I. Before You Dive in, Deal with the Big Questions

    A. "Why am I here?"
        And the Rearsearcher answer is: "To locate the prospects 3Cs: Connection to my organization, Caringfor my
        organization and Capacity to give to my organization."

    B. "Has anyone ever done this before?"
        And the Researcher answer is: "To avoid duplication of effort and better plan research, I  always review
        in-house databases and hardcopy files before hitting the Web."

    C. "What AM I doing?"
        And the Researcher answer is: "Answering a specific research question and planning my work accordingly."
        Or--

II. Dive! Dive! Dive! or Methodology! Methodology! Methodology!

        1. Quick Request: Level 1
            Ex.: an address look up or a copy of the most report or a quick real estate list
            Key: no analysis involved
            Purpose: find a fact fast

        2. Research Brief: Level 2
            Ex.: research just stock, real estate & previous giving or pull together a brief bio
            Key: some analysis involved
            Purpose: initial identification of prospect potential or quick update for a meeting
            See also: WealthID form below

        3. Find Everything!: Level 3
            Ex.: Find Everything!
            Key: requires analysis and correlation of a wide variety of sources
            Purpose: background for making the "mega gift" ask or background for a personal meeting the
            president of your organization will have
            See also: Super Profile form below

    B. Define a Methodology #2: Learn specific strategies

        1. The WealthID: http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/WealthID.html

        2. Researching Private Companies: http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/Private.htm

        3. Finding Stock: http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/basicstock.htm

    C. Use Standard Forms

        1. The WealthID Form

        2. The Super Profile Form

            a. Cover

            b. Profile

    D. Organize Your Resources

        1. NETSource: http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/

        2. Development Research Power Tools: http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/DevResTool.htm

        3. Bookmarks

    E. Promote Reasonable Expections: "With a $300K budget, 3 months and no ethics, I could find that!"
                                                                (quote from Nancy ET in facetcious mode)

        1. Professional Ethics: No hacking allowed!

        2. Available Resources: Sometimes you have to pay
            ex. Lexis-Nexis (full-text database): http://www.nexis.com/research

        3. Time Expectations: There may be a library visit in your future
 
 
 
 

            Special Bonus: Time Saving Tips

            b. Look for "One-Stop Shopping"
                ex. Hoover's Online: http://www.hoovers.com/
                Save 3 hours!

            c. 5-Minute Rule

            d.. Search Engine Strategy: Go last. Go Google.

            e. Dragon Drops: The joys of the block move

            f. Email a page: An immediate gratification report!

            g. Updates & Alerts
                ex. Yahoo!Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/

III. Your Final Answer: Learn to Let Go