| A university’s Board of Trustees has charged
the Development staff with broadening their base of support and
planning for an endowment campaign. The staff sets four goals: 1)
significantly raise their alumni giving rate and annual gift size,
2) increase membership in their annual giving societies (made up
of those who give at higher levels), 3) identify and qualify a pool
of major gift prospects, and 4) proactively target planned giving
prospects.
The Development staff uses ProspectPoint to segment their constituents
for accomplishing each of these initiatives. ProspectPoint provides
a thorough assessment of each constituent’s propensity to
make major, planned or annual gifts and also indicate who might
be able to upgrade their annual gifts. The results also show which
prospects are likely to make a bequest or establish a charitable
remainder trust. Staff members then take specific segments identified
through ProspectPoint and use WealthPoint to provide in-depth profile
information. By revealing such characteristics as stock and real
estate ownership, this screening provides a much greater understanding
for individual wealth, community influence, etc., giving the development
staff valuable intelligence to further qualify prospects and create
an effective development strategy.
The ProspectPoint and WealthPoint action plan will reduce contact
costs and maximize donations: The annual fund staff now has the
tools to develop targeted strategies focused on those most likely
to give or to stretch their giving. As a result, the alumni participation
rates and gift size increase, along with membership at each level
of their annual giving society. The major gifts officers begin drafting
preliminary gift scales, identify the numbers they need to hit at
each gift level, and assign portfolios of prospects to each officer.
Personal visits are made to the most qualified prospects and new
potential leadership donors are uncovered. Because the planned giving
staff can now gear their marketing efforts by gift type, their next
mailing produces increased interest in annuity and trust programs.
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