Global news roundup for prospect researchers
Posts from the ‘Global’ Category
Apr 1
New customized classes for your office
I am very excited to announce that IFI now offers customized classes in international prospect research. These classes are delivered online and tailored to the professional development needs of researchers within one research shop at a time.
Why are customized classes needed? There are two main reasons.
First, every institution has a different geographic focus for international fundraising efforts. When I teach webinars and conference workshops, I have cover international prospect research techniques and strategies in a broad way, in order to provide information of interest to a wide range of researchers with prospects in countries all over the world. In customized classes, however, I will be able to go into depth about the research resources and strategies most useful for the countries where my students will be focusing their efforts.
Second, the international prospect research experience of researchers varies widely. These customized, small group classes will let me tailor instruction to the professional development needs of my students in a way that is just not possible in a larger class or webinar setting.
My first round of customized classes will start later this month. I will be teaching a series of four classes for a university prospect research office here in the US.
Would your research office benefit from customized training in international prospect research? If so, I would love to hear from you. Please send me an email to receive more information.
Global news for prospect researchers
The following is IFI’s latest collection of English-language articles from the international press for prospect researchers.
Global philanthropy and fundraising news (27 September 2012)
Forbes Insights released a new global report, “Next Generation Philanthropy: Changing the World.” This document is based on findings from the recent Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, which “brought together 150 of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful philanthropists to tackle some of the planet’s most persistent challenges.” In addition to the report, Forbes also produced a series of short interviews with summit participants, including the “Nigerian commodities titan” Aliko Dangote (in video above).
TeaLeaf Nation, a blog that covers social media use in China, Talked about Tencent’s approach to “Philanthropy 2.0.”
The Stanford Social Innovation Review published an article called, “Philanthropy in China: The Time is Now.” This article covers “three guidelines for philanthropists, foundations and nonprofits that want to use philanthropy as a means for impact in China.”
The Resource Alliance released this year’s Global Awards for Fundraising shortlist. The winners will be announced at the International Fundraising Congress on 17 October.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England released its “Review of Philanthropy in UK Higher Education: 2012 Status Report and Challenges for the Next Decade.”
Global philanthropy and fundraising news
The September issue of Alliance magazine includes articles about philanthropic trends among the affluent in France and South Africa. (Subscription required.)
The Bellagio Initiative released “Human Wellbeing in the 21st Century: Meeting Challenges, Seizing Opportunities” (PDF). This “report is the culmination of a global consultation to explore how philanthropic and international development organisations might work together to better protect and promote human wellbeing.”
The Guardian’s “Voluntary Sector Network” blog ran a sponsored post from the Resource Alliance that asked, “What can fundraisers learn from different cultures’ charitable giving?”
The South African Institute for Advancement held its 2012 Spring School for Higher Education Advancement Practitioners in Cape Town (in picture above) at the beginning of this month. I was thrilled to be among the speakers at this amazing event.
The Philanthropy in Asia Summit was held in Singapore last week. This invitation-only event was covered on Twitter using the hashtag #pia2012.
Cairo was the site for this year’s Arab Foundations Forum, which ran from Sunday through Tuesday this week. On Twitter, you can review conference updates by following @arabfoundforum and the hashtag #AFF12.
Global news for prospect researchers
Savills released the Autumn 2012 edition of its “World Cities Review.” This semi-annual report covers “the 10 cities shaping global real estate: Hong Kong, London, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore (in photo above), and Tokyo. You can get the report as a free PDF here after registering.
The FT’s beyondbrics blog covered the current state of private equity investments in Latin America.
Western auction houses generally maintain a presence in China through offices in Hong Kong. Sotheby’s just changed all that with a deal that will allow it to operate in Beijing.
The World Property Channel noted that residential real estate prices are up in Austria and Germany … and way up in Hong Kong
The Wall Street Journal reported the Euro zone crisis is one of the factors that lead to Deutsche Bank’s decision to “cut back in Europe … and refocus on the faster-growing Asia-Pacific and Americas regions.” (Subscription required.)
The most recent post on the APRA Mid-South blog was about researching prospects in China and featured a good set of links for anyone interested in this topic. (Full disclosure: The post author also included a very kind shout-out to me and referenced the IFI Global Guide to China. Thank you very much!)
Are you ready for international fundraising?
Image by ToastyKen
In the rush to raise funds outside of our home countries, few of us stop long enough to see if we truly are ready to make this leap. Here are three questions to consider.
- Where should we focus our efforts? Trying to raise funds in too many places can be difficult — and even unwise. I will write more about this topic in future posts, because it is so important. For now, I will just say: start small. Focus your efforts on two or three countries.
- Are we well informed? I often see organizations make decisions about where to fundraise internationally based on data that is old or incomplete. This situation is particularly noticeable in educational institutions, where international alumni records may not have been updated for years, and incoming parent information may not tell the whole story. Does this situation sound familiar to you? If so, there are steps you can take to fix it. You will need to be able to collaborate with offices across your institution. Who collects which pieces of data? Are we collecting the right data? How can we share our data effectively?
- Are our prospect researchers prepared? International prospect research requires specialized search skills and a knowledge of data sources, which vary from country to country. In order for prospect researchers to be effective on international projects, they will need time to learn new research strategies and familiarize themselves with the best sources.
What other questions should you ask before fundraising internationally?
International Prospect Research course starts Tuesday
As I mentioned a few months ago, I will be teaching an online class for Academic Impressions about international prospect research this summer. This four-part course, which includes online discussion for students and practical homework assignments, begins on Tuesday. We have a great group of students already signed up, and I am very excited to get started.
Would you like to join us? Please do! There’s still time to register. You can see the course syllabus and find registration details on the Academic Impressions website (linked above). I hope to see you online next week!
