NEWS & VIEWS FEATURE - This is good introductory article from a chapter in a book published by a fund-raising counseling firm. It provides a brief overview and several good site suggestions about prospect research on the web, and talks about foundations, corporations, government and individuals. This article is located on the Zimmerman Lehman commercial web site.
Researching Funding Sources on the Web
[More articles in the News & Views Index]

Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement - APRA's collection of Web pages – links to Internet pages created by and for advancement researchers or their peers. This collection is a launch point for research work. APRA believes experts should guide the way, and the professionals who built these pages are experts in finding worthwhile Web sites. Each researcher's page consists of a unique set of links. Your visits to several of these mega-pages will give you access to the most current sites and tools researchers are using to identify and qualify prospective donors. Collection includes Web sites built and maintained by researchers or their peers, all employed by nonprofits. Best Bet.
http://www.aprahome.org/researchlinks/index.html

Association of Small Foundations – Small foundations may not have the Gates fortune to draw upon, but many community development investments are made by individuals and families establishing small foundations. Here you'll find a list by state, and more important, information the members of this group may use to determine grant giving policies, such as their Primer on Grantmaking.
http://www.smallfoundations.org

CARA - Favorite development research links for the California Advancement Research Association. Includes resources pages, professional sites, APRA Chapter links and more.
http://www.caresearchers.org/links.htm

David Lamb's Prospect Research Page – A great site for prospect researchers. Comprehensive links and much more of the sites he uses and recommends to others. Mr. Lamb is Director of Prospect Research for the University of Washington. Best Bet.
http://www.lambresearch.com/

EDGAR - Acronym for Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system. It is the Securities and Exchange Commission's database of corporate information. This includes annual reports on Form 10-K or 10-KSB. Information on officer compensation and assets of corporations.
http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm

Internet Prospector - Monthly newsletter is part of this site, accumulated by fund development research volunteers and hosted by the University of Arizona. Includes extensive information and links to philanthropic and prospect research sources. One of the best features is the Archives section that links to the last 12 months of their newsletters. The Tools section brings you the tools you need (hence, the name) to begin your work including some of the best prospect research sites (with full annotation) and some interesting goodies like the Calculators and Zip Code search resources. They do find some interesting and helpful sites on all aspects of resource development.Best Bet.
http://www.internet-prospector.org
[ FEBRUARY 2000 FEATURED SITE... more in Featured Sites Index. ]

MSU Prospect Research Resources - A pretty good collection of resources in several topic areas: General Prospecting, People Prospecting, Company Prospecting, Professional Organization Directories, and Professional Research Organization Directories. Another of MSU's funding guides.Best Bet.
http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/prospect.htm

NETSource at USC - Selected and extensive sites for prospect research on the web, provided by the university's Development Research Department. Links to corporate, foundation and individual research, directories of many types, articles written by staff, list of free and commerical sources, tools, lists and more. Examples of some sub-sections follow:Best Bet.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/

Directory of Directories from NETSource
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/direct.htm

Fund-Raising and Foundation Research from NETSource
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/found.htm

Government Documents from NETSource
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/gov.htm

Planned Giving Research from NETSource
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/planned.htm

Prospect Research Sites NETSource
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/research.htm

Prospect Research Tips from Waltman Associates - A compilation of reference works for prospect research. A very large annotated section on sources and tips linked to databses, publications and internet sources. Best Bet.
http://www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/g248/bergq003/wa/rsrchtips.html

Researching Companies Online - This business research tutorial presents a step-by-step process for finding FREE company and industry information on the World Wide Web. With the Internet, you can gather a tremendous amount of business intelligence information on prospects, competitors, vendors, suppliers, customers, or other companies in just a few hours. This online course will enable you to: Locate High-Level Company Information; Find Sales Prospects; Identify Telephone Numbers and Addresses; Locate Company Home Pages; Research Company Financial Information; Monitor Company News and Periodicals; Review Public Opinion; Use Business and Financial Meta-sites; Locate Professional Associations; Find Conferences and Seminars; Learn about an Industry; Research Nonprofit Organizations; and Identify International Business Resources. Best Bet.
http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/index.html

SEC Information - A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) EDGAR database service with millions of links created within these filings. A commercial site by Finnegan O'Malley & Company, but the site is free. All SEC reports, a free notifcation service on certain reports, search by several variables, and more. For research on public companies, this is a very promising site. Best Bet.
http://www.secinfo.com

Society of Research Administrators Grants Web – It appears that almost any site you're searching for related to federal government funding is linked here… but also a lot more. Policy information and regulations, private funding sources, e-journals, legislation, plus, plus. Just the type of site you would expect from this professional association. Best Bet.
http://www.srainternational.org/newweb/grantsweb/index.cfm

St. Bonaventure University - Donor and Prospect Management/Development Research - Links to the following categories of information: Corporate and Company, Professionals and Individuals, Directory Information , Searchable Gopher Reference Sites, Professional Research Organizations , Other Prospect Research Sites , Other Fun and Useful Sites
http://www.sbu.edu/alumni/alumni_corp_reasearch.html

U.S. Census Bureau - Demographics collected by the Federal government, helpful in evaluating demographic portion of grant proposals. Links to other Federal statistical agencies.
http://www.census.gov

Veritas Information Services - Many prospect research links compiled by this consulting firm, and available by categories, such as by Company, Demographics, Foundations, Financial/Securities, Real Estate, Government, Prospect Research Sites and more. Nice compilation of links and related articles. Best Bet.
http://www.veritasinfo.com/training.htm

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