An APRA International Testimonial
by 2009 Grant Winner Elaine Lotto

Editor's Note: At the 2008 PREP/APRA Fall Conference, Elaine, Principal, Development Research Systems, was one of two people to receive a PREP/APRA Development Grant worth up to $350. For more information on PREP/APRA's grants, click here.

I was grateful to receive a scholarship at a PREP/APRA conference and knew immediately that I would apply it to my registration at APRA’s International Conference in Boston.  Having lived in Boston for 11 years, I was anxious to return to one of my favorite cities and attend another of APRA’s excellent programs. With nine tracks of quality presentations, I needed to be selective, but they all lived up to my high expectations.

One session that I particularly enjoyed was The Real Wealth of New York City.  I research people in Manhattan often, so I was particularly interested to learn more about the city’s private schools, philanthropy, and real estate.  The speakers said that to sponsor a table of 10 at a gala could cost $250,000, and they gave examples of a few of the most prestigious boards to sit on, although the giving requirements are not public information.  They described Wealth Clubs--a new concept to me--where wealthy people can talk about the trials and tribulations of having money.  Membership at MetCircle requires a net worth of $100 million, so if one of your prospects belongs, you will certainly know how to rate him!  Some of their favorite sites for finding the value of NYC co-ops are Street Easy, Nate Find and Trulia, and be sure to check City Realty because you might find the percentage the owner must put down to buy an apartment.

A session about compensation, Finding the Enigmatic Piece of the Puzzle, intrigued me, because I always find that this is one of the hardest assets to analyze.  The speakers described some of the general compensation resources, including Payscale, Salary.com, Jobnob, SalaryExpert, Indeed and Glassdoor, and then reviewed a lengthy list of resources for specific industries, from architects to pilots.  If your prospect works for a non-profit, be sure to check Guidestar, because some top executives earn well into the six figures.  Unfortunately, they said that estimating the compensation of private company owners in very tough.  After checking standard sources like D & B and Manta, they look closely at the prospect’s real estate to judge possible income.

The keynote speaker, Ileana van der Linde, wrote The World Wealth Report, the well-regarded annual report by Capgemini, and she presented some sobering statistics after APRA’s annual meeting.  She said that the number of high net worth people dropped 15 percent worldwide due to the 2008-2009 economic crisis, and dropped 19 percent in North America.  What’s more, she said that by 2013, Asia and the Pacific would have more wealth than North America.  This seems to be a  wake-up call for large organizations that can tap international donors.  She predicted a slow financial recovery by 2013, instead of a quick rebound, but said global banking systems should recover before that.

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