, Idealista Italy, and Idealista Portugal are frequently compared to Zillow.
Area guides like the UAE’s Bayut also provide details about districts, neighborhoods, and communities including price ranges, amenities, and other valuable information to consider. Area guides and expat discussion boards give some of the best information about where your prospect lives.
It’s important to understand address formats. For example, knowing which of the 12 administrative districts in Taipei or the postal code in Bangladesh can help you narrow down neighborhoods and districts to find a range of sales prices.

Bits and Bobs

Bookmark the HBG Prospect Research Links Library for more resources, including due diligence, salary and compensation, and global privacy laws.
It’s possible the person you’re researching has lived or attended school in the U.S. If you have a subscription to Lexis Nexis for Development Professionals search for current or previously owned homes, family connections, professional licenses, and more. Always use the Advanced Search feature for potential business connections and contact information, biographical details, articles, and due diligence checks for red flags.
If you have a subscription to iWave PRO search under the individual’s name AND company. Although the charitable donation amount is shown in USD, double check the provided donor report source or search for one externally. The gift amount from the annual report is usually in the home country’s currency, and you’ll need to convert it.
Remember naming conventions can vary and will affect your search results
Research the cost of living, especially for putting real estate and compensation in context
Search expat websites, travel websites, and similar resources to find the insider information about neighborhoods, income, and culture
Copy and paste full text into Google Translate
Add a translation extension to your web browser
Create a spreadsheet of all of your go-to bookmarks and share them with your coworkers. I’ve collected over 200 bookmarks and organized them by country, type of resource, name/description, and URL.

When it comes to international research it’s important to manage everyone’s expectations. You’re inferring wealth based on pieces of information that might give you a ballpark capacity for your gift officer to further evaluate and work their magic.

And finally, DO NOT forget that prospects in countries in the European Union fall under GDPR and prospects in the UK fall under the very-similar Data Protection Act. Worldwide privacy laws are always evolving including within the U.S. See HBG’s Michele Borucki’s Data Privacy: Where We’ve been and Where We are Going and Jessica Woodbridge’s Data Privacy (Part 2): Practical Tips and Better Practices for additional information.

August 3, 2023 By Helen Brown

What you put in is what you get out – News Alerts

This week we welcome Angie Herrington to The Intelligent Edge. Over the years, (and many many opportunities), Angie has become an expert on building great news alert systems. It’s not as easy as it might seem, and Angie’s constructed some clever catch-alls over the years. This article is an update to one that she did a few years ago with even more helpful tips. -Helen

Angie Herrington

How can news alerts be important to your organization?

They’re real-time due diligence.

A way to start or cultivate a relationship.

It’s timely and strategic information that we can use to make an impact as information providers.

The days of physically or even digitally reading newspapers cover to cover are long behind us. Finding the right resource and search string will help you make the most of your time.

Because what we say about alerts is what we say about databases – what you put in is what you get out.

INPUT

Menu of Options

When doing news alerts, you have to narrow the focus and your time. Is your frontline colleague only looking for red flags? Career and board changes? Or news about philanthropic gifts? Received an honor or award?

For institutional prospects do they want more than headline news or potential conflicts of interest? Have a conversation with your colleague about what they want to get out of the updates and how they plan to use it. Asking a few questions can help you manage their expectations and guide them away from “more is better” and back to their cultivation plan.

“The Tracker”

When creating an alert make sure you have the right person and a strong search string to narrow down for the best results. You’re going to spend the first few weeks and sometimes longer tweaking your keywords.

You’ll quickly discover Chris Evans the superhero isn’t Chris Evans the BBC presenter. Same with Mark Wahlberg and (spelled slightly different) Mark Walberg or MacKenzie Scott and Mackenzie Scott. Having a quick reference of notes will make sure your colleague sends a note of congratulations for winning a Tony Award to Michael Moritz and not Michael Moritz.
As you go along, you’ll become more familiar with who your colleague is interested in or prioritizing. You’ll begin seeing connections when you’re familiar with the names. For example, you’re researching someone and realize they’re on the same board as another prospect and one might be able to make an introduction to the other.
You might not always be responsible for the alerts, so be sure to track them well. Recently I swapped responsibilities with a coworker including sending a client a weekly news digest. She was able to copy and paste my search strings and immediately receive the alerts without missing any news or a gap in service.

Although setting up an alert can be time consuming at the beginning, your “tracker” doesn’t have to be complicated. Include your search string and brief notes about who they are (and more importantly) who they are not.

You’ll also find building search strings in different products aren’t apples to apples anymore and each use their own version of search operators.

Sources to Consider

A few years ago, I wrote an article called Is There One News Alert to Rule Them All? Included are resources and comments for free, fee-based, or some possibly accessible through your public or university libraries, including but not limited to: EDGAR/SEC, Google, Lexis Nexis($), MarketWatch, Mention($) ProQuest (library), and Talkwalker.

I always recommend using more than one product to cover your bases, but these are the few I’ve recently found the most helpful:

Talkwalker is my recommendation if you only use one. It’s been consistent for a few years finding all types of news when comparing it against others. Although it’s a fee-based resource they also offer 50 free searches which is what I use. It wasn’t my first choice a few years ago because you can get some questionable results and a visit from IT if you click on the wrong link. To avoid this, I usually stay with the News option and avoid Discussions, Blogs, or Twitter for result type.
If you already have a subscription to Lexis Nexis, it’s a good resource for alerts once you set up a strong search string.
I haven’t found Google to be reliable, but it’s saved me a few times and it’s free. Why do I still use it as a supplement? A high-profile and key prospect for my client received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) and out of three resources it’s the only one that caught it.

Corporations and Foundations

Corporations and foundations are still tricky to find resources for alerts. You can use the same products as you do for individuals as long as you narrow your focus with targeted search strings. This is where having a conversation with your colleague becomes important, so you’ll avoid wading through large amounts of irrelevant news.

Owler and Crunchbase offer limited free searches if you don’t have a subscription. I’ve also found the Inside Philanthropy newsletter($) and Philanthropy News Digest provide helpful news and some of the most interesting hits for my client’s existing or potential institutional relationships.

OUTPUT

It’s been difficult for colleagues who don’t do this every day to understand that this is not a push-of-a-button activity or in any way automated for me. You can’t “pause” the news or only send a news digest once a month to save time and still keep up to date. No matter what product you use, you still have to manually review results.

Verify the Source and Date

The best website I’ve found to vet a source is Media Bias/Fact Check and I keep this on my toolbar. It provides a bias category, news sources’ history, and it’s funding. It’s a way to double check you’re looking at a source you trust when they all sound similar – Washington Post (left-center bias) vs. Washington Times (taken with a block of salt) vs. Washington Examiner (right bias).
Don’t take the date for granted! I’ve come across articles dated today but it’s a recycled story from five years ago. Usually, I can avoid this by searching the article’s headline when I’m looking for the story in a higher profiled newspaper. Imagine your colleague sending a note to a $10 million prospect congratulating them on a “recent” award or condolences on the passing of a family member but it’s from several years ago. It can hurt your credibility.

Are Alerts Right for You?

Alerts can impact a relationship with your organization BUT it might not be the best use of your time when there are other priorities. Make sure you understand why or how they’re going to be used so you can offer advice and/or narrow your focus.

For every hour you might spend a day scanning emails for relevancy, verifying the story and source, and making it digestible for your colleague, they might spend less than a minute doing their own scan, speaking to the prospect, or (sob) never opening your email.

And finally, check in with your colleague from time to time to get their feedback and to give them yours.

See my previous blog Is There One News Alert to Rule Them All? (sorry, Sauron, the answer is still no) for more tips, tricks, suggestions, and (sometimes) the frustrations of monitoring news alerts!

February 23, 2023 By Helen Brown

Planning and Managing a Project

How often do you have projects that bubble up unexpectedly? If you’re like my team and me, it’s pretty frequently. Projects can be kind of fun and exciting – a little something different to do! But making sure that the project doesn’t go off the rails, get mission creep, or – gulp – fail, is the key to looking forward to the next one. (Add usually is also the key to moving forward in your career). This week HBG Senior Consultant Angie Herrington shares lessons learned for managing projects successfully – while also (sometimes with a little help from a friend) keeping your sanity. ~Helen

A project is a bundle of tasks necessary to create a solution. A simple definition but for our purposes we’re going to look at it as a process of creating a plan and managing it to keep it on track. Based on scope or size, a project’s complexity can be anything from an internal department screening verification to building a prospect management system.

The Beginning

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen R. Covey

Chancellor Bob “The Boss” Smith has come to you with a request. Your most important job right now? Stay quiet and listen. The Boss has an idea, and he may or not know what it will look like, but he needs a solution which is now your job. It’s then your turn to tactfully find out why this is needed, how is it going to be used, who will use it, and does he already have a visual of what it will look like. It’s possible The Boss won’t have any answers, but he has an idea and it’s an opportunity for you to help shape it because ultimately, you’re the subject matter expert.

Planning

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” – Alan Lakein

A project is about creating a process involving multiple steps and/or people. Where do you start?

Meet internally with your supervisor and team to prioritize it with other projects.
Visualize the steps. Projects aren’t one-size fits all so do your best to estimate the time for each step, including meetings and administrative tasks.
Meet with others who need to be involved and discuss their ideas, time estimates, and workload.
Don’t forget to factor in your own time if you have other responsibilities or unrelated work and if you’ll need to delegate something.
Ask more questions for clarification.

How can you stay organized? We don’t always have time to create or maintain flashy visuals, Gantt charters, or learn one of the many available planning software programs. There are people whose sole jobs are certified project managers. It doesn’t hurt to understand basic concepts from agile or scrum project management methodologies because the clock is ticking and knowing steps to keep a team collaborating on schedule and being accountable will make your life easier. For us we can use basic tools we’re already familiar with like spreadsheets, word documents, free online templates, online whiteboards, a calendar system, and other simple tools to get the job done to the best of our abilities.

Proposal and Negotiation

“Everything is negotiable. Whether or not the negotiation is easy is another thing.” – Carrie Fisher

Now that you know who and what you need it’s time to draft a proposal, so everyone understands the plan, timeline, and role. This is the time to clearly manage expectations. Including more than one option for The Boss to consider might help you manage the scope and time you’ve estimated and later during negotiations. Compromise, but be careful not to overpromise, propose or leave anything vague. Although it’s not always possible, work with the ultimate decision maker or keep them involved in some way to stay on track.

Document. Document. Document. Can you guess why I’ve stressed this detail? Do this from your first meeting to the last. Document changes to your proposal. The project itself or who you’re working with might be complex, so I also suggest having someone else in the room from the beginning to help take notes, catch anything overlooked, and make sure there aren’t misinterpretations.

Communication and Comprehension

“Communication sometimes is not what you first hear, listen not just to the words, but listen for the reason.” – Catherine Pulsifer

We all say communication is the key, but it means nothing unless there’s comprehension. Part of being an effective project manager is you’re also a translator. As researchers we have to know a little bit about everything and that includes our internal partners.

For example, you need data from your CRM and help from your database manager or the report writing team. During your planning stage bring everyone in on the full picture of the who, what, and why. Asking for XYZ could get you a .csv file with 300 columns and 10,000 rows when there might have been an option for a report with context. Have a basic understanding about the different groups you’re working with and put effort into understanding their terminology vs. The Boss’s. Adapting will make your life easier. You’re the negotiator working with a variety of personalities, skills, and work styles helping them understand their piece in the puzzle.

Implementation

“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” – Guy Kawasaki

You’re now in the thick of it. Manage your progress with a tracker including tasks, status, and updates. Schedule regular meetings with agendas to add notes with who’s doing what and a focus on next steps. Similar to the Agile method, if it’s appropriate and you think productive, share your work in stages with The Boss to get input as you go.

Guess what? The Boss has a new idea or change to the project, and it will add more time. Ask, “what will this replace” or “that’s an interesting idea and something to consider as a phase two of the project.” We need to prioritize what’s most important vs. what would be nice if we had more time.

At some point you might have a meltdown and it’s good to remember suggestions like go for a walk, get fresh air, make a new friend with the person who stopped you from throwing your computer out the window. I made a discovery on a Sunday night during a series of email exchanges. (You’re probably thinking the lesson was never to reply to email off hours. That’s a great idea and I’ll add it to next year’s performance goals.) In this case I learned my Apple Watch has a heart rate monitor that will trigger if my beats per minute goes over 120 after 10 minutes of sitting. The second time it went off an hour later I made another discovery. My husband knows how to block websites like my email account on our wireless router and where to hide my cell phone.

You’ll find times when you have to stop and ask yourself “is this reasonable?” or “is this worth it?” and need to go back to negotiate. If you find yourself in this situation, remember what we do isn’t going to end the world. Remind yourself of the bigger picture. If your own efforts to bring the project back to a manageable level isn’t working, ask for an outside perspective or your manager to step in to help.

Retrospective

“Regardless of what we discover, we must understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job he or she could, given what was known at the time,
his or her skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.” – Norman Kerth

The project is done! A retrospective session is the final piece of the documentation process and will give you and/or your team time to reflect. Discuss your successes, complications (missteps and/or those out of your control), what you would do differently, and any next steps. It will help everyone understand your work, The Boss might remember where your office is and have another great idea, and you’ll inevitably do something similar again. We learn from the past and (hopefully) know what not to repeat or will work better next time.

Most importantly and I can’t stress this enough, thank those who helped. The Boss may have moved on and will never be aware of your efforts or the benefits of an Apple Watch’s heart monitor. You can be better because you were there with everyone else. A little gratitude makes a big difference to them and for you.

Lessons Learned

“Some lessons can’t be taught. They simply have to be learned.” – Jodi Picoult

Sometimes project management is an attempt at good intentions. Do I practice what I preach? No comment. I learn something every time that helps me with the next project. I’ve tried to get ahead on known projects and never heard a peep until two days before the deadline. There’s that saying, “your lack of planning is not my emergency.” Periodically check in with your development officer on their goals and your potential role. Remember to manage other’s expectations and especially your own. It’s easier said than done but that’s one of the lessons I’ve learned along the way and will hopefully practice the next time.

Angie Herrington

October 14, 2021 By Helen Brown

Is There One News Alert to Rule Them All?

Are you the person on your team who sets up news alerts? If so, this week’s article by Angie Herrington is just for you. Angie has spent more time than she can count becoming an expert on news alerts, and in today’s article she shares all of her top tips and tricks with you. ~Helen

Senior Consultant Angie Herrington

Researchers have relied on news alerts for decades to help us avoid missing something potentially transformational for our organization. The problem is there isn’t one perfect resource to catch everything. Sophisticated algorithms are gamed to skew or create biased results. Most products are now curated for digital marketing professionals and focused on tracking brands, social media mentions, and analytical trends. This is great for marketing or public relations purposes but not so wonderful for what the traditional researcher needs.

I provide daily updates on board members for one of my clients. Fortunately, this is a top priority because it’s more time consuming than any other group I’ve tracked in the past 20 years. The board of directors is made up of 50 high profile executives ranging from chairs or board members of public companies, distinguished academics, public policy experts, and other daily newsmakers. In addition to the usual updates on employment or philanthropy, I look for public statements, interviews, awards, honors, published papers, op-eds, conference attendance, or speaking engagements.

I know that many of us spend time doing this, so I thought you might like a peek into how I do it. [Read more…]

December 3, 2020 By Helen Brown

Art Imitates Life

This week my HBG colleague Angie Herrington writes about extracurricular prospect research learning that we can’t get enough of, from the unlikeliest sources – movies and television. You expect to be incredulously skeptical about a tv program showing hedge fund managers blowing insane amounts of cash on yachts or other ‘toys,’ but to then learn later from those in the know that the depiction is actually pretty spot-on? Maybe it’s worth spending time watching these shows! In today’s article, Angie details some “homework” that we might not want to miss. ~Helen

Let’s be realistic. Our researcher brains don’t magically shut off at 5:00 on Friday. I’ll go to the grocery store and see the niche cookies of the small company I researched and watch my husband’s eyes glaze over telling him their backstory. At the museum while looking at a painting I’ll guess its value. After all, I researched another work by the artist for a recent donor’s profile.

Thanks to 2020, I’ve watched a lot of television. I want to zone out but realize my researcher brain is still on the clock. Gleaning information from movies and TV about the worlds we research isn’t new. The first one I remember watching as “homework” was 2003’s Born Rich, an Emmy nominated documentary about 10 heirs to some of the wealthiest families, including a Bloomberg, Weill, Newhouse and a Trump. Directed by an heir himself, Jamie Johnson, the documentary explores wealth and dysfunction.

We now know so much about our donors we can watch a movie like The Big Short and critique what Hollywood got right or wrong. There’s been other “homework” I’ve watched all for the sake of my career. Remember the documentary The Queen of Versailles? Candy Spelling’s wrapping paper rooms, beanie babies and porcelain doll collection on Selling Spelling Manor will forever haunt me. I was four seasons into Netflix’s Narcos and Narcos: Mexico when I realized someone I’ve researched was mentioned.

A surprising thing for me is how I learned more about venture capital and the Silicon Valley from a television show than anywhere else. As researchers we have to know a little bit about a lot of things. I had a basic understanding of venture capital but watching the ups and downs of a little startup called Pied Piper simplified it.

HBO’s Silicon Valley was a comedy that ran from 2014 to 2019, created by Office Space’s Mike Judge and nominated five times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. It’s been praised by insiders for perfectly capturing the tech culture as well as not being dark enough on its realities.

Silicon Valley is a story about a group of software engineers who develop a startup for a data compression algorithm. Over six seasons, we watch the ups and (mostly) downs of Pied Piper, its CEO Richard, and the team including Gilfoyle, Dinesh, and the unexpectedly mysterious Jared. The show starts by focusing on establishing their startup through a business incubator after they’ve left another tech company called Hooli. Most of their conflicts are with Hooli’s CEO Gavin Belson who tries to duplicate the app, takeover the company, and sue them for copyright violations.

Pied Piper is always struggling to find funding and even fighting against an investor who replaces Richard as CEO. His replacement is convinced the future is in hardware and not cloud-based technology. One might say this sounds similar to Steve Ballmer’s tenure at Microsoft. New investors reinstate Richard, and the original idea of the app continues to evolve.

From season to season the show couldn’t keep up with reality – click farms, video chat apps, cryptocurrency, bypassing encryption, Chinese duplication of technology, government violations, a Zuckerberg-esque Senate hearing, and even Hooli’s board selling the company to CEO Gavin’s nemesis, Jeff Bezos.

In a 2014 interview with Vox, Elon Musk said about the show, “I really feel like Mike Judge has never been to Burning Man, which is Silicon Valley.” Guess what? Pied Piper later strikes a deal with an investor, Russ Hanneman, to use their technology at his music festival – RussFest.

Along the way the show throws in what I thought were ludicrous storylines or situations. I thought Gavin’s anti-aging treatment from the “The Blood Boy” episode was a gag. It’s not. There was also the app that texted “Bro.” Turns out there was actually a $7 million app that did the same thing, called “Yo.”

Articles and the people themselves have commented how characters are parodied after real executives like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Marc Benioff, Peter Thiel, Marissa Mayer, Megan Quinn, Steve Ballmer, Mark Cuban and many more. Consultants for the show included former Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, who helped to parody his own rise and fall.

It’s reported the show consulted with over 250 tech insiders on one season alone. Bill Gates is a fan. On his blog he said he tells reluctant friends, “You really should watch it, because they don’t make any more fun of us than we deserve.”

If you want to learn more about Pied Piper, they have a comprehensive profile on Crunchbase. For me, Silicon Valley became a case study showing Richard as an idealist facing the realities of a complex and frequently ego-driven culture while he struggles with ethical and moral tests. It’s odd to say I learned more about venture capital and Silicon Valley from a half hour comedy. Turns out Silicon Valley the show is entertaining satire but not necessarily fiction.

My homework list is forever growing with suggestions like Equity (film), Billions (Showtime), Succession (HBO), Too Big to Fail (film), and The Laundromat (film), but I’m always happy to add to the list! What’s something work-related you’ve unexpectedly learned while watching a movie or television? Any suggestions while we stay home during the holidays?

January 10, 2019 By Helen Brown

Prospect research can be stewardship’s best friend

Photo by Md. Tareq Aziz Touhid [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Last week, my colleague Angie Herrington shared a personal stewardship horror story. Bad stewardship is a theme that’s all-too familiar in fundraising, as our industry’s frightening donor attrition numbers witness.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Adrian Sargeant’s eye-opening research (coupled with good old common sense) shows that even the tiniest bit of effort to keep an existing donor has exponential benefits, especially compared to the financial drain of trying to acquire the donor in the first place. It just straight-up saves time and money being, well, good at being good to people who are good to you. [Read more…]

January 3, 2019 By Helen Brown

Hello, I’m your new donor. It’s time to make a change.

In my experience, donor research and stewardship go hand in hand. In fact, a little bit of research can take even the most routine stewardship efforts to a whole new level. This week, my colleague Angie Herrington describes a recent stewardship fail on the part of an organization she wanted to support for a lifetime. They lost her, though, and in this article she offers great advice to help guide nonprofits on the value of just doing a little research to keep donors close. ~Helen

Semper Fidelis Memorial Park, photo by Ron Cogswell

A year ago, I lost a dear member of my family. Not long after, I knew I wanted to do something to remember her while helping another. This was going to be my first gift, a significant one for me monetarily and personally. After doing my research, I found my answer with a personalized paving stone memorializing our loss, honoring our longtime and dedicated doctor, and with a portion of the gift going to a hardship fund.

Within seconds of pressing send, I felt an unexpected and absolute high! The personal pride and joy made my heart swell and I was immediately thinking about my next gift. I remembered prospect strategy meetings and discussing a donor’s answer to the “what’s your passion” question. I finally had MY answer.

As a fundraising insider, I should not have been surprised by the following months. Several weeks later I asked about the timeline and if the doctor would be notified. A boiler plate acknowledgment letter was mailed.

Three months later I emailed and learned the order was delayed. Six months after I made the gift, I sent another email and was told it would be sent to the engraver any day now. It included a firm “we’ll contact you when it’s installed.” Ouch. [Read more…]

September 7, 2017 By Helen Brown

POISEd for Success

This week HBG team member Angie Herrington shares some great tips to make sure you don’t lose track of an under-the-radar, future group of supporters to your nonprofit. She’s not totally convinced that she’s got the perfect acronym yet, but IMO she’s on the right track! ~Helen

Fundraising is no different than any other profession with our acronyms and jargon. Some are expedient (DO, MGO, 990, CRM, ‘soft credit’) and some make me think too hard and wonder if we’re making it up (LYBUNT, SYBUNT, and CRUT).

Some of our legacy terms can also be polarizing. Ever dropped the word “suspect” on PRSPCT-L over the past 20 years? If you’re feeling sassy, try that one and let me know how it works out for you. [Read more…]

This week HBG team member Angie Herrington shares some great tips to make sure you don’t lose track of an under-the-radar, future group of supporters to your nonprofit. She’s not totally convinced that she’s got the perfect acronym yet, but IMO she’s on the right track! ~Helen

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