Wealth-researching Tips

Screening is another tool organizations can use. Frost says half of a percent to 1 percent of a typical donor file is made up of insiders in the stock market. Screening allows organizations to find out who these individuals are. Once you find out who they are, cultivate them in a high-touch way.

“If we didn’t know who they were, we’d just be sending them the same mail as everybody else and we’d be inviting them to the same things as everybody else and talking to them the same way as everyone else. But their position’s really unique. They have extraordinary financial resources, and with that often comes less time,” Frost says. “And while they may not feel they’re more important than anyone else, they still are going to be people who are accustomed to a certain kind of interaction. Especially the people who are professional investors, who expect a certain kind of response from something they invest in.”

Frost says donors like this often are in small supply, but they’re highly important, highly capable and can end up making up between half and a third of your major-gift prospect pool in terms of capacity.

“Those touches are going to have to be very sensitive and knowledgeable. They’re going to have to have some sense about who these people are and get to know them so they can invest while they’re alive to support a campaign or activity,” Frost adds.

Jay Frost can be reached via www.wealthengine.com