Maximizing Connections

Maximizing connections is an important part of work in advancement.  Most noticeably, gift officers are trying to gauge and maximize an individual’s connection to the organization.  However, the importance of connections goes far beyond this level.

It is useful to think of our prospects as people who can connect us to more prospects.  If a prospect cares about your cause, perhaps she has like-minded friends.  Or, if not, perhaps she can share that enthusiasm with her friends.  In conducting research, it is important to be thinking:  who does this person know? Questions I like to focus on include:

• Who are their colleagues at work?
• Where do they volunteer or sit on a board and with whom?
• Who are their neighbors?
• Who else is a member of that club or alumni chapter?

Thinking in these terms and exploring these possibilities can open up exciting new possibilities.  Where do you look for connections in your work?

Caroline Rossini, Treasurer, APRA MidSouth
treasurer@apramidsouth.org