APRA symposia are intense, focused learning opportunities, with veteran faculty, low student/instructor ratios and moderate registration fees. APRA is offering both the New Researchers and Data Analytics Symposia concurrent with the 24th Annual International Conference in Austin, July 27–28.

New Researchers Symposium 
Data Analytics Symposium 

 New Researchers Symposium
July 27–28, 2011 
Austin, Texas
9:00am – 5:15pm (start/end time subject to change)

Learn the basics with an in-depth introduction to fundraising research as you meet experienced members in the industry.

Jump start your development research career with this must attend, two-day symposium. Ideal for researchers with less than one year of experience, this intensive learning opportunity will focus on the essential, foundational elements of prospect research. Make sure you are up-to-date with the most recent and relevant information to launch your prospect research career, or gain the necessary information to fine-tune your existing skills and knowledge. Fundraising and development professionals interested in learning more about research methods, or new researcher supervisors and managers, are also encouraged to attend.

Program highlights:

• The role of research in development with an introduction to relationship management
• Ethics, confidentiality and donor privacy considerations
• Best practices for organizing and managing the research process
• Essential Web-search tools and techniques
• Resources, services and publications
• Researching individuals and evaluating wealth indicators
• Researching corporations and foundations and evaluating grant opportunities
• Organizing and presenting information
• Proactive research with an introduction to prospect identification

An open forum dialogue with faculty will conclude each day, providing attendees an opportunity to ask questions, exchange ideas and share experiences.

Note: The New Researchers Symposium runs through Thursday, July 28. Attending this symposium will not allow you to attend Thursday’s Conference; the Research Fundamentals education track will not begin sessions until Friday, July 29. Lunch will not be provided on Wednesday. Attendees are encouraged to participate in the Roundtable Session on Thursday and lunch will be provided immediately following in the exhibit hall.

Program faculty:

Helen Brown
President, The Helen Brown Group LLC
Helen Brown, a development professional since 1987, is President of The Helen Brown Group (HBG), a full-service prospect research consulting firm working with clients internationally. Brown is president of ShareTraining, a Web-based training company specializing in prospect research and fundraising. Before founding HBG in 2002, she established and directed advancement research departments at Northeastern University and at the Harvard School of Public Health. Brown serves as special advisor on fundraising for the board of the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester, England, is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and a member of the board of directors of Factary Ltd. Brown is past president of the NEDRA and the 2006 recipient of the NEDRA Ann Castle Award for service to the prospect research community.

Kelly Gieser
Managing Director of Advancement Services, Hazelden Foundation
Kelly Gieser has more than 15 years of experience as a development professional with the Hazelden Foundation. She currently serves as the Managing Director of Advancement Services. In this role, Gieser serves as a strategic consultant to senior leaders, development officers, alumni relations, corporate privacy office and development operations, where her expertise is sought on matters relating to fundraising strategies, operations, data coordination and reporting, prospect research, privacy/confidentiality and overall organizational planning for the development and alumni relations division. She holds a bachelor's degree in Organizational Development from the College of St. Scholastica. She is a board member of APRA International and served as the Chair for the 2008 International Conference in Denver, Colo.  Gieser is an active member of Toastmasters International and has presented at various conferences including Blackbaud’s Conference on Philanthropy, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, APRA-Intl., APRA-MN and LifeSource, an agency that helps facilitate organ donations.

Elizabeth McHugh
Research and Relationship Management Consultant
Elizabeth McHugh works with nonprofits in building research profiles, and coordinating and managing relationship management.  Previously, she was vice president for Prospect Research at Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation. In her role there, she was responsible for prospect identification, moves management, database integrity, screening, prospect research and cultivation. Before joining Scottsdale Healthcare, McHugh spent 20 years at the Arizona State University Foundation where she built a sustaining prospect management department that assisted in the success of the ASU Campaign for Leadership. McHugh is a long time member of APRA and is a frequent speaker on the topic of prospect management and research at APRA conferences, virtual seminars and chapter meetings as well as local AFP meetings. She was a member of the APRA Board of Directors for six years and a founding member of the APRA-Arizona chapter. McHugh was the recipient of the 2006 APRA Distinguished Service Award. Liz is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, an avid Steelers fan and bead artist.

Michael Quevli
Consultant, Target Analytics, a Blackbaud Company
Michael Quevli began his career in prospect research in 1996 at AIDS Project Los Angeles. He was at the Keck School of Medicine of USC for seven years and was responsible for overseeing the Development Research team before joining Kintera P!N in 2005. Quevli was the membership chair for two terms with the California Advancement Researchers Association, where during his tenure membership increased from 165 to 300. He has served on the board of the LaurelGrove Theatre, has been a consultant to various nonprofits in Southern California and served three consecutive terms on the Stephens College Alumnae board. Quevli has been a frequent speaker for APRA and APRA chapters, and was an instructor at the College of Extended Learning at Cal State Northridge in prospect research and prospect management. Quevli is a recipient of the 2004 CARA Service Award and the 2007 Stephens College Alumnae Service Award.

Data Analytics Symposium
July 27–28, 2011 
Austin, Texas
9:00am – 5:15pm (start/end time subject to change)

Spur innovation, network and share best practices at the leading fundraising data analytics event.

Explore the potential of data analytics and learn from an expert faculty during this two-day symposium. Identify new and exciting ways to approach fundraising and organizational growth with minimal investment. Be part of the strategic solution by bringing your unique perspective and skill set to the leadership table. Join fellow colleagues for networking and collaborative learning. Educational sessions will review in-depth case studies to understand what works (and what doesn’t) when tackling real-world solutions. The fundamental track will teach you how to start a successful analytics program, while the intermediate/advanced track will share the latest in ideas, presentation models and analytics methods.

Keynote Presentations (All)

Analytics and Fundraising: the Key Relationship
Presented by Juan Garcia, ASU Foundation

View From the Traffic Light — How Management Sees, Uses, and Depends on Analytics
Presented by Brian McDonald, Former Vice President of Development, Princeton University

Zero to Sixty: Steps for Getting Your Analytics Program Started — Fundamental Track Presentations

Various Variables: Data Preparation and Management for Successful Analytics
Presented by Marianne Pelletier, Director, Advancement Research and Data Support, Cornell University
Even if a full-scale data mining and analytics project is presently beyond your means, it pays to become familiar with the pieces of information stored in your database. Learn which pieces tend to be predictive of certain donor behaviors and the reasons behind these associations. This same data will become the raw material for your first model. Also, recognize and avoid the pitfalls and potholes.

Walkthough: Understanding the Problem and the Resources
Presented by Audrey Geoffroy, Associate Director of Data Analysis, University of Florida
How should you begin when you are confronted with a novel modeling scenario? This presentation takes a look at how to approach a modeling problem, providing suggestions of good resources with which to start your project including websites, books and training courses. Actual business cases and solutions will be discussed.

Key Questions in Project Management
Presented by Deborah Reinhardt-Youmans, LeMoyne College
For many people, their first analytics project is actually getting their organizations to accept and understand analytics. This presentation will address important first steps such as obtaining the buy-in of management, evaluating the merits of using a vendor versus learning to do it yourself, and striking the right tone with your audience. This session will include the best methods of communication for various purposes and audiences to emphasize the value of analytics and your role as advocate.

Implementation
Presented by Jason Boley, Riley Children's Foundation and Deborah Reinhardt-Youmans, LeMoyne College
As your analytics program develops, you want to be sure that your organization is benefitting from your work. Suggestions are provided for how to implement your results, including presenting your findings and meeting broader objectives, such as portfolio management and prospect assignment.

Case Study Blitz: Case Studies of Good Starting Projects
Moderated by: Chuck McClenon, Fundraising Scientist, University of Texas
In 25-minute sessions, presenters seasoned in data analytics show specific projects that illustrate good use of analytics from a starter's perspective.

Navigating the Lanes: Case Studies in Analytics — Intermediate/Advanced Track Presentations

Program and Performance Evaluation
Presented by Heather Campbell, Associate Director, Development Research Analytics, Princeton University
Program evaluation is one of the requests that an analytics professional most frequently encounters. The presenters will first describe the process of constructing appropriate metrics for a project, then walk through some useful methods for evaluating it, including the use and interpretation of statistical results, feasibility studies, and forecasting. Other topics include process mapping and evaluation.

Analytics for Portfolio Building
Presented by Chuck McClenon, Fundraising Scientist, University of Texas at Austin
You’ve built a model and you’ve scored your database, so what happens next? Gain a deeper understanding of what your model score says about a prospect and help your development officer perceive its relevance and value. The presentation will focus on strategies for using analytics to populate development officer portfolios.

Intermediate/Advanced Track — Navigating the Lanes: Case Studies in Analytics
Presented by Marianne Pelletier, Cornell University and Kate Chamberlin, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Most often, we take snapshots of data in present time. Join this session to look at ways to examine results in past moments, including RFM, indexing gift dates, examining repeatability for major gifts, understanding giving triggers before a major gift, and survival analysis (time to next gift), resilient donors, sequence analysis, segmenting lapsed donors.

Analyzing the Analyzers
Presented by Diane Korb, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
With your analytics program up and running, chances are you know a thing or two about program evaluation. But what about analyzing analytics? The building blocks of any analytics and modeling effort should include a well-defined process for evaluation of that effort, but the question may leave even seasoned data miners scratching their heads. Diane Korb of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center will describe the metrics she uses to track the progress of her analytics efforts, and prompt a discussion of metrics and evaluation in our own backyards.

Case Study Blitz: Case Studies of Advanced Analytics Projects
Moderated by: Kate Chamberlin, Campaign Strategic Research Director, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
In 25-minute sessions, presenters show specific projects that illustrate the latest cutting edge analytics projects and methods.