Special Delivery
CURRENTS Article Prospect researchers are tasked with searching for pertinent information about potential donors of all types, including those who might not already be known to the institution, so keeping up with technology is a professional imperative. This article discusses the various push technologies that are available to today’s researchers—including news alerts, Web page monitors, and RSS feeds—and the types of information these technologies can help them access.

The Science of Attraction
CURRENTS Article Annual fund directors are starting to use market research to better understand what populations of donor prospects will respond to, target more accurately, and cut the cost of mail and telephone campaigns. This article covers what well-crafted focus groups and surveys can uncover and steps to doing research. Also included is a short article on how to get valid research results. This article is of interest to annual fund directors and advancement services staffs who work with development communications.

The Reference Shelf
CURRENTS Article A list of directories, who's who books, research guides, and periodicals useful to prospect researchers searching for information about European prospects.

Great Catches
CURRENTS Article A creative approach to fund-raising appeals involves identifying and targeting unconventional prospect segments. Examples include first-time donors (University of Michigan), constituents who have requested no solicitations (Syracuse University), disillusioned older alumni (Stanford), donors whose gift level has "plateaued" (Wheaton College), alumni with ties to particular extracurricular activities (Mesa Community College, University of North Alabama), residents of certain states (Iowa State University), concertgoers (Baldwin-Wallace College), and grandparents (Reed College). These institutions relied on information they already had in their databases, collected useful new information, and sought new prospects.