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New Product Features: Updates in Access Manager and WebService

New Features in Access Manager -- Changes have been made to the planned giving scores and have already been implemented in all new batches as of March. The new criteria are:

Bequest
Old: Yes if age >=65
New: Yes if age >=65 and capacity >=100,000

Annuity
Old: 1 if age >=70 and capacity <100,000
Old: 2 if age >=70 and capacity >=100,000

New: 1 if age >=70 and capacity between 100,000 and 250,000
New: 2 if age >=70 and capacity >250,000

Trust(*There were no changes to this component.)

1. if age between 55 and 64 and capacity >=700,000
2. if age >=65 and capacity >=700,000

WebService Features and Updates -- Three enhancements have been made:

• The History section now begins with a search page where you enter search criteria and click on Search. The Search list will then be displayed, some with the tiny “G” icon. The “G” is displayed only if the Giving Capacity is available. You can then choose to display the Capacity page alone (Summary) in full detail (click on the last name).
• The Organization Search structure was changed internally to improve speed and performance.
• The Giving Capacity Report has been updated to display Influence and Inclination to Give ratings.
• The United Kingdom site now has a Giving Capacity calculator and we expect to add another data source in the coming weeks.
• Two new databases will be published to the site over the next few weeks:
  1. Airmen - Pilot Registration
  2. Political Organization Registration Info

Learning Opportunities: Product Refreshers

Would you like to learn more about the new updates or current features that WealthEngine offers?

Call or email Jaime Davis to sign up for one of these web-based product refreshers. Sign up today as fill they fill up fast! Contact Jaime at 301/627-6874 or jdavis@wealthengine.com.

Thursday, June 9 – 11:00 a.m. (EST)
Thursday, June 23 – 1:00 p.m. (EST)

Feature Article: Pennington & Company Uses WealthEngine Tools to Raise More Money for More Clients

“WealthEngine has significantly bolstered our prospect-research capabilities,” says Rod Barleen, Vice President of Marketing for Pennington & Company, a firm that specializes in fundraising for fraternities and sororities. “Many of our clients don’t think about fundraising until they need to do a project. WealthEngine helps us to build a database of prospective donors and to begin cultivation right away.”

In its 12 years of operation, Pennington & Company has raised more than $62 million on more than 60 college campuses around the country. The company has its origins at the University of Kansas, following the passage of a local law that decreed that all sorority and fraternity houses needed to have a sprinkling system installed. The law gave the houses a decade to complete the project – but no funding. Pennington & Company founders were volunteers who led a successful fundraising campaign for one campus house. Afterwards, all the other houses on campus wanted to hire them to fundraise for their groups as well.

Today, the company provides capital campaign services and feasibility studies as well as services for alumni fundraising and annual campaigns. The company’s 15 campaign consultants work with campus-based fraternities and sororities as well as the national Greek organizations.

“We usually work with groups that have 800 –1,000 mailable alumni, including those from the 1950s and earlier,” notes Barleen. “However, we work with organizations that have a database of half that size if the organization has significant need.”

A large or small database doesn’t guarantee that a fundraising effort will or won’t work, but a comprehensive analysis of the database helps. Barleen says, “Many of our groups will have about 1,000 mailable alumni. The group leaders tend to look at those alumni who are local and well-known as the best prospects. We encourage them to look beyond these names to those alumni who are the sophisticated investors and who don’t drive a Mercedes.”

This is where WealthEngine can be of great use to Pennington and the firm’s clients. Barleen gives one example: “A group came to us with the 100 names that they considered top prospects. We ran their full database through a WealthEngine screening and only 15 of those names made WealthEngine’s top 200 list of prospects. When the group saw the WealthEngine prospect list, the group leaders noted that many of the top names were small contributors that they had not even considered as donor prospects for the campaign.”

“WealthEngine also helps us show a client why it is worthwhile to conduct a feasibility study,” continues Barleen. “Some groups will even question whether they have enough prospects to launch a campaign. On some occasions, a WealthEngine screening has identified one or more of the group’s small contributors who has then made a seven-figure gift to the university.”

“Overall, WealthEngine has helped our firm get in the door with more clients, and it’s helped us raise more money for them when we’ve gotten in the door,” sums up Barleen.

To contact Barleen about Pennington & Company and its services, email Rod Barleen at rod@penningtonco.com or call him at 785/843-1661. Visit the web site at www.penningtonco.com.

Success Story: Wealth Screening Helps Compassion International In Effort to Increase Non-sponsored Program Revenue by 51%

Compassion International had its beginning in 1952 when Dr. Everett Swanson began to provide care for 35 children in an orphanage in South Korea. Today, Compassion International reaches more than 675,000 children in 20 countries through donor commitments of $32 each month. The goal for this year is an additional 75,000 newly sponsored children. A ten-member development staff handles these donors as well as Compassion International’s donors for other non-sponsored programs.

Desiree Bustamente, Prospect Research Manager for Compassion International, shares information on the organization’s donor acquisition and retention strategies. She says, “Word of mouth plays a key role in donor acquisition. We have about 1,000 volunteers around the country who speak on behalf of the organization.” Churches are also another great source for first-time givers. For example, “Compassion Sunday” is an annual event held in churches around the country to make people aware of the work Compassion International does – and to attract new donors. Besides personal requests, other first-time donors are solicited through a Christmas campaign, statement stuffers, workplace giving and the website. Bustamente adds, “Many first-time donors give through our website.”

Retention is another area of success for Compassion International. The current retention rate is just over 86% for monthly sponsorships. Bustamente says, “Some of our sponsors have been with us for 20 or 25 years. A few even worked with Reverend Swanson.” The organization sends the traditional acknowledgement letters to donors as well as targeted mailings of Compassion International newsletters and magazines.

“We also have an in-house call center,” continues Bustamente. “A new donor receives a call from the center when his or her gift is received. Also, if a child leaves the program, someone will call to let the donor know and try to match them with a new child.”

“If a donor gives at a mid-level or major gift level, a major gift representative will call them to thank them and to ask if the donor is interested in a meeting,” explains Bustamente. “Donors who give at a higher level receive reports on the use of funds for their specific project such as healthcare or a boarding school, for example.”

Compassion International also sponsors tours for donors and prospective donors. Bustamente explains, “We encourage all our donors to go see the children. It has such a strong impact on donors as well as the children.”

Compassion International’s non-sponsored programs tend to be less well known. For example, the organization has a leadership development program that provides funding for sponsored children who graduate from high school to go on to college. The child survival program works with birth mothers for the first five years of a newborn’s life. Compassion International also runs an HIV/AIDS Program and provides disaster relief.

“Prospect research has done a lot to help us in these program areas,” says Bustamente. “Our current budget for our non-sponsored programs is $10 million. That’s a 51% increase in funding since last year.”

With this increase, Compassion International development staff knew that they needed more donors. Bustamente says, “First, we did a wealth screening and identified 40,000 with a potential for making a major gift. Since then, we have landed some major gifts from this pool.”

“WealthEngine has given us hope. We have a lot of current donors in our database. These donors already have the inclination. Now, I just have to gauge capacity through screening and prospect research,” sums up Bustamente.

Do you have a success story that you would like to share? Contact Kimberly Mullins at kmullins@wealthengine.com.

Questions & Answers

Q: I noticed that there is an option for Inner Circle on my WebService account. What is this feature, and how do I utilize it?

Staff Profile: Bill Tedesco

Bill Tedesco is a familiar name to many WealthEngine clients and partners. Bill, Senior Vice President and Principal at WealthEngine, has worked in either the computer field or with the nonprofit sector for his entire career. Bill has held development staff roles for public schools, higher education and healthcare. As a result, he feels quite comfortable interacting with large national nonprofit organizations and those in the area of healthcare. Before joining WealthEngine, he worked with another prospect-research company for four years.

When asked why Bill had selected this field and WealthEngine for his career, he said, “By and large, our clients are trying to do the right thing, and it feels good to help them. WealthEngine’s services actually helps them get more done.”

Bill has been married for 29 years to his wife, Ruth. Ruth has worked in fundraising for 15 years. The couple live in Columbia, Maryland. They have two children who are both in college.

Contact Bill at wtedesco@wealthengine.com.

Upcoming Events: Stop By Our Exhibit Booth At These Conferences

June 8 – 10	MidAtlantic Research Conference, Richmond, VA
June 8 – 11	The National Black Philanthropy Conference, Minneapolis MN
June 9 – 11	APC-Association for Philanthropic Counsel, Dallas, TX
June 9 – 12	Americans for the Arts
June 24	Fund Raising Day in New York, New York, NY
June 27	2005 Dallas-Ft Worth Philanthropy Conference, Dallas, TX
July 14-16	Case International Assembly, Miami Beach, FL
July 22-23	Tennessee Advancement Resource Counsel, Nashville, TN
Aug 10-13	APRA International, San Diego, CA