This month I’m delighted to welcome as guest blogger HBG team member Heather Willis (who took this picture from her “back yard”)! A skilled ranch hand herself, Heather is our resident expert on all things farming and ranching, and in this article she shares her knowledge on researching major gift prospects who bought the farm.

Have you come across prospects every now and then who own a farm or ranch? Valuing these assets can vary widely depending on what part of the country they are located. Often we are left with more questions than answers as to how to use the information to estimate wealth.

Having lived in the West most of my life, currently in Montana, I am gaining an understanding of which ‘types’ of farmers and ranchers are the better prospects. There are so many variables to consider that I think it might be more helpful to look at farmers and ranchers in terms of characteristics, like a modeling project, in which you evaluate which ones indicate more wealth than others. [Read more…]