Free resources for prospect research

Howard Lake | 15 January 2008 | Blogs

Every now and again, the subject of free resources pops up on one or other of the email discussion groups, particularly
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prospect-research-uk/
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/trust_fundraising/
Recently, this has been a hot topic following the decision of Debrett’s to phase out charity discounts for subscribers to the online version of People of Today. It will soon cost charities £1,000!
The best resources for your fundraising will depend on your fundraising needs, but here are a few freebies, some of which could well be essential:
1. fResource – marvellous new website established by Matt Ide. If you are looking for information on any prospect reseach resource (many are free), make this your first stop
2. KnowUK – package of reference sources including Who’s Who, Debtrett’s People of Today, etc
3. Credo – (slightly different) package of reference sources including Who’s Who, Debtrett’s People of Today, etc
4. Who’s Who online – online version of this biographical source, with an advanced search function
5. NewsUK – 60 newspapers
6. NewsBank – clients select the sources they want to include Infotrac – clients select the sources they want to include
7. 192 allows some free searches, combining directory enquiries with other databases, letting you know who lives at an address. All you need is a surname and a postcode/city/town/village
Number 2 – 7 are all available free via local libraries. You do not need to live near the library, in order to join. Check out http://tiny.cc/MVCcx to see what resources are kept at a fairly accessible library. Some allow you to join online, and will post your membership card, some allow you to complete a form online, then ask you to bring proof of ID when collecting your membership card. You can then use a range of resources remotely, via a computer of your choice, free of charge. Next time you visit (even if it means making a special trip, complete the process and away you go).
Finbar Cullen is an associate editor of fResource – www.fresource.info

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.