Map Quest

Just two decades ago, the United States was the epicenter of wealth and philanthropy. U.S. fundraisers seemed justified in sticking close to home, since most of the prospects were in their own backyard. Now more than ever, fundraisers in the United States and other mature philanthropic marketplaces need to look beyond their own national and psychological borders. Why have so many educational institutions found global fundraising so difficult? One practical reason is the lack of prospect research. Absent solid information about where opportunities exist or what they look like, fundraisers lack the tools and confidence to take action. Fortunately, the explosion of global philanthropy and the proliferation of information resources on the Internet have made it possible for organizations to delve into international prospect research. In the world of fundraising, prospect research helps determine the destination and the best possible route for reaching it. It can mean the difference between raising significant revenue and failing to do so, simply by identifying major fundraising opportunities that would have been ignored otherwise. This article discusses how international prospect research can guide educational institutions to out-of-this-world fundraising opportunities.