Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Research links from AFP Forum


Donor Research in the Digital Age
AFP Forum – March 13, 2013

Address & Phone Resources
WhitePages – search for people, businesses, reverse phone number, or by address and neighbors

Biographical Information
Birthdatabase – searchable by name, age, and zip code.
LinkedIn – provides current employer and title as well as employment history; also lists degrees and educational institutions attended; sometimes lists professional and community affiliations
ZoomInfo – a search engine specifically for finding people; often searches deeper than Google and provides “cached” webpages no longer available online; provides a limited number of links for free

Business Information
Hoovers – basic company snapshots for free; detailed reports are fee-based
Manta – provides free business snapshots based on Dun & Bradstreet reports

Government Resources (local)
Jackson County, MO marriage records – useful for confirming exact birthdates and spouse names
Johnson County, KS District Court records – useful for searching marriage and divorce records
Missouri Case.net – searchable database of Circuit Court records in Missouri; limited detail only provides basic information on everything from traffic tickets to estates to divorces

Library Resources (local)
Johnson County Public Library – free library card entitles access to several online databases including local and national newspaper archives, obituaries, genealogical resources, and other databases

Political Contributions
Political MoneyLine – search by donor name, state, zip code, occupation or recipient; links to actual copy of FEC contribution filing with home address, employer and occupation of donor

Public Company Salaries & Holdings
Securities & Exchange Commission – search by public company name; the Proxy Statement (DEF14A) contains salary and inside shareholder information

Real Estate Resources
Google Maps – provides aerial and sometimes “street views” of residences
Jackson County, MO – searchable by name or property address
Johnson County, KS – searchable by property address only; includes photo of residence
Clay County, MO – searchable by name or property address
Platte County, MO – searchable by name or property address
Pulawski.net – tax assessor database by state. Named for Christina Pulawski, a former prospect researcher at Northwestern University, now a fundraising consultant
Trulia – nationwide real estate database searchable by city, zip code, or property address
Zillow – nationwide real estate database searchable by city, zip code, or property address

Paid Resources
LexisNexis for Development Professionals ($700-$1000 per month for one user) – multi-function toolkit for fundraisers includes address & phone history, birthdates (month & year only), e-mail addresses, family relationships, real estate assets, newspaper archives, and employment links.
Nozasearch ($900 per year for multiple users) – the world’s largest searchable database of charitable contributions; also provides limited foundation searches for free.
WealthEngine ($2,750 per year for up to three users) – multi-function toolkit for fundraisers includes capacity calculator, charitable giving (limited Nozasearch), Dun & Bradstreet, Federal Election Contributions, Foundation Search, Guidestar Directors and Foundations, Hoover’s business information, Marquis Who’s Who, aircraft and large watercraft ownership, and more!  Subscription price includes monthly webinars and best practices white papers.

p.s. And don't forget to Google!!!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Blackbaud publication: Boosting Your Giving Programs Through Prospect Research


I have the paper version, which I recommend quite often.  However, it's nice to see that Blackbaud has posted an electronic version here.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Registration for the APRA International Conference is now open!

Registration for the APRA 26th Annual International Conference, from August 7-10, 2013, in Baltimore, is now open!  This is THE conference for prospect researchers from around the world!

http://www.aprahome.org/p/cm/ld/fid=362

Likewise, if you're in Missouri or Kansas, the annual APRA MO/KAN Conference is some serious bang for the buck.  It features a great speaker lineup this year as well, and is April 11-12, 2013, in St. Louis.

http://www.apramokan.org/events.html

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

A new handbook on Prospect Research...and a classic!

It's been awhile since we had a good book devoted to Prospect Research, so I can't tell you how excited I am for this book to come out next month!  It's $32 at Amazon!

"Prospect Research for Fundraisers: The Essential Handbook."


Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't also give a kudos to Cecelia Hogan's now classic handbook, "Prospect Research: A Primer for Growing Nonprofits."