Prospect Research Phenomena You Find
ONLY IN FLORIDA
The Halfback
[Next month your name could appear here.]
Every Florida researcher knows the snowbird. Fewer have met the halfback.
A halfback is a retiree who moved to Florida, lived here full time, and later moved again, usually to western North Carolina, Upstate South Carolina, east Tennessee, or north Georgia. That puts them closer to their children and grandchildren but still well south of the harsh winters they left behind. People give different reasons for the second move, including the heat, hurricanes, insurance costs, and wanting to be near family as they get older.
What does this mean for your research?
Start with the address. A donor who has been listed as a Florida resident in your database for fifteen years could have moved out of state two years ago and never told you. Many halfbacks hold on to a Florida condo for a season or two before selling, which makes the move easy to miss. A home sale in the county records, a homestead exemption that has been removed, an out-of-state voter registration, or an NCOA update will usually tell you.
Moving away also does not mean the donor has lost interest. Someone who gave to your organization for ten years still cares about it after crossing into North Carolina. Halfbacks are usually older and have long giving histories with the organizations they supported here, so they often make good planned giving prospects. The move itself gives a gift officer a reason to call.
Capacity can change too. Selling a Florida home often frees up a good amount of cash, and North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia all have a state income tax. If a screening runs while the donor is in the middle of moving, the results may not be reliable, so it makes sense to check the rating again later.
Researchers outside Florida should keep halfbacks in mind as well. A retiree who just moved to Asheville or Knoxville may have spent years giving to Florida organizations.
Finally, before replacing a Florida address in your CRM, think about saving it as a seasonal or previous address, or adding a field for former Florida residents. That way the donor’s history stays with the record.
Further reading
Got a Florida-specific prospect research topic of your own?
We would love to feature it here. Submit a piece of 300 words or less to webinars.aprafl@gmail.com, and it could run in a future issue with your name at the top.
| 
