Do you want to know how relationship mapping can help you re-engage with lost and lapsed alumni? Watch the video to find out about a Prospect Visual customer was able to do just that.
If you want to get more details on how Pamela and her team re-connected with some great Prospects, click here to view the original post.
To contact us about Prospect Visual’s relationship mapping or alumni append services please use the form below.
Here’s a great article we found on TheFundraisingAuthority.com about Fundraising Networks and the value they can bring. If you’ve been wondering what a fundraising network can do for you, read on for a sneak peak and click on the link to get to the original article.
The members of your fundraising networks can raise money, hold events (both ask and non-ask “get to know us” events), send out fundraising letters, sell tickets to your organization’s large events, find new members for your network, generate publicity and buzz, and lots more.
In short, building good, relationship-driven fundraising networks is a key task for any charitable organization, school, church, or other group that is looking to raise money to support its activities.
– Joe Garecht, “Building Fundraising Networks” via thefundraisingauthority.com
Earlier this week it was announced that the College of William and Mary were to receive a $3 million gift from former rector and student, Henry C. Wolfe and his wife, Dixie.
According to a release from the college, the gift will be in aid of establishing the 1779 Scholars Fund for students at Law school and will also go towards funding the Wolf Gallery of the History of the College of William & Mary, a section at the Museum of Art which will explore the history of the institution.
A connections report from Prospect Visual reveals the relationships that helped act as a catalyst for the donation.
As ever it seems that alumni with close ties to existing constituents represents the most fertile pool of prospects for Universities and Colleges.
After the excitement of two major donations from Hong Kong brothers and businessmen Gerald and Ronnie Chan to two US universities, we got to thinking about international donations in general and about Hong Kong in particular.
Well it seems we weren’t the only ones getting curious because the Wall Street Journal published an article a couple of days ago about just this topic. Take a look below to read a summary of the numbers their analysis revealed! (And if you want to take a look at the original article: click here)
International Donations to US Universities: A Summary
*Note: Harvard numbers do not include Gerald Chan’s recent $350m donation
So what does this all mean?
In a nutshell – it’s time for US colleges to make a concerted effort to identify and keep track of their connections to international alumni. A relationship mapping service such as Prospect Visual can be a great way to start.
Re-engaging Lost & Lapsed Alumni
Carleton University graduate Wesley Nicol was last week announced to be making a donation to the University’s Sprott School of Business. Nicol graduated from the institution with a BA in 1954.
His donation is to be directed towards the building of a new facility to house the business school.
As with all high-capacity alumni, Nicol would have automatically been a high-value prospect for his school. What made him much more likely than others to actually make a gift though are his relationships. A quick connections report from Prospect Visual reveals that he is connected to several constituents of the school at Board, Trustee and Senior Executive level.
Social capital — the connections and shared values that exist between people and enable cooperation — is the key to entrepreneurial success… When you’ve developed a wealth of social capital, you can obtain any other resources you need — whether that means gaining investors, recruiting experts, or building your team with the best of the best. Even if you’re earning millions of dollars and have a great team, though, without a network of supporters, the first bump in the road may just send you careening into a ditch.
– Chris Cancialosi, 4 Reasons Social Capital Trumps All via Forbes.com
“When we met Mark Zuckerberg, and he committed to the vision, this kind of sequence of events started and we found ourselves back on University of Maryland for a hackathon,”
It was announced on Thursday that Oculus CEO, Brendan Iribe was to donate $31 million to his alma mater, the University of Maryland.
Iribe has stated his desire to contribute to the public school system in Maryland, where he grew up, however it’s clear from the quote above that the meeting with Zuckerberg was an important catalyst in making the gift. Our team was pretty excited to see this in the news, but not surprised. After all, as our regular readers will know, we’ve firm believers in the power of peer influence when it comes to philanthropy.
If you’re a University or a Nonprofit, the best way to take advantage of this is to use a relationship mapping service to make sure you are fully aware of your constituents and existing donors’ relationships. Understanding who you have the potential to reach through them can help you focus on identifying high-value prospects with whom you can gain a peer introduction.
This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that Hong Kong billionaire Ronnie Chan was to donate $20 million to the University of Southern California’s occupational science and therapy program.
If you’re feeling a some deja vu reading that headline, it might be because it comes less than two weeks after Chan’s brother Gerald Chan made the news by making a $350 million gift to Harvard University.
Ronnie Chan said in a statement, “”I am grateful for the opportunities that USC afforded me and my sons, and our gift to the division is one of several ways we intend to continue supporting USC in the future.”
It’s clear both brothers are dedicated to the schools whom they credit with helping them get where they are. As we hear more of international donations such as these, it’s becoming more and more apparent that universities need to ensure that they make a strong effort to maintain relationships with alumni in foreign countries to make certain that they don’t lose track of a fertile pool of prospects.
Yesterday it was announced in the Memphis Business Journal that the estate of Patricia T. Ring, wife of the late Bob Ring, was to make a $1 million donation to the University of Memphis.
As regular readers will know, we love to look into the relationships behind philanthropic donations. Let’s start with Patricia Ring, who also passed away earlier this year. Her relationship with the school is evident in the fact that in January, the University of Memphis and Ring established the Ring Companies Chair which is to be awarded to distinguished scholars and teachers at UM’s engineering department.
Bob Ring, in whose honor this most recent gift was made was the founder of Ring Container Technologies, and his son Carl explained that ““For four decades, Ring Container Technologies has benefited from the support of the faculty, staff and graduates of the Herff College.” Carl Ring’s comments reveal that, aside from a rapport with the Ring family itself, the company also has close ties to the school.
A quick connections report run through Prospect Visual confirmed this by showing that the CFO and Executive Vice President of Ring Container Technologies, Tim Whalen, also has some strong connections to UM constituents through mutual roles at International Paper Co.
All this shows how important it is for universities to build and nurture relationships within their community. When connections such as these turn into the kind of relationship that the Ring family and Ring Cos. have with an institution, generous support and patronage becomes a natural part of the process.
It’s that time of the year again – a brand new intake of students are stepping into their classrooms and dorm rooms… And with them they’re bringing into the community – metaphorically of course! – their parents. For Development teams this can be an exciting yet daunting time. Parent giving is a crucial part of the development process and yet it can be a bit hit and miss.
Even if a new parent is identified as having the capacity to make a major gift, making the first approach can be difficult for a fundraiser. These parents after all, haven’t had the time to develop a sentimental connection with their children’s new schools.
But there’s still one more factor to consider… Relationships!
Relationships are the game changer you’ve been looking for. If a new parent has a connection to one of your institution’s existing donors, enlist their help to gain an introduction and suddenly it becomes almost two hundred times more likely that your new parent will be inclined to make a gift to your school.
So, if you want to identify the great new prospects hidden within your new parent pool – contact our team of relationship mapping experts at Prospect Visual now!
The Relationship Mapping Blog 
