Prospect research is a key aspect of fundraising planning. Without it, your resource could be invested in propositions that are likely to be unsuccessful. It also identifies all of the options available to you so you can plan your resource accordingly and have the best chance of success. If prospect research is not regularly completed, opportunities can be missed and approaches which do not fit ever-changing priorities could be made, wasting limited resource.

Prospect research is often conducted at the point of a fundraising programme being established, then regularly going forward. In the instance of grants, it is an ongoing process with new funds and opportunities becoming available every week so it is one of the most important aspects of trust fundraising.

Because the research should be aligned to your aims, it is crucial to update your research at the point of a new case for support or project being developed. You can find out more about cases for support here.