Individuals support all types of funding needs
for nonprofit organizations. Whether you need funds for your annual
operating budget, a major capital
campaign or your endowment
fund, it's critical to include individual donors in your funding
plan. According to recent trends, individuals make up 85 percent
of the donor base for nonprofits in the United States.
To begin soliciting from individuals, you need to develop a prospect
list for both major gifts and smaller donations. Think of individuals
who share your organization's ideals -- your core beliefs, values
and mission -- and who may be open to investing in those ideals.
Perhaps they are people who have benefited from the services you
offer or are close to an individual who has.
Individuals to consider:
- friends and acquaintances in your own personal network
- board members
- other wealthy individuals who support specific issues
- prospects who may respond to direct mail appeals
The Donors Forum Library provides resources
to help you learn how to approach prospects and turn them
into invested donors. We can teach you to identify, approach
and secure funding from new donors as well as increasing the
involvement level of current donors. On site in the Library,
the Donors Forum also offers online prospect research tools
such as Prospect Research Online and Wealth Engine.
Search
the Donors Forum Library catalog online
to see our materials and online databases accessible from
the libraries to help you research potential individual donors.
To find out more, explore this website's Research
section.
Once you've found individual donors
for your organization, learn how to cultivate their giving
with Cultivation
and Donor Recognition Strategies (pdf), from nonprofit
consultant Jo Moore.
Use these lists to identify potential
top companies and individuals in selected industries.
Book
of Lists. Crain Communications - Ref HC 108 .C4 B665
Top business lists for the Chicago metropolitan area. Can access
some lists without an online subscription and People/Profiles
are useful features.
If you're reading the print version of Crain's Chicago Business,
see the "People" section.
Book
of Lists. Business Ledger - Ref HC 108 .C4 B666
Top business lists for the west and northwest suburbs. Check out
their Regular Features section including People on the Move and
Business Capsules. These sections are available in the print edition
as well.
Forbes
Lists
Check out the lists of companies, people and places. Also see
their People
Tracker option for Forbes subscribers.
Directory of Physicians in the United States
(AMA) - Ref R 712 .A1 D57
Alphabetical and geographical register of physicians. Also see
the AMA
Online Doctor Finder.
PORTICO
- Web Resources for Advancement Professionals/Occupations
An excellent source of online directories of individuals in specialized
industries.
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory - Ref KF 190
.M3
Directory of lawyers and law firms. Find biographical information
by geography/town. Also see the online
locator.
FreeEdgar.com
Search for the stock holdings of top five officers and boards
of directors in the proxy statement.
Northeastern
Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC)
NIPC is a planning agency for the six-county metropolitan Chicago
area and is a wonderful source of economic and demographic indicators.
U.S.
Census Bureau
An excellent source for current U.S. social, demographic and economic
statistics.
Association
of Professional Researchers for Advancement
Review the Statement of Ethics under Advancement Research Standards
and the section on Research Links with links to useful web sites.
David
Lamb's Prospect Research Page
Useful links and descriptions of prospect research sites.
Internet
Prospector and Archives
Published by volunteers who look for "prospect research nuggets."
PRSPCT-L
An electronic mail list for discussion of prospect research issues.
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