Be excellent to each other
Prospect Research and Ethics
Prospect Research is ethical research. In other words, you should not try to blag your way to the information that you require.
"Blaggers ply their trade by deceiving those in charge of private information by pretending to be someone they are not. By piecing together small, and in themselves insignificant, pieces of information, blaggers create a picture of awareness of a target which they then use to con 'customer services' into divulging more and more important pieces of information. A trusting public servant is no match for a skilful blagger, and such encounters regularly result in rich pickings." (Blagger victim Lord Ashcroft, The Spectator, Sept 2006)
Rich pickings they may be, but this is not the route that the prospect researcher should take.
Quite apart from the dubious legality of such a practice, under the Data Protection Act, the prospect has the right to see all the information that you hold on them. By using only publicly available information to carry out your research (supplemented, in time, by what the prospect may tell you themselves), you will be able to justify holding that information, regardless of what it says, in a way that you simply could not do with information you had obtained by more nefarious means.
The Data Protection Act raises some tricky questions for prospect research, so you would do well to familiarise yourself with the guidelines produced in 2004 by members of Researchers in Fundraising regarding compliance with the Act. The guidelines have been assessed by experts in the field and then used by prospect researchers in a work environment to ensure accuracy and practicality. The document is by no means exhaustive, but is representative of the main issues faced by those conducting prospect research.
The Institute of Fundraising have produced a set of Codes of Fundraising Practice which represent the standards set for fundraisers in the UK. The Best Practice for Major Donor Fundraising includes a section on prospect research and there is also a code concerning Data Protection.
From time to time you may be on the receiving end of information not in the public domain; information about a prospect that you receive from supporters or volunteers who know the prospect. How should you deal with such information? Here are my 'rules of thumb':
Justifications for carrying out Prospect Research
From time to time you may come across someone who does not see the point of prospect research or who misunderstands what it involves, perhaps thinking that we are little more than glorified stalkers. In cases such as these it is vital to explain to the person what prospect research involves and why charities are justified in carrying it out.
Reason 1 - Financial
Perhaps the most powerful justification for prospect research is that it is far more cost effective for a charity to spend money to research an individual to obtain a major donation than it is to try to obtain that donation by other means (by telephone, mass mailing, TV advert, etc.) There are two reasons for this.
First, the prospect is far less likely to respond to mass appeal techniques than they are to a personal, research driven approach, for the simple reason that prospects who are unlikely to respond to a personal approach are simply not considered, a process which is not available to more mass-market fundraising techniques. Mass appeal techniques will unavoidably target numerous individuals who have no wish to support that organisation, whereas a research driven approach will very rarely target an individual who has no wish to support that organisation.
Secondly, even if the prospect does respond to one of these mass appeal techniques with a donation, it is very likely to be a considerably smaller donation than would have been obtained through a personal, research driven approach.
You should stress this to the objector: if charities wish to maximise their income and minimise their administrative costs, a personal, research driven approach to fundraising is an obvious one to take.
Reason 2 - Publicly available information
Make sure than the objector understands that the information that prospect researchers use is in the public domain. It is not hidden, secret, or illegally obtained. And if the information is already out there, for anyone to see and use (market research companies, journalists, etc.) why should non-profit organisations not use it to further their charitable aims? Stress that unlike private detectives or journalists, we do not use any underhand practices to obtain the information that we want.
Do be aware that many people will not realise quite how much information is publicly available (electoral roll, directors and shareholders information, newspaper articles, planning permission records, births, deaths and marriage records, etc.) and it may come as something of a shock to discover just what sort of information we can found out about them. On the other hand, once they appreciate how much is out there, they should be less inclined to view researchers as paid stalkers, delving into peoples' private lives like fundraising paparazzi, and more inclined to see us as seekers and archivists of readily obtainable information.
Reason 3 - Confidentiality
Although the information we use is in the public domain, do make it clear to the objector that we do not share it with anyone outside the organisation and that any information that is shared with other personnel in your organisation is strictly controlled by you. It is important that the objector knows that you respect their privacy and any information shared is on a need to know basis, and not lying around for any old Tom, Dick or Harriet to see.
Do point out that they are free to view the information that you hold on them at any time (e.g. it can be emailed to them or printed out and posted to them.) It is important that the objector knows that you have nothing to hide.
Related Links:
International Statement of Ethical Principles in Fundraising