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New Product Features: Improvements in the FindWealth Access Manager
WealthEngine offers these new features in the FindWealth Access Manager:
Client Defined Fields - allows you to define flex
codes and assign values to each code. Each record can then be grouped
by the values in each code. For more information about this tool, look
in the “Utility” menu on the top of the main form. Further
detail on codes and values for each record may also be found at the end of
the middle section on the main form next to the “Circle of Friends” button.
Recalculation Function - has been updated for single
records and can be used to customize an entire file. A record, by default,
is included in the Giving Capacity calculation. Any criteria changed
through the utility “Customize Giving Capacity” will apply to
each record. However, each record has a flag. If you wish to
include or exclude a particular record from the calculation, you may set
that record’s flag to “Yes” or “No;” this
flag setting will override the default setting.
Speed of Recalculation - has been improved. The
recalculation process of a single record in a big file used to be slow because
the ranking information cycles through every record in the batch. WealthEngine
has updated the process and ramped up the speed of the return. Please
note, however, that if you want to recalculate all records in the
batch, it is still fairly time consuming.
Learning Opportunities: Workshops–Free for Clients
Would you like to learn more about the new updates or great features that
WealthEngine offers? Then, sign up for one of our free hour-long workshops. They
are conducted via teleconference and webinar.
WealthEngine offers Access Manager training every Tuesday at 11 a.m. (Eastern
Time) and every Thursday at 1 p.m. (Eastern Time). Our Research Center
training is offered every Tuesday at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time).
Upcoming workshops are:
October 10, 2:00 p.m. (EDT) - Research Center WebService Workshop
October 12, 12:30 p.m. (EDT) - Access Manager Workshop
October 16, 11:00 a.m. (EDT) - WebService Workshop: Optional Fields
November 7, 12:30 p.m. (EST) - Access Manager Workshop
To register for one of these workshops, please email workshops@wealthengine.com with
your name, organization, preferred training date and phone contact
information. Following your registration, we will send you a notice with
the webinar and teleconference information. Registration is closed two business
days prior to the session.
You may download a PDF file of our training manual from our website using
the following URL:
http://www.wealthengine.com/documentation/WealthEngineTrainingManual.pdf
WealthEngine partner The Helen Brown Group is a firm which provides development-research
consulting and training. Helen Brown, the Group’s president,
founded the firm in 2002 to provide strategic assistance to charitable organizations
in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Helen Brown has been a development professional since 1987, including eight
years as director of research at the Harvard School of Public Health. Other
experience includes The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the
Albert Einstein Institution, Boston College, and Northeastern University.
One unique initiative of the Group is ShareTraining, a web-based training
program for prospect-research and other development professionals. Brown
explains, “ShareTraining virtual seminars translate highly technical
information and present it in an entertaining way. The sessions are
also very interactive; we take questions and ask questions. Professionals
are able to learn at their desks and then start using what they have learned
right away.”
WealthEngine’s Chief Strategy Officer Jay Frost led a recent ShareTraining on
“Asia Uncovered: Research, Prospects and Philanthropic Priorities.” Jay is a specialist
in Near and Far East fundraising, and this session will look at online and
hard-copy sources that development professionals may use to effectively research
corporate and individual prospects in Asia. Currently, there is one training per month.
For example, Valerie Anastasio, Director of Research at the Museum of Fine Arts, will be the featured
trainer in October. She will provide information on hedge funds and venture capitalists.
Brown plans to expand to two or three trainings each month. She
notes, “The ShareTraining program is set up to easily respond to learner
needs. With a couple of weeks’ notice, we can respond with what
people really want to learn.”
Today, The Helen Brown Group is the leading US-based provider of donor research
to charities in the United Kingdom and Europe. Brown explains, “Many
overseas charities may not have done fundraising in the United States in
the past. Or, the charities might have donors from the U.S., but there
has been no prospect research so everyone in the database is a blank screen
to the organization. Database screenings are a great way for an organization
to learn to whom they should be paying attention.”
“We provide techniques to make database screenings work – from
a cost and time perspective as well as in effectiveness,” says
Brown. “With many universities in the United Kingdom,
we help them build up prospect research and prospect management departments,
establish research systems, and provide training in prospect research. We
also provide assistance to U.S. clients interested in fundraising
abroad.”
“The recent tightening of regulations has made international fundraising
somewhat more of a challenge,” continues Brown. “However,
international fundraising is becoming more of a trend. Donors in the
United States gave abroad for the tsunami and the earthquake. Donors
in the United Kingdom and Europe gave in the wake of the Gulf Coast destruction
here in the States.”
“Philanthropy itself can overcome culture and borders. People’s
feelings can, as well,” concludes Brown.
To learn more about The Helen Brown Group and their work, visit www.helenbrowngroup.com. Brown may be contacted at Helen@helenbrowngroup.com.
Client News: Duke University
Researcher Says, “WealthEngine Sparks Ideas”
“WealthEngine’s very presence here at Duke University has sparked
ideas! It’s not just about wealth identification,” explains
Kathryn Wilderotter, Manager of Research & Constituency Development
at Duke University. “WealthEngine also helps us with event-planning
and our communications materials.”
“Because of WealthEngine, we are able to do more screenings a year. As
a result, we are also able to do focused screenings,” continues Wilderotter. “Among
all the products out there, the quality of match is basically the same. WealthEngine
stands out because it makes it easy for a researcher to access and use the
data…and all at a more affordable cost.”
Wilderotter gives two examples of ways that Duke uses WealthEngine. Duke’s
Financial Aid Initiative is one arena in which WealthEngine has been helpful,
according to Wilderotter. They screen all 1991 non-athletic scholarship
recipients, looking for wealth as well as success stories. For example,
one scholarship recipient might work at Goldman Sachs while another is working
on a vaccine for an African virus. Both alumni might be of interest
to Duke. The WealthEngine data is used for developing prospect lists,
pulling together invitation and speaker lists for events, and for Duke communications
pieces.
Screenings of incoming parents has also become a regular summertime activity. Wilderotter
adds, “A screening is basically a snapshot in time. Incoming
parents are obviously a whole new pool for us.”
Wilderotter sees distinct advantages to more frequent and more focused screenings. She
says, “It is easier to digest the results. Also, it allows us
to think more strategically and to figure out what we really want to get
out of a screening.”
The bottom line, according to Wilderotter: “WealthEngine
gives an organization more bang for its buck. Don’t look at
the price and think WealthEngine is only that good. It isn’t! Because
of the price, WealthEngine allows more clients to do more things.”
Questions and Answers:
Q: We have some international constituents and prospects. Do
you have any screening products that cover areas outside of the United
States?
A: Yes, WealthEngine offers UK products to enhance your
international research needs. Our WebService UK and FindWealth Screening
UK are products designed specifically for research in the United Kingdom. These
products include data sets, such as:
- Charity Commission
- Dun & Bradstreet
- Hemscott Public Company Directors
- UK Factory Fundraisers Report
- UK Inidvidual Households Profiles
- Zoom Info
For a free trial of our UK products, please call our Sales team at (301)215-5980
or send an inquiry to info@wealthengine.com.
Q: I conducted a search on one of my prospects using
the WebService and found that the Advanced Search Results incorporated
some reports with a low QOM (Quality of Match). After conducting
additional research to try to validate the information in these reports,
I realized that some of these reports did not match to our organization’s
prospect – but to another individual with the same name who lived
in the same city. Is there any way that I can remove these reports
from my query?
A: WebService users can delete reports that are not reflective
of a prospect by using the History link within their account. Here’s
how:
- After conducting a search on your prospect, click on the “History” link
within your WebService account.
- Run a query for your prospect by populating the fields under “Optional
Search Criteria.”
- Once in the search results page, find the record you wish to edit and
click on the prospect’s last name. A new window will open,
displaying the Advanced Search Results of your initial query.
- You can now delete any report with a low QOM, which you believe is
not reflective of your prospect. To do this, simply click on the “delete” link,
which is located on the top right-hand side of each report.
- Next time you visit your History section and view this prospect’s
record, you will notice the reports you deleted have been removed.
For further information on these subjects, please contact info@wealthengine.com.
Staff Profile: Spencer Hoopes,
Vice-President of Sales & Partner Relations
Spencer
Hoopes, Vice President of Sales & Partner Relations, was one of the first
to join WealthEngine CEO Tony Glowacki—back in 1999. He says, "This
has been advantageous. I've been able to be involved in every aspect of WealthEngine
and in all aspects of getting the company up and running in the early stages.
I've answered phones, been in charge of customer service, even managed the
company health insurance.
Hoopes specializes in educational institutions, including independent schools
and higher ed, as well as large membership organizations. He explains what
makes WealthEngine stand out: "We are very customer-service oriented.
The growth of WealthEngine has been because of our interaction with our clients.
We started with a small staff, and we are able to relate well to our clients.
I believe that one key to our success is that our principals and our clients
still communicate every day."
Before joining WealthEngine, Hoopes was the owner of a building business.
Since 1980, he has been the keyboardist in a seven-member band, The Soul
Crackers. In fact, it's still possible to see Hoopes perform occasionally
around the DC area where he lives with his wife and two children.
Contact Spence at shoopes@wealthengine.com.
Upcoming Events:
Stop by Our Exhibit Booth at These Conferences
| Sept. 27 – Oct.
1 |
40th Annual International Association of Healthcare Philanthropy
Educational Conference, Orlando, FL |
| Oct. 1 – 4 |
38th Annual National Catholic Development Conference & Exposition, Chicago, IL |
| Oct. 5 – 6 |
SIA Sales & Marketing Conference, New York, NY |
| Oct. 11 – 14 |
National Committee on Planned Giving Conference, Nashville,TN |
| Oct. 22 – 24 |
Planet Philanthropy 2006, Orlando, FL |
| Oct. 30 – 31 |
California Advancement Researchers Association
Conference,Costa Mesa, CA |
www.wealthengine.com