How Much Info is Too Much
While it sometimes may be difficult to find philanthropic information on individual prospects, when working in the corporate space that is rarely a problem. Most companies, especially ones who are philanthropic, have a website and are actively pursuing publicity for their charitable activities. In addition, the business side of corporate websites contain vast amounts of information. This does not even include news articles and other forms of media that add to the mountain of information available on a company.
For the researcher, it can then be difficult to figure out what to include and what to exclude. Key factors to keep in mind are;
What purpose does the information serve? Every bit of information should be directly tied to philanthropic activity. If it’s not, consider excluding it.
What overall narrative is developed? When considering every bit of information, the larger story it tells should be cohesive and easily understood.
If you were a fundraiser, what would you want to know? Put yourself in the fundraiser’s shoes and consider the usefulness of each bit of information in moving a gift conversation forward.
One of the most difficult aspects of corporate research is deciding what information should stay in the final product and what information should go. Keeping focus on the goal, philanthropic activity, should guide the researcher in making these types of decisions.
