Fundraising Talks
News and updates from the USM Office of
Advancement Research
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Looking for funding opportunities? We've identified a few funds that might be useful to you. Visit the links below to learn more about the requirements and deadlines for these opportunities. 


(deadline: May 1)
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Director of Advancement Research
301.445.2709

Prospect Researcher
301.445.1952

Office Clerk
301.445.1950
Letter from the Director
Dear Colleagues,

In today’s digital age, machine learning and artificial intelligence are gaining attention in many industries around the world. At a recent CASE Conference I attended, I could sense an immense amount of energy and enthusiasm surrounding topics such as analytics, data-mining, and artificial intelligence. The term artificial intelligence (AI) applies to a variety of technologies ranging from simple computer programs that automate tasks to more complex neural networks and algorithms for machine learning. In a recent article from the Fundraising Compass , David Lawson, Co-Founder & CEO of NewSci LLC, refers to the term AI as “augmented intelligence” with this term, AI is thought of as a complement to human intelligence, rather than an enemy of human intelligence. As Lawson says, "this [phrase] more accurately portrays what AI can do, and it moves us away from the Hollywood depiction of robots taking over the world."

Technologies continue to shape and enhance efficiency in fundraising. But insights derived from these newer technologies should always be validated with expertise that comes from seasoned and experienced fundraising leaders. We need to marry data with intuition to receive the most valuable insights. Additionally, in the decision making process, data scientists should collaborate and align with key decision makers and drivers of their institutions to provide the best insights from data. In the book, Behind Every Good Decision by Piyanka Jain and Puneet Sharma, the authors note that successful analytics require both data science and decision science. Data science refers to the technical aspects, while decision science refers to the required soft skills that align key stakeholders to valuable insights produced by data science.

In another recent article from CASE Currents , "  Building a Research Mind ," author Caitlin Lukacs points out that being research-minded doesn’t mean being an “expert number cruncher or a master of Excel” rather, “it’s knowing that you need to look at evidence and data to structure your strategy.” Being research-minded “simply means you are objective-driven and intentional in decision making.” According to this article, it's important to build a culture of embracing research by placing value on data-driven decision making. In order to build a culture of research, it is important to collaborate not only with other advancement team members, but also with members of other parts of the institution. A study by NewVantage Partners suggests that many companies “still lack commitment to data-driven organizational process and cultures.”

Let’s all strive to build a research-minded culture and be intentional in making decisions. Like many other areas, the face of prospect research is continuously changing with the advancement of new technologies. We hope to embrace and adopt these new trends and technologies to provide valuable insights to support key decision making! 

As always, please feel free to reach out to us with questions, comments or any assistance with prospect research!

Best Regards,
Sapna and USM Advancement Research Team
When you think of artificial intelligence, nonprofits aren't the first sector that comes to mind. However, this sector is quietly and quickly becoming an early adopter of AI. This article from NonProfitPRO explores three common fundraising channels and how AI can take each one to the next level. First, AI can help with peer-to-peer fundraising recruiting. AI can identify the most promising fundraisers through past campaign data, and can team up with fundraisers to suggest tailored messaging to donors. Next, AI can aid with board fundraising. Most nonprofits have a "give or get" requirement of their board members and members can spend hours reaching out to their network to ask for donations. AI fundraising assistants can help board members by recommending recruitments from their high-value networks. Lastly, AI can help with capital campaigns by consolidating, deduplicating, and standardizing nonprofit email contact lists. Furthermore, AI may analyze, visualize, and segment the results of capital campaigns in real-time, and find non-intuitive patterns in large datasets.
In an article by npEngage , Steve MacLaughlin explores the 2018 Charitable Giving Report . First, MacLaughlin points out that overall giving is rising, which is a trend that has continued for many years. Since 2016, overall giving has grown six percent. Fewer households are giving, but those that are donating are doing so at higher levels than ever before. Online giving has grown 17 percent since 2016 and the average online gift amount is increasing. Furthermore, in the past year, 24 percent of online transactions were made using a mobile device. Overall, the 2018 Charitable Giving Report shows that the generosity of donors is not shaped solely by incentives. People are prioritizing giving and philanthropy is continuing to grow.
In the month of March, the Helen Brown group celebrated #ResearchPride, which they describe as a time for colleagues to come together to celebrate accomplishments and where the industry is headed. They issued a series of blog posts on creating a prospect research management system from scratch , rebooting an existing system , and changing an existing system . In "Prospect Management - Starting from Scratch," the Helen Brown Group notes that as time has gone on, more and more nonprofits are incorporating prospect management into shops that have historically only focused on prospect research. The post provides an in-depth look into how a shop may incorporate prospect management. In "What To Do When Your PM System Needs a Reboot," author Misa Lobato explores what actually makes a prospect management system work well, especially in regards to performance goals. The blog post explores practical applications that may reboot an existing prospect management system. Lastly, in "So You Say You Want a Revolution..." author Lisa Howley discusses fixing a broken prospect management system. She describes the process from creating a road map to defining system needs, to creating and finalizing a viable road map for the future.
In 2018, corporate sponsorship generated a record $24.8 billion. However, nonprofit fundraisers are often hesitant to seek corporate funding due to unfamiliarity with the process. Corporate sponsorships can take fundraising to the next level by fostering partnerships with companies that share your nonprofit's values. In this blog post by GuideStar, author Emily Drinks outlines five best practices when finding corporate sponsorships. Drinks suggests selecting the right corporate sponsor, defining the mission and goals of a strong partnership, drafting individualized letters to prospective sponsors, finalizing the sponsorship through a written agreement, and continuing to correspond with the potential sponsor after the initial request is made.