APRA MidSouth Fall Workshop - Lunch Directions!

Lunch location for our Fall Workshop has been determined!

After a morning filled with timely information from speaker, Deb Darling, followed by a lively panel discussion, we will convene for a fun dutch lunch at CHEDDAR'S.

It's close by and we hope you will join us!

Directions:

Wild West

                Here at Vanderbilt, our research shop finds itself amidst a round of hiring for new members of our research team.  This is an exciting time.  It is a chance to meet incredible folks, and to learn from the outside-in how one finds interest in this unique career.  It’s rare that we have candidates with prior prospect research experience (though we welcome such applications).  More often, we meet businessmen and businesswomen looking for a new career chapter.  Others will sometimes have a history in smaller not-for-profit shops where they completed research as a small part of their work – and have a hunch they’d like to do more of this kind of thing.
                During the time I share with a candidate, it is important for me to note that I try to view my position in partnership with the front-line development offices.  I don’t think of myself as subservient to field work.  I also note that although I complete many reports and documents, my work is not clerical.  
                In the few minutes I share with an interviewee, I often explain that our work of prospect research is an industry unto itself.  We have our own national association, APRA, and in my case (here in Tennessee), we also have a multi-state local chapter, APRA-MidSouth.  Linking in with other prospect researchers to discuss best work practices, analytics or modeling projects, research products, research shop design and workflow, and other concerns – these give stature, distinction, and professionalism to the work that I complete each day.
                I also mention that our jobs as prospect researchers are as exciting as the evolution of the Internet (which I find pretty much amazing).  We are charged with information collection and analyzation, which the Internet (via software, blogs, products/services, and beyond) continues to develop in ways no one really can predict.  Sometimes I say it’s a “Wild West” of information, up for grabs for the best of us to settle, analyze, and make profitable to our organization’s goals.
                I rarely have an interview where the interviewee isn’t excited by the potential of the prospect research position for which they are interviewing.  Our industry continues to grow in size and promise.  We suggest enormous opportunities for creativity and business acumen.  Charged with our organization’s mission, we are navigating an amazing frontier of information and ideas to bring about more strategic philanthropy, and create a better world.
 
Geoff Little, APRA-MidSouth Director-at-Large
at.large@apramidsouth.org

Directions to APRA MS "Find Your Funders" Workshop, October 28, 2011

APRA MidSouth Fall Workshop - "FIND YOUR FUNDERS: Tools to Increase Your Donor Base" - Oct. 28, 2011 8:30-noon @ WKU South Campus - Knicely Conference Center - Bowling Green, KY

UPDATE! Information about our Fall Workshop plus speaker bios

Printable PDF documents on APRA MidSouth Events page - look for "HERE" links toward bottom of page!

Click on any page to bring it to full view

We look forward to seeing you there!

America’s Best Small Companies in 2010

Meet the top 20 on Forbes’ list of publicly traded firms with sales under $1 billion

Believe it or not, there is growth in this economy! These companies range from health care and mobile phones to consumer goods such as kitchen stoves and denim jeans. While many of the names may not be familiar, these competitors have experienced remarkable growth over the last challenging five-year stretch.

Candidates for the list had to be publicly traded for at least a year, pull in annual revenue between $5 Million and $1 Billion, and have a stock price no lower than $5 a share.

Are you looking to add new prospects to your organization’s fundraising portfolio? These might be a few great places to start mining! A few of these firms are based in the South.

20. LoopNet (Commercial Real Estate, Sales:  $75 Million)
19. Capella Education (Online Education, Sales: $385 Million)
18. Hittite Microwave (Semiconductors, Sales: $200 Million)
17. Dolby Laboratories (Audio Technology; Sales:  $859 Million)
16. iRobot (Appliances; Sales:  $373 Million)
15. Tempur-Pedic International (Mattresses; Sales:  $986 Million)
14. Strayer Education (School; Sales:  $579 Million)
13. GeoResources (Oil and Gas; Sales:  $98 Million)
12. UFP Technologies (Containers and Packaging; $115 Million)
11. Rackspace Hosting (Computer Services; $698 Million)
10. Transcend Services (Medical Transcription; Sales:  $84 Million)
9. True Religion Apparel (Clothing; Sales:  $353 Million)
8. Industrial Services of America (Waste Management; Sales:  $285 Million) – based in Louisville, KY
7. National Presto Industries (Conglomerate; Sales:  $491 Million)
6. NutriSystem (Weight-loss Program; Sales:  $534 Million)
5. WebMD Health (Medical Website; Sales:  $480 Million)
4. Deckers Outdoor (Footwear; Sales:  $869 Million)
3. American Public Education (Online Education; Sales:   $174 Million)
2. InterDigital (Telecommunications; Sales:  $359 Million)
1. Medifast (Weight-loss Supplements; Sales $218 Million)

Read more information about these companies here:

http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/19/best-small-companies-2010-top-20-entrepreneurs-best-small-companies-10-top_slide_2.html

Read the full Forbes article here:
http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/19/best-small-companies-2010-top-20-entrepreneurs-best-small-companies-10-top.htmlb

Forbes’ 100 best small companies:
 http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/23/best-small-companies-10_rank.html

APRA MidSouth Membership Application and Questionnaire - Special Pricing for new members - PLEASE JOIN US!

To view any page in full view, just click the image.

A Quick Glimpse “Inside” – NASDAQ’s Free Insider Search Tool

Locating new tools to find information is always fun – finding free ones is particularly gratifying.  The following free resource, available on the NASDAQ website, is one such free resource:  http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/ownership.stm.

This resource – which goes by the name “Insider Trading – Real Time SEC Filings – Institutional Holdings” (a mouthful for even the long-winded) allows you to conduct quick searches on recent insider activity, whether by an institution (such as a private equity or venture capital firm) or an individual corporate insider.

Let’s try a randomly selected private equity firm – HarbourVest Partners, LLC – as an example.  Since this is a firm, not an individual, select “Institutional” and type in the name without the “LLC,” as indicated.

In our search results, you'll notice a total of "19" stocks. Simply click on “HARBOURVEST PARTNERS LLC” to find further detail on these stocks.

Below are our results on HarbourVest’s 19 different holdings as of 6/30/2011.  Notice that we can then look at any of the companies listed to find other investors and insiders.  If something seems unfamiliar, click on “Description” for such things as a glossary, navigation, or sorting assistance.

Now that we’ve seen an example of an “Institutional” search, let’s look for an individual we suspect is a corporate insider using the “Form 4 Insider” search.  We’ll make it easy on ourselves and go with someone we KNOW is a corporate insider who has likely been trading recently – Mr. Warren Buffett.  Using the suggested last name first name format, we’ll search for “buffet warren” (the search is case-insensitive).

Eureka!  Here we find him associated, of course, with Berkshire Hathaway.  A quick click on “BUFFET WARREN E” provides a very clean accounting of recent transactions.  Skip to the final image for a glimpse.

Here you find recent stock transactions and all the exciting details; things like Mr. Buffett’s relationship to the company as an officer, shares traded, transaction type, holdings after transaction, explanations of relevant abbreviations found in our search.…all that wonderful stuff we researchers love.

If this resource was previously unknown to you, consider bookmarking or “favoriting” it for future use.  You never know when you’re in a pinch and need a quick, cost-free resource at your immediate disposal – which seems to be just about every day in the life of a prospect researcher!

A Year Later, Gulf Coast Real Estate

When the Gulf Coast oil spill hit occurred in 2010, the potential effects of the tragedy were broadcast around the world.  One of the many areas to be hit by the spill was the real estate market along the Gulf Coast.  Analysts speculated that the real estate market would experience a prolonged slump as the oil slick moved steadily toward coastal shores, taking a deep environmental toll on the once prime vacation destinations.  This was important to note in the Vanderbilt prospect research shop, as we had to start considering the financial impact that the disaster may have on many of our donors with real estate in the Gulf Coast area.

I was recently researching articles on the current state of Gulf Coast real estate to find out how the market has fared in the aftermath of the oil spill and if analyst predictions had rang true.  Below are two articles that provide two opposing viewpoints, although one was published in Febraury 2011 and the other in July 2011.  I welcome you to read each article and submit your thoughts and any further findings that are pertinent. 

Gulf Housing One Year After the Oil Spill

Trulia, the real estate guru website, provides sales volume and median sales price changes in various locations on the Gulf coast.  They also report on foreclosure activity.

BP Oil Spill Triggers Major Home Value Loss

Posted on Housing Predictor.com, author Mike Colpitts reports that his research found the gulf oil spill to have an average of a 15% decrease in home values on the Gulf Coast along with an increase in foreclosures.

APRA MidSouth Call for Panel Members and Speaker

APRA-MidSouth is currently seeking a presenter and 2-3 panel participants for its half day workshop to be held on Friday, October 28^th, 2011, at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 

We are looking for a presenter on one of the topics listed below.  Presentations are to be 1 hour long (45 minute presentation with 15 minutes for question and answer).  We welcome all levels of presenters!

1.       Stock Information:  What it means and how to use it

2.       I have the research, now how should I display it?  A presentation suggesting effective methods on how to format your prospect research.

3.       Planned Giving Vehicles:  Discuss the different types of planned giving options and how organizations can market them to donors.

4.       Grant-writing:  Discuss the critical elements of grant writing as well as creative ways to research grants.

We are hoping to offer a 45 minute panel discussion to end the workshop and promote further attendee collaboration.  We are looking for 2-3 APRA members to share information about and resources from their organizations.  We are hoping to have one participant who represents a small non-profit organization, one participant who represents development at an educational institution, and one participant who works at a larger non-profit organization.

If you are interested in being a speaker at our workshop or a panel participant, please submit the following information no later than August 19, 2011 to APRA MidSouth Vice President Rebecca Nies at rebecca.nies@vanderbilt.edu.   Please do not hesitate to include any questions that you may have!

-          Title and summary of presentation

-          Your name, title, place of employment, and contact information

-          Any travel details that will need to be considered

We look forward to working together with you!

2011 Member Interest Survey

Hello APRA MidSouth members and blog readers:

Below you will find a link to a brief survey about your experiences with our organization.  Here at APRA MidSouth, we are working hard on finding new ways to serve our members; your feedback is greatly appreciated.

To show our appreciation, if you complete this survey by July 19, you will be entered into a drawing for a $15 Target gift card.

Here’s the survey:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CR66ZCQ

Thanks in advance for your help!

The 2011 APRA MidSouth Board