Do you know Bill Tedesco?
Bill Tedesco is Founder and CEO of DonorSearch.net, a prospect research firm offering the following services: wealth screening, online research, analytics and modeling. Prior to launching DonorSearch.net two year ago, with twenty years of experience in development, Bill was CEO at WealthEngine, Vice President at Target America, and a major gift officer.
Why did you think the market needed another prospect research company?
After working at Wealth Engine for five years, I realized that although we were finding wealthy prospects for non profits, it just wasn’t enough. Clients would ask questions about the philanthropic history of a major gift prospect and how much a certain prospect had given before. It was apparent that the current prospect research companies couldn’t accommodate all of the clients’ needs and were not giving enough philanthropic history on prospects. The fundraising market was ready for an alternative that focused on philanthropy first, and so I started DonorSearch.net.
Is there anything we may not have anticipated that will be big in prospect research in the future?
Yes, exciting things. Some things to anticipate are integrating multiple internet sources simultaneously and the ability to sort and filter large databases very quickly. Be sure to look for the upcoming changes with DonorSearch.net.
You have family working with you at DonorSearch.net. What is that like?
The best part about working with family is working closely with people I can trust, which is incredibly important to our clients. It’s beneficial when you know you are working with people who share the same values and are motivated to bringing success to the company. Communication is much more fluid, and the drive to get things accomplished is never a question. Everyone is committed to the same team, and makes work a little easier. The only problem is you run out of family and eventually, you have to start looking for other qualified people.
A lot of companies had trouble over the last year with the economy, how has DonorSearch.net faired?
Actually, DonorSearch.net has done very well in the past year and we have continued to grow. We were very fortunate that we introduced a cost effective service as the market for cost effective services grew. When we introduced the philanthropic review, a new approach to prospect research, it was received quickly by many non-profits. Overall, the toughest part in the past year, as well as the sweetest part, has been our accelerated growth and the changes that occur with it. However, the support of our partners and our experienced consultants has been a great factor in our continued success.
Where can interested parties hope to meet you in the next few months?
I’ll be attending the following conferences: CARA conference in Irvine, CA on October 22-23, NAMP, the National Arts Marketing Project in Providence, RI on October 30-November 1, and the PrepAPRA conference in Elizabethtown, PA on November 5-6th. At the PrepAPRA conference, I will actually be speaking about prospect research and development. Be sure to look for DonorSearch.net at other upcoming conferences.
Thanks Bill.
Sincerely,
Brian Lacy
Editor
A Fundraiser’s Friend