Managing a small research office, or… Being THE ONLY ONE on the island! Presentation by Sacha Newman 5 th November 2012 RIF Conference 2012

How did I get here?

What was inside the coconut? Poor data quality and management of the database – records were a mess No resources or research library Limited budget Strained relationship between central and regional fundraisers No experience of using research to further fundraising aims Reactive attitude rather than proactive No real prospect list or pipeline Not enough fundraisers for major gifts

Building my life raft Where to begin? The DATABASE! Talk to your team – what do they know, but haven’t told you? Design procedures for you AND your team Build a portfolio of resources – what’s out there? Invest in some good training on prospect research, or find someone who knows how it’s done! Train fundraisers to do their own research Read a lot! Be patient – Rome wasn’t built in a day Think about getting a volunteer / intern But, what about my day job? I still have to get everything done…..

“No man is an Island” Charitable Trust team Central Major Gifts Managers Central Stewardship team Regional Fundraisers Admin support Wider networks YOU GUYS! Database “The Edge”

The good Life is never dull! Always busy – I get easily bored otherwise My own master – no-one to argue with me about research! Work on a number of different projects Set my own strategy and direction Work with lots of lovely different people Get out of the office to visit the wider team Get to say NO a lot Get left alone to do my own thing Indispensable Get to share my knowledge with the team through training Can pick my own resources (within budget)

The Bad Always busy Saying no a lot No-one to share the workload with Work on the bigger projects, rather than small interesting ones OMG, Event Briefings, Grrrrrr! Is it me, or am I talking gibberish? Planning. What’s that? Mostly catching my tail rather than going fishing Get left alone a lot to do my own thing  Indispensable Too much to do!!!

And The Ugly! Can’t always do everything to a high standard Innovation is limited to what I can fit in to my day Limited time to research new products / sources Campaigns take precedence over the everyday research needs Something’s gotta give – Prospect Management or profiling???? Personal Development? LOL! No one to bounce ideas off A lone voice in a sea of fundraisers I’m just the database nerd Keeping up to date

What you and your team need to find the answers to  Can you deliver profiles and a strategy if there’s only 1 or half of you?  How to conduct review of data and continue to monitor success of fundraising campaigns  Resources – limited budget – how to review them  Hiring and managing interns, short-term contracts  Training fundraisers to do their own research  Setting up procedures to manage multiple priorities and managing expectations  Managing time and being realistic  Working with suppliers – who does what  Using networks for advice and training – you need time

“Always look on the bright side of life” o How to make the best of it – and how to stay motivated? o To always seek to be better and more effective in fundraising o To change people’s minds about the importance of good data o Be patient – when you're on your own, things can take time to change, but eventually they will o Don't be afraid to ask for help!

Questions?