Learning Edge Blog: Rhode Warrior Blog:

The Prospect Research Future’s so Bright, I Have to Wear Shades

by Rhode Warrior Blogger, Mark Noll Prospect Research has gone through some very interesting changes since I started back in the late 20th century. When you consider that my first office was in the library and my job consisted of poring over dusty volumes large enough to strain your back, progress has been a welcome… Read More »

Donor Advised Funds or Donor Advised Frauds?

by Rhode Warrior, Mark Noll In the past ten years or so, charitable giving has seen the rise of a “middle man” who disguises himself as a charitable vehicle when he is, in fact, nothing more than self-serving money monger. This person goes under the nom de guerre of a “Donor Advised Fund.” This euphemism… Read More »

My 40 Perspectives on Prospect Research

by Rhode Warrior, Mark Noll Expand your scope of education and skills. Stagnation will make you obsolete. Know when the time involved for that last piece of information is not worth the investment. What’s your value? We’re in a dollar value business. Those who don’t bring in the money are first to go during hard… Read More »

Likelihood to Give: An Exploration into the Fourth Dimension

by Rhode Warrior, Mark Noll There is a fourth dimension beyond that which is known to Prospect Research. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between research and cultivation, and it lies between the objective of a campaign and the attainment of such. This… Read More »

Technology Killed the Fundraising Star

by Rhode Warrior, Mark Noll I heard you on the landline back in ‘93 Imparting all the big news at the university Did you think that this was how it’d always be? Oh-wah, oh! Fast forward to 2016… The carnage that was the crash of 2010 has long since settled in the world of fund-raising…. Read More »

Lock the Doors: Here Comes the Consultant

by Rhode Warrior Blogger, Mark Noll Consultants serve a vital function in the world of fundraising. They are seasoned professionals with a wide expanse of knowledge that serve to direct non-profits to the proper course of how best to raise the most funds. From a development perspective, they are an essential piece of a successful… Read More »

Donor Advised Funds: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

by Rhode Warrior Blogger, Mark Noll When someone mentions the brokerage and banking firm, Charles Schwab, it is unlikely that one thinks “philanthropy.” But Charles Schwab, along with Fidelity and Vanguard are now three investment firms whose charitable divisions are listed in the top ten of the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2014 Philanthropy 400. As a… Read More »