Sample Profiles

Larkin Research Associates specializes in individual profiles. Over the past seven years, we have created custom profiles on hundreds of individuals, both in the United States and overseas. Our goal is to present a well-rounded portrait in a concise, coherent format which highlights the details fundraisers need.

The following is the standard format used by Larkin Research Associates to profile a potential donor. While each category will be researched, and we strive to provide the most complete, recent, and accurate information available, we cannot guarantee that information will be available in every category.

Prospect Name

Home: Current home address(es) and phone number; to be provided by client and confirmed by research.

Office: Current office address(es), title and phone number; to be provided by client and confirmed by research.

Summary:

• A short paragraph highlighting the most important information about the prospect: what is most relevant to his/her potential as a donor.

Biographical:

• Date and place of birth.
• Educational institutions attended, degrees awarded.
• Military service, if any.
• Spouse(s): name, date of marriage (divorce), educational institutions attended, career information, volunteer activities.
• Children: name, date of birth, educational institutions attended, career information, volunteer activities, marriages and children.
• Other family members, if relevant (i.e., active within client institution, significantly wealthy or prominent).

Professional:

• Career history: companies, titles, dates.
• Data on the company for which the prospect works: type of business, annual revenues, number of employees, location(s), whether private or public, etc. Recent major news about the company, such as contracts, layoffs, or litigation, if relevant to the prospect's wealth and giving ability.

Nonprofit Affiliations:

• List of nonprofit trusteeships, directorships or volunteer activities.
• Description of any known gifts to nonprofit organizations, attendance at charity events, etc.
• Description of any foundation of which the prospect is an officer or trustee, including assets, grants made, types of recipients, restrictions, etc. Fuller detail included if it appears that client organization might be a viable grantee.

Corporate Affiliations:

• List of corporations with which the prospect is affiliated as a director, including dates of service and past directorships if found.

Memberships, Honors (optional):

• If any, professional organizations and private clubs the prospect belongs to; awards or honorary degrees received.

Financial:

Assessment of the prospect's financial status and ability to make a gift.

• If the prospect is affiliated with a public company, as a top officer, director, or insider owner: Salary (top officers only), stockholdings, dividend income, corporate directors' fees
• Real estate assessment data
• Evaluation of private company equity
• Evaluation of family wealth
• Estimates of net worth from media reports
• Data from salary surveys, providing a range within which prospect's earnings probably fall
• "Lifestyle" indicators: ownership of a boat, private plane, or exotic auto; extensive travel; art or other collection; etc.
• Any known debts, liabilities, or expenses that may affect giving ability.

A Word on "Net Worth"

Larkin Research Associates will not provide a prospect's "net worth." No responsible, ethical researcher can guarantee that all of a prospect's assets and liabilities have been identified and properly valued. To do so would require access to a personal bank and brokerage records, as well as inventories and appraisals of real and tangible property and professional valuations of private company equity — in other words, a level of research that would be illegal, intrusive, prohibitively expensive and counterproductive.

Instead, we use the term "known assets" and will work to identify and estimate the value of as many assets as possible. In some cases, a clear picture of the prospect's financial status and giving ability will emerge from the available data. In other cases, when there is not enough information on which to base a responsible estimate, a personal meeting generally provides a better sense of capacity as well as a basis for judging inclination.