APRA - Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement

A Letter From the President

Elizabeth R. Crabtree — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:01:00 GMT

It is befitting that as we welcome the advent of springtime we also celebrate several milestones in the evolution of APRA and our profession. As APRA continues to grow in membership and stature, we are responding with new plans and programs that will further enhance APRA’s role as a leading fundraising organization.

Elizabeth_Crabtree

Inside and Around APRA

Connections Staff — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:02:00 GMT

APRA Educational Schedule

Upcoming Programs

APRA Members Get NOZA Discount

Successful Electronic Screening: Who, What, When and How

Peter J. Zeimet, M.L.S. — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:03:00 GMT

Prospect research is about data. More specifically, it’s about using data to inform the development process with the ultimate goal of raising more money for your organization. The natural evolution of the industry, coupled with increases in technology, has put an even greater emphasis on using data more effectively in development.

Peter_Zeimet,_M.L.S

Electronic Screening Roundtable

Valerie Anastasio, Karen Greene & Dorry Kelley — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:04:00 GMT

When this issue on electronic screening was being assembled, the Connections editorial committee — Sarah Conner-Smith, Chris Pipkins and David Robertson — thought it would be a good idea to assemble a group of experts to bring their experience and perspective to the discussion of the topic. Thinking together about what is one of the most important decisions that we make as research directors, the committee identified several questions that covered the screening process from selection to analysis. The committee then put these questions via e-mail to three researchers whose names will be familiar to many of our readers: Valeria Anastasio, Karen Greene and Dorry Kelley.

Valerie_Anastasio

Karen Greene

Dorry Kelley

Doing More With Less: Electronic Screening in the Hospital Environment

David Eberly — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:05:00 GMT

Those of us who have moved back and forth between higher education and health care know how different from one another these fundraising environments can be. While the mission of hospitals to heal the sick can often seem a more attractive one to fundraisers in education, the resources — financial and informational — of colleges and universities can draw the envy of their counterparts in health care.

David Eberly

New Wealth Means Eye-Popping Philanthropic Giving

Andrea Balzano — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:06:00 GMT

The conventional wisdom about how people make money — and about how much money it is possible for them to make — is being challenged by new types of wealth accumulation.

In comparison to the Gilded Age, present-day wealth is truly eye-popping.

Andrea_Balzano

Assessing Your Own Performance

Shelby McClintock — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:06:00 GMT

As I write this, I am recovering from an exciting New Year’s Eve in Boston and contemplating my personal resolutions for 2008, which I admit include reintroducing vegetables into my diet. Many cultures use the calendar to define times for personal reflection and commitment to new habits and behaviors.

Shelby_McClintock

Prospect Rating and the "Performance" of Personal Identity

Jeffrey A. Walker, Ph.D. — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:07:00 GMT

Identifying a constituent as a new prospect, systematically evaluating the known assets and assembling the varied puzzle pieces of the person’s life can be an exhilarating process. Sometimes, though, the last name is “too common” to yield to our standard searches; or the address-histories, “other known residents” and respective birth-dates end up expanding the range of questions, instead of narrowing them; or the property records are unavailable (too cleverly hidden, perhaps).

Are Social Security Numbers Really Necessary for Prospect Research?

Lynn Lazar — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:08:00 GMT

In recent discussions about the use of Social Security numbers on PRSPCT-L, as well as among a group of New Jersey prospect researchers, the response has been mixed.

Book Review
New Titles Illustrate Business Processesses and Value Propositions of Data Mining

Robert D. Scott — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:09:00 GMT

One doesn’t need a regression model to predict that 2008 will be a very good year for the application of data mining to advancement challenges. Over the past decade, analytics approaches in advancement departments have spread from a beachhead in annual funds segmentation to infiltrate many aspects of prospecting, relationship management and major gifts fundraising.

Robert_Scott