Customer success story
3 hours of research and due diligence in 30 minutes to scale the donor pipeline
"Xapien has become a crucial part of our prospect research and due diligence process."
Stephen Kehoe, Research Manager at the University of Liverpool
Background
University of Liverpool's development and alumni relations team consists of around 30 individuals. The operations team look after all research requests covering prospect research, assisting fundraising teams, and conducting due diligence on subjects across the University. Their primary objective is to help fundraisers reach their targets by moving prospects through the pipeline.
“We chose Xapien because it was designed with prospect research and universities in mind.”
Stephen Kehoe, Research Manager at the University of Liverpool
Left due diligence last
The University would conduct extensive prospect research and cultivate the relationship until a certain point where they would ask for a gift. At that stage, if something adverse came up in due diligence it could create a complicated situation for the fundraisers to unwind. Moreover, they’d already invested a large amount of time and effort into a gift they’d then have to turn down.
Where Xapien steps in
Xapien optimised the operations team's process by building due diligence into prospect research from the start. Instead of spending hours on manual research, Xapien surfaces all relevant information about a prospect in minutes. This means due diligence can be done upfront without holding up the prospect research process. By combining the two processes early on, it helps the fundraising team focus their efforts on which prospects to approach for donations.
Due diligence was slow
The process was slow and time-consuming, which involved consulting various sources and databases like Companies House. Google searches often resulted in repetitive content with minor variations, leaving the operations team to sift through multiple sources to identify anything new. They also found it frustrating to search beyond the initial pages of results, as searches sometimes produced different outcomes, raising concerns about search engine biases.
Where Xapien steps in
Xapien surfaces everything the operations team needs to know about a prospect in a matter of minutes. By automating the information gathering process, the team can swiftly advance more prospects through the fundraising pipeline. Since Xapien only displays results it's confident are relevant to the subject, there's no need for the team to go through every article. This streamlined approach enables the team to make quicker and well-informed decisions.
Increasing demand
The operations team faced an increasing demand for due diligence requests. Since the existing approach was no longer sustainable, they urgently needed a solution to streamline the process and make swift decisions while avoiding unnecessary risks.
Where Xapien steps in
With Xapien, the operations team can handle more requests without compromising quality. At the same time, they can identify and address any potential risks. By using a tool specifically designed for prospect research and due diligence, instead of relying on their chosen Google keywords, they've become the go-to source for research and due diligence within the University.
Prioritised high-value
The operations team focused mainly on high-value prospects, assuming higher value indicated higher risk. But they soon realised this approach wasn’t entirely accurate and faced a time constraint in conducting thorough investigations. As a result, some prospects received more attention than others, potentially missing risks among lower-value prospects.
Where Xapien steps in
With Xapien, the team could perform thorough checks on all prospects, regardless of their perceived value. This ensured that every potential donor underwent thorough due diligence, eliminating any oversight based on their worth. As a result, the team can confidently move more prospects further down the fundraising pipeline.
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