How to prepare a good brief to get great results. The key to getting exactly what you need when you need it, is having a good relationship with your researcher/research agency. Having actionable information that you can work with means you can concentrate on taking those high level relationships forward at the right time.

1. Are you getting the most out of
your research?
Sacha Newman – Research Manager, National Trust
Edward Brown – Research Manager, Great Ormond
Street Hospital Children’s Charity

2. About us
Sacha Newman
• Currently Research Manager at National Trust
• Over eight years working in prospect research
• Responsibility for the development of Raiser’s Edge database
• Chair of the Researchers in Fundraising (RIF) special interest
group and South West RIF networking group.
Edward Brown
• Currently Research Manager at GOSHCC
• Eight years working in prospect research
• Former corporate fundraising focused researcher
• Marketing Officer for RIF

3. The focus of this session
• What makes a good brief?
• Why it is important to have a brief in the first place.
• How to deliver the ‘right’ information for stakeholders
• When to stop researching
• Actionable information for fundraisers
• Getting research – FAST!
• Building the researcher / fundraiser relationship

4. The Problem – the researcher’s POV

5. The Problem – the fundraiser’s POV

6. The Problem…
What you asked for isn’t what you got
The fundraiser thinks they were right
The researcher thinks they were right!
Who was right? – who knows!
It all comes down to a inadequate brief and poor
communication

7. What makes a good brief?
Some not-so-good examples:
“His surname starts with ‘Mc’, he lives near Elgin and owns a refrigeration company”
“Oh, just do the interesting people”
“Can you look into a potential corporate trust? Can’t remember the name but it is
attached to a financial company based in London”
“I want to know as much as you can find out, along with all of Richard Branson’s
connections….” (he has over 4 million…..)
“Can you send me full profiles of the top 100 charitable trusts in the UK by the end of
next week…?”
“Can you provide short bios on everyone on our ticketing database…?”
THIS IS NOT ENTIRELY HELPFUL…

8. What makes a good brief?
A good brief is a written explanation - given to a researcher - outlining the
aims, objectives and milestones of a project.
A thorough and articulate brief is a critical part of the research process.
It helps develop trust and understanding between the fundraiser and
researcher - and serves as an essential point of reference for both parties.
Above all, the brief ensures that important issues are considered and
questioned before the researcher starts work.
And the outcome of the brief, the profile, is determined by how useful the end-
user found it to move the relationship forward with the potential funder.
The better the brief, the better the profile

9. What makes a good brief?
In the case of preparing information for a fundraiser, a
researcher will want to know the following:
• What makes this prospect of interest?
• What is the information for?
• When do you need this research?
• What type of research is needed?
• Who is the research for and how will they be using it?
• What do you already know about the prospect?

10. An example of a good brief
Scenario:
• Dame Helen Ghosh was going to be in New York for a board meeting with
Royal Oak Foundation (NT’s American friends of organisation - 501c3)
• The Trust fundraising team had arranged for her to meet with one of their
top anonymous donors during her visit
• She wanted to know why she was meeting them, what the foundation was
all about, who would be at that meeting, what they had supported and an
update on the projects’ progress, what our plans were for the future, and
what her objective and expected outcome was from that meeting
• The team produced full briefing notes - bullet points - she was very
pleased with them
• The most important parts: “who’s who”, “current news” and “conversation
openers” were highlighted at the top
• She had a clear objective for her meeting and therefore enabled us to
follow up effectively afterwards

11. Another example of a good brief
For example, if someone requests a list of T&F Prospects who could donate
£100,000+ to a disability project, it’s important to know:
• The total sum of funding required?
• Is it for a capital or revenue project?
• Which particular disabilities will be helped (funders are often very specific,
particularly in exclusions)?
• How important is the £100k level? What if a funder ticked all the boxed
but could only make £75k? Is there a figure above which they would not
accept a gift?
• Exclusions: Who are their current donors? Do they have an ethical policy
which would exclude certain corporate foundations?
• What about personal charitable foundations? Are these fair game? Or
would these fall under a Major Donor remit?

12. The benefits of a good brief
http://fundraisergrrl.tumblr.com/post/89760262
674/when-your-prospectresearch-team-finds-
great-prospects
http://fundraisergrrl.tumblr.com/post/89279199
746/when-i-write-perfect-briefing-notes-that-
my-ceo-likes
A profile is only as good as the brief

13. What makes a good brief?
PROSPECT RESEARCH REQUEST FORM
Prospect Name:
What makes this prospect of interest? E.g:
 Contact with this prospect revealed gift capacity
 Giving history suggests gift capacity
 Referral from volunteer
 Referral from staff
 Recent change in assets
 Recent news about person/company/foundation
Reason for request? E.g:
 Qualification
 Initial contact
 Visit preparation
 Solicitation Planning
 Meeting
 Ongoing cultivation
Type of Research
 Full Profile: includes all known information about the prospect (for solicitation planning)
 Update: Refresh out-of-date profiles
 Snapshot: 1 page summary
Date required
 Please select a date based on when you need/or are likely to do something with the research!
 If the request is high priority please provide a reason
Additional information
http://forms.london.edu/form.asp?id=13707

14. What makes a good brief?
Request Forms – good or bad?
The Good The Bad
Brief can be followed to the letter Strips away personal interaction
Researcher can estimate
time/resources needed to
complete
Strips away context and
background of request
All pertinent information on one
page
Strips away viable solutions
Keeps the requester focused Not always filled in correctly
http://www.supportingadvancement.com/

15. Preparing the brief
We need the key ingredients
• Background to the problem
• Description of what is to be
researched
• Description of markets to be
researched
• Statement of objectives
• Background materials
• Resources & Budget
• Timing constraints
• Research methodology
• Ethical considerations
• Outcomes
• Reporting requirements / progress
reports

16. Preparing the brief
So… Form vs. Face?
• Do both!
– Form gives details, but a face-to-face gives the
researcher a chance to question all aspects of the
research request

17. Preparing the brief
A checklist of Qs for researchers to consider to draw
out any tacit info:
• Who are the key decision makers? What do they look for?
• Who else do they support? Do trustees also support organisations
individually?
• What is our connection with the trust?
• Has there been any indication of an influx of funds (selling of
shares, annual bonuses)
• Have you met with any trustee before? What were they like? What
were they interested in?
• Are there any details you know regarding submission of proposals?
• Are you happy for us to make contact with the Trust correspondent
to verify the application process?

18. Outcomes of the brief
• Importance of communication
– throughout the organisation, as well as between
fundraiser/researcher
• Testing your objectives, expectations and assumptions
– requester needs to think about the brief, as well as the
researcher.
– Needs to consider ultimate objectives
– Needs to be flexible in how information is produced
• Progress reporting
– Are we on track? Has information gleaned so far met or
challenged our objectives or assumptions?
• How can we measure success of a research project?

19. Delivering the ‘right’ information for
fundraisers
• Obviously differs from org-to-org and person-to-
person, request-to-request
– What might be classed as an ‘in-depth’ profile at one
organisation might be classed as a two-page brief at
another
• A full profile:
– “…contains data a professional researcher can
ethically find in publicly held sources that are relevant
to the successful fundraising process and which helps
build a stronger bond between the donor and the
organisation”

20. Delivering the ‘right’ information for
fundraisers
A full profile can contain all of the following:
• Name
• Link to the organisation
• Addresses
• Photo
• Career history
• Spouse and family information
• Philanthropic interests / Giving History (where available)
• Trusteeships of grant-making or family trusts
• Relevant networks
• Wealth indicators
• Recent news

21. How should this information be presented?...
Delivering the ‘right’ information for
fundraisers
Imagine…
You have a £1m prospect – every indicator
shows that she wants to give a BIG gift, and
you have great access to her and she already
supports your charity on a small scale. You
want to tell everyone!
What’s the first thing you say?
“Mary Jones was born on 2nd July 1950 and is
the daughter of Michael and Judy, she
married James Smith in London in 1974 and
has two children”…

22. How should this information be presented?...
Delivering the ‘right’ information for
fundraisers
NO!
Obviously you would say:
“I’ve found a £1m prospect! She already gives,
she loves us and is best friends with our
biggest advocate!”
However, many research profiles are written
as formulaic dossiers and information is
hidden – if info is buried, there is a chance it
may not get read!

23. How should this information be presented?...
Delivering the ‘right’ information for
fundraisers
So:
• Put best information front and centre –
what’s the most important thing
fundraisers need to know?
• Go out on a limb – have an opinion and
tell people about it!
• If there is potential, suggest how the
fundraiser should approach the prospect
• FOLLOW UP – find out everything the
fundraiser learns, and use this as the next
part of research

24. “The true test of research…
…Is whether people use it for reference, for influence, or most
importantly, for change”
As researchers, we want our work to mean something, and it is soul-
destroying when it’s not used.
Are you using research? Speak to your researchers if not and find out
what is useful and what isn’t!
Simply asking for what you want in the briefing, and how you want it is
probably the most effective way to get the information you want.
Delivering the ‘right’ information for
fundraisers

25. Who the Brief is for? Internal vs External
In-House: Yourself | Researcher | Research Team | Volunteer/Intern
Pros – access to internal colleagues and information to fill in the background and have
follow up questions without adding to the price tag
Cons - less formal brief, tempting to side-step the briefing process because of internal
knowledge; perceived lack of accountability? Can also be mis-used because there is no
“obvious” price-tag
External: Research Agency | Freelancer
Pros – formal brief; greater accountability; lots of experience in a wider environment;
potential for them to have more resources available to them; Customer Satisfaction as
a motivator to do a good job
Cons – limited in what information you’re allowed to share; budgetary
restrictions/considerations; lack of internal knowledge
Who does the research can often dictate how good the brief is.
Where money is parting hands, more attention is often paid, but in the right way?

26. Typical Research Projects
1. Finding prospects for a campaign or more specifically,
researching new Trusts for a new campaign or in a new
region
2. Briefings for an event/meeting with Programme/Executive
Staff or Board Member
3. Reactive profiling on existing donors or prospects the
fundraiser just met
4. Identifying completely new prospects
5. Wealth Screen/data mining of your database for
philanthropists/Trustees
6. Network mapping of Trustees etc – visualisation tools
7. Due Diligence research
8. Focus on researching the individuals behind the charitable
trusts – the decision makers

27. Dealing with urgent requests
These will ALWAYS come up, but how you handle them
depends on….
• Have an agreed prioritisation system
• Get agreement from your boss on your workplan
• Have a workplan, so you know what projects’ timelines can
move
• Outline notice periods required for different types of research
projects
• Be realistic – if you can’t produce a full profile, what can you
produce instead?
• Are their other options (outsourcing) if you really can’t
resource this yourself?

28. When to stop researching
Researchers will hunt
and hunt for
information
However, they can spend a
long time getting lost in lots
of info, which can cost a
charity, as could potentially
be missing out on other
opportunities to do more
impactful work

29. When to stop researching
When should you stop researching?
Some answers include:
“After I’ve got to the 5th or 6th page on Google”
“When search results start showing info on the wrong
people”
“After about two hours”

30. When to stop researching
A similar question – instead of research, you are talking about a trip in
a car, and want to know when you should stop driving…
If consider the previous answers and apply here:
• “After 500/600 miles”
• “When the car runs out of petrol”
• “After two hours”
Obviously the answer to this is “when you reach your destination”
Same for research – you stop when you find the info you need! You
can always stop for directions!
By knowing where you’re going, you know when to STOP

31. Actionable Information
IMAGINE…
• You have two hours to prep and cook a meal for guests:
– Is this time to pull out a 25 ingredient recipe for a gourmet
dinner?
– NO! Not enough time. Wouldn’t you go with something shorter
to prepare? Something you know is good, quick and
appropriate? Maybe even five ingredients?
– Even if had two days to prepare, might an extravagant recipe be
a bit over-kill for the first meeting?
So why when a fundraiser meeting a prospect for the 1st time
would a researcher create a full profile?...

32. How to know when too much info:
• Look at actions discussed at a fundraisers first
meeting with prospects, or first interactions.
– What is discussed?
– Who brings up what topics?
– What needs to be learned?
Working with the fundraiser, researchers should
create a menu of 10 (or 5) pieces of critical info
every fundraiser should know before speaking with
a prospect – which gives Actionable Information
Actionable Information

33. Getting research - FAST
• Tailor request
• Tell researcher everything you know already
• Ask specific questions that you would like the
research to help answer, e.g. do they have an
interest in the environment
• Don’t ask for a full profile if you know you’re
not going to read it, and it’s not the level of
information you need

34. Building the researcher / fundraiser relationship
Two components help – the right people, doing the right
things
The right things:
• Communication and relationship building
• Informed interactions
The right people:
• Researchers can be viewed as insular, un-gregarious – but
not always the case!
• Researchers need to be relatable and easy to get along with

35. Poor Planning
Why do we need to prepare a brief?
• Helps prepare the method, maximise time and
resources so you get the information you need
when you need it
• CICO – Crap In Crap Out
• British Army 7P motto: “Proper Planning and
Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance”

37. Conclusions
• Be as specific and detailed as you can at the
outset
• Check-in with each other on expectations,
assumptions and progress
• Make the process relevant for your team
• Feedback to each other
• Be realistic
• Talk to each other!

38. Any questions?
Thank you!
sacha.newman@nationaltrust.org.uk
Edward.Brown@GOSH.ORG