Building a Successful Prospect Identification Pool
Prospect Identification may just be the most important status within a prospect pipeline. The presence of a robust identification process indicates strong institutional discipline, capable fundraisers, and prospect development professionals who can identify and successfully pass on the next generation of major gift prospects to development officers.
More than any other status, identification requires discipline, an understanding that in this space, failure will happen more than success. Yet failure is not a reason to abandon identification work. Here's what a basic identification process looks like.
Establish a prospect pool just for identification. This should exist outside the normal portfolio of a fundraiser and be treated separately.
Cap the number of identification prospects a fundraiser can have. A newer fundraiser should have more but well seasoned ones may be capped at no more than 15 names.
Give fundraisers 6 months to make successful contact. Once contact has been established, make the determination if the prospect will move onto the next status or be dropped. If successful contact cannot be made within 6 months, drop the prospect.
Move in blocks of 5. Once 5 moves have been made, add 5 new names to the identification pool. This ensures there is balance within the identification pool and fundraisers have enough time to work each name.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Don't hold onto names that aren’t going anywhere. There will be more failure in identification than in any other status. That is normal. Don't let that discourage fundraisers.
It takes months, sometimes even years to see a successful identification process bear fruit. But of all the work in a prospect pipeline it may just be the most important.
