3 Reasons For Prospect Research Before The Economy Improves

Nonprofits are coming around to the notion of prospect research is to fundraising what the research and development (R&D) department is to a for-profit corporation, according to Tony Glowacki, CEO at Bethesda, Md.-based WealthEngine.com.

As prospect research services are made more available, more nonprofits are starting to use them, Glowacki said. “That value proposition is taking a stronger hold in the market,” he said. It’s important to look at prospect research regardless of whether stock or real estate markets are down.

Full-text article is available via The NonProfit Times, 5.28.09.

Millionaires No Longer Feel Wealthy

A new study by Fidelity Investments finds that millionaires don’t feel wealthy anymore, largely because of the global financial crisis.

Full-text blog post by Frank Rich is available via The Wall Street Journal, 5.6.09.

Giving by Richest Britons Up 8% in 2008

Britain’s top 100 philanthropists gave the equivalent of a combined $315.5-million last year, an 8 percent increase from 2007, Third Sector Online reports, citing the Sunday Times’ annual Giving List.

It's a Lousy Time to Sell Your Business

Get ready to face a sour market if you're hoping to sell your business. In the first quarter of 2009, the number of sold small businesses fell 36% compared to a year earlier, according to marketplace site BizBuySell.com.

Full-text article by Emily Maltby is available via CNNMoney.com, 4.27.09.

New York's Million-Dollar Property Steals

Manhattan's luxury apartment market is feeling the squeeze, with some prices down 20%.

Full-text article by Evelyn Rusli is available via Forbes, 2.16.09.

Wealth Report 2008

The Capgemini World Wealth Report was recently released. According to the report, the "high net worth population [has risen] to over 10 million, with assets reaching $40.7 trillion, as average HNWI wealth surpasses $4 million for first time."

View the report.

Wealthiest Angelenos

Increasingly, rich foreigners are making a home in LA. "Whether they're building Persian Palaces in Beverly Hills or investing $100 million in downtown skyscrapers, the evidence of foreign money is all over L.A." Also in the special report is the Business Journal's annual ranking of Wealthiest Angelenos. Although a good deal of money has been vaporized, there are still 39 billionaires who live there.

Read the 5/19/08 Los Angeles Business Journal special report on the wealthiest "Angelenos" or directly navigate to the rankings.

The World's Billionaire Women

When it comes to the ranks of the world's billionaires, the fairer sex is still very much the rarer sex. In 2008, Forbes counted 99 female billionaires, 16 more than last year, but still representing slightly less than 9% of the world's 1,125 billionaires. Just making it into the ranks of this uber-exclusive club is enough to turn these women into some of the most envied people in the world.

Find out who the world's richest women are.

2007 Windfall Report: America's 50 Richest Paydays

You won't find Oprah Winfrey on the list. Nor will you find the legion of hedge-fund managers who routinely collect hundreds of millions in any given year. That's because they're all just getting paid to do their day jobs. This is a list of people who enjoyed windfalls thanks to large transactions: stock cash-outs, I.P.O.'s, sales of companies, real-estate deals and even inheritances.

Peter Newcomb's list of the 50 players (and one lucky canine) whose bottom lines got the biggest boost last year is available via Vanity Fair, 3.2008.

WSJ: Survey of CEO Compensation

JoAnn Lublin, of the Wall Street Journal, explores CEO compensation and benefits. Ms. Lublin argues that "directors are increasingly exercising more clout in setting CEO compensation. And in some cases, the boss is actually feeling a little pain."

Read this 4/14/08 Wall Street Journal article.

NOZA-Private Foundation 990 searchable database launched

NOZA now provides free access to a database of 990-PF tax returns. According to the NOZA website (http://www.noza990pf.com), this project was started several years ago by Grantsmart and contains publically-available data received from the IRS. You can also search NOZA's companion database containing more than 1,000,000 foundation grant records (also free), by visiting http://www.nozasearch.com.

For more information, visit the NOZA website.

Upcoming Webinar

04/10/2008

It "Takes a Village": Developing Prospects for Research and Non-Research Professionals

Click here to register.

The critical points of collaboration and the essential nodes for information handoff strategies between research officers and fundraising officers must be as smooth and flawless as any relay team. This session will explore many ways in which the entire development team can facilitate prospect development. Passing the baton, however, requires knowledge of fundraising and research. This Webinar explores the dialogue and practices that will facilitate mutual understanding of the roles of front-line fundraisers and internal support teams. Learn techniques and technologies to enhance the collaboration to build effective, donor-centric major gift efforts.

Date: April 10, 2008
Time: 12:00 Noon Central Time
Duration: Approximately 1 hour
Cost: No charge for current clients of Bentz Whaley Flessner, $195 for non-clients
Deadline: Registration (and payments for non-clients) must be received by 5 pm April 9

Full participation in these webinars is applicable for one (1) point in Category 1.B-Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

India Dominates Billionaires' List

The most surprising news in Forbes's latest Global Billionaire list isn't that Bill Gates has been toppled as the world's richest man ... the biggest surprise is the rise of the Indian rich - four of the top eight billionaires in the world are from India.

Read more on this in the the Wall Street Journal's 3/6/2008 Wealth Report.

Check it out

Check out the 3/24/08 issue of Forbes magazine. The issue has lots of articles and information on the topic "Billionaires: The Richest People in the World."

Inc. Magazine/Inc.com's 2008 Executive Compensation Guide

The Executive Compensation Guide is a comprehensive database of salaries across a variety of categories.

The Middle-Class Millionaire: The rise of the new rich and how they are changing America

Authors Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff have authored a new book titled, The Middle-Class Millionaire: The rise of the new rich and how they are changing America. They write on the rise of middle-class millionaires and how they are becoming more influential and describe how this new group is importantly different from the mainstream middle class and from the traditional wealthy.

Read more about this book.

'Slate 60' Recognizes Most Generous Philanthropists of 2007

Slate magazine has announced its list of the sixty Americans who gave the most to charity in 2007. To view or download the complete list, as compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, visit the Slate website.

Top 10 richest men and women under 30 years old

MSN has produced a list of the 10 richest men and a list of the richest 10 women under 30.

View the Top 10 richest men under 30 list.

View the Top 10 richest women under 30 list.

The Decline of Inherited Money

Click here to view a Wall Street Journal "Wealth Report" discussion on the decline of inherited money.

Prospect Research Resource Recommendations

The Rich 100: Canada's Wealthiest People [Canadian Business Journal, 1.14.08]
Best & Brightest of 2007 [Esquire, 11.01.07]
The 2007 Silicon Alley 100 [Silicon Alley Insider, 2008]