Frequently Asked Questions:

  1. My organization does not have dedicated research staff. Can we still use The Mapping Tool Series?
  2. My organization already has a research department. How will The Mapping Tool benefit them?
  3. What is the benefit of the visual mapping function?
  4. How will the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition benefit my organization’s fundraising efforts?
  5. How can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me gain access to an identified prospect?
  6. Will the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me discover new potential prospects?
  7. Can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me to better utilize my existing board members and volunteers?
  8. How can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me to solidify relationships with my current donors?
  9. Can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me assess a prospects’ ability to donate?
  10. Can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me build a board of directors?
  11. How can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition save my organization time and money?
  12. What methods does DGI use to collect its data for the Mapping Tool?
  13. How often are The Mapping Tool Series databases updated?
  14. How do I order the Mapping Tool?
  15. What is the cost of the Mapping Tool: Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition?
  16. I am interested in learning more about the Mapping Tool Series before I decide to purchase a copy. How can I see the database and test it?
  17. We value the information that the Mapping Tool provides, but there are a few individuals and/or organizations that we are interested in but are not included in the database. How can I find this information?
  18. Is there a cost for the Mapping Tool’s research request service?
  19. Who do I contact for information, help or service?


Answers:
  1. My organization does not have dedicated research staff. Can we still use The Mapping Tool Series?
    The Mapping Tool can benefit every fundraising operation, whether or not there is a dedicated research team in place. Whether you are conducting proactive research to identify new prospects or preparing profiles on identified prospects, The Mapping Tool is an invaluable aid to any development professional.



  2. My organization already has a research department. How will The Mapping Tool benefit them?
    The Mapping Tool will cut your professional researchers’ time by at least three-quarters – maybe more. This will allow your research team more time to focus on analysis and strategy – activities that will more directly contribute to your fundraising success.



  3. What is the benefit of the visual mapping function?
    Unlike other databases that simply provide listings or directories, the Mapping Tool provides a visual representation of an individual’s relationships with other directors and not for profit organizations – all on one page. This allows fundraisers to quickly visualize the connectivity of their prospect’s relationships.



  4. How will the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition benefit my organization’s fundraising efforts?
    The Mapping Tool was developed by fundraising professionals for fundraising professionals. DGI recognizes that a significant part of any fundraiser’s or prospect researcher’s job is the identification of potential prospects to approach for donations or to recruit as volunteers. By providing a user-friendly information source that allows you to quickly identify and qualify new potential donors, the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition helps fundraisers save time, provide better support to existing volunteers, and maximize results.



  5. How can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me gain access to an identified prospect?
    By using the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition’s relationship mapping function, users can instantly see a visual representation of the relationship links between directors and the peers they are affiliated with by board membership.

    • For example, suppose Jane Smith is a potential donor prospect for your organization, and you would like to initiate a dialogue. In order to do this, you need to identify a mutual contact that can make the introduction. With a simple click, the Mapping Tool instantly shows you the membership lists for other boards that Ms. Smith sits on - which may help reveal common relationships that connect you to Ms. Smith. The Mapping Tool will allow you to “map” an access route to a potential prospect.



  6. Will the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me discover new potential prospects?
    Yes. By searching by organization, sector or geographic region, the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition allows you to quickly create list of individuals that may be interested in your organization’s work. For example, a children’s charity may search for other organizations related to children and youth and view their lists of volunteers – providing a lead to people who are interested in supporting their organization and its work.



  7. Can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me to better utilize my existing board members and volunteers?
    Definitely. By mapping your own board members, you can gain more insight into your volunteers’ affiliation with other organizations and uncover previously unknown linkages to new potential donors. In this way, the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition helps organizations uncover a rich prospect pool that they already have access to through their volunteers, but may have never known about.



  8. How can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me to solidify relationships with my current donors?
    By mapping your current donors and learning what other organizations or causes they are involved in, you can gain a deeper understanding of their own volunteers and what motivates them to give of their time and money. The Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition will also help identify mutual contacts and relationships that connect you and your donor – relationships you may not have previously been aware of, but that can help strengthen your donors’ ties to your organization.



  9. Can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me assess a prospects’ ability to donate?
    Yes. Fundamental to effective prospect research is confirming a potential donor’s ability to give, and the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition (CNDE) provides researchers with a jump-start towards gaining this critical knowledge.

    Most nonprofit directors also donate to the organizations where they volunteer. By providing a listing of nonprofit directors’ board memberships, the CNDE provides a head start in conducting the additional research (for example, reviewing annual reports) that will provide information on a prospect’s giving history (both the causes and organizations they have supported, and their giving level).



  10. Can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition help me build a board of directors?
    Certainly. Effective board leadership is essential for every nonprofit organization but recruiting talented directors is often a challenge. The Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition provides fundraising executives with access to lists of individuals who have experience with, and interest in, similar organizations or causes, enabling them to quickly create a shortlist of new candidates for board membership.



  11. How can the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition save my organization time and money?
    Budget and staff-resource allocation are often a key concern for the nonprofit executive. Here, the Canadian Nonprofit Directory Edition is an invaluable tool because it enables fundraising staff to save time on research tasks, freeing more time for them to focus on activities more closely linked to revenue generation.



  12. What methods does DGI use to collect its data for the Mapping Tool?
    DGI does not use any automated tools to perform its data collection, preferring to manually research each prospect in our databases. This practice ensures the most comprehensive data sets possible for each prospect in our database and significantly reduces the need for any manual verification by our users. DGI’s research is conducted by professional prospect researchers with deep experience in the Canadian market and all data is manually verified before being published to our customers.



  13. How often are The Mapping Tool Series databases updated?
    At DGI, we are committed to providing our clients with the most comprehensive and current information available. Data updates are published every two weeks and are available to all customers at the time of publication. Data is regularly verified through media review on a daily (sometimes hourly!) basis, and our researchers routinely verify data by phone to ensure ongoing quality and accuracy.

    We also offer a request service to address specific needs that aren’t currently met in our database, and we provide a feedback mechanism to alert us in the unlikely event that there is an error or gap in our existing data.



  14. How do I order products from the Mapping Tool Series?
    It’s simple. Just visit our website and click on the “PURCHASE” button located on the left-hand side of the web page. To have instant access to the Mapping Tool, simply pay by credit card through our secure site. You will immediately be sent an e-mail with a link and PIN to download the software. To pay by cheque, you will be prompted to download an order form and mail your cheque to DGI’s head office. Once payment has been received and processed, DGI will send your e-mail with a link and PIN to download the Mapping Tool.



  15. What is the cost of the Mapping Tool: Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition?
    The cost of the Canadian Nonprofit Director Edition is $1000 CAD per license. Additional licenses can be purchased for a cost of $500 CAD each. Each license is valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.



  16. I am interested in learning more about the Mapping Tool Series before I decide to purchase a copy. How can I see the database and test it?
    DGI is happy to provide online demos for one person or larger groups. Please register on our website or contact our office at 416-519-3992 to book your online demo now.



  17. We value the information that the CNDE provides, but there are a few individuals and/or organizations that we are interested in but are not included in the database. How can I get this information?
    DGI is committed to providing our clients with the most relevant and current information publicly available. If you are interested in an individual or an organization that is not currently included in our product, please contact our office by e-mail or phone 416-519-3992 to tell us about the information you are interested in receiving. Our research team will work to uncover that information and include it in our data updates.



  18. Is there a cost for the Mapping Tool’s research request service?
    Every client who has purchased the Mapping Tool’s Canadian Nonprofit Directors Edition is given 3 free research requests. Additional requests can be made at a cost of $200 for an individual research request and $100 for a request to research an organization.



  19. Who do I contact for information, help or service?
    For technical support, please contact Jamie Fraser at jamie.fraser@donorgateway.com, and for general information and research requests please contact Emily MacKinnon at emily.mackinnon@donorgateway.com or 416-519-3992.
 
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