July 25–26, 2007
Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers
Chicago, Illinois

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy both the focused two-day New Researchers Symposium and two days of regular conference programming, along with all of the conference networking and hospitality functions — it’s the best of APRA Education — all in one convenient location and limited to 120 participants.

Program Description

The APRA New Researchers Symposium is an intensive two-day seminar and focused learning opportunity led by veteran faculty that addresses fundamental, yet essential elements of prospect research. Newly updated and expanded curriculum ensures that participants have the latest and most relevant information from which to launch an exciting new career in prospect research or hone existing skills and knowledge.

With low student to instructor ratios, this highly rated program encourages interaction and networking while delivering the highest quality, most in-depth and respected educational content of its kind. The APRA New Researchers Symposium is especially suited for new researchers with less than three years of experience or fundraisers and other development professionals who are interested in learning about research methods and technologies. This comprehensive symposium provides participants with the knowledge, tools and analytical techniques necessary to develop and sustain a high quality prospect research effort. 

Program Highlights

• The role of research in development
• Ethics, confidentiality and donor privacy considerations
• Best practices for organizing and managing the research operation
• Essential Web-searching 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 and an introduction to prospect identification

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

Who Should Attend

• New researchers with less than three years of experience
• Researchers who want a refresher course on fundamental research skills and concepts
• Development professionals with research as one of many responsibilities
• Fundraisers who want to learn how to approach and conduct basic research functions on their own
• Directors and managers of advancement services who want to understand how to effectively train and support prospect research staff

About the Faculty

Liz McHugh, Vice President for Prospect Research, Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation
Liz McHugh is the Vice President for Prospect Research at Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation. In her role there, Liz is 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, which raised more than $550 million. McHugh is a member of APRA, AHP, AFP, and APRA-Arizona. She 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.

Michael Quevli, Solutions Strategist, Kintera Inc.
Michael Quevli began his career in prospect research in 1996 at AIDS Project Los Angeles. He was at the Keck School of Medicine for seven years and was responsible for overseeing the Development Research team, prior to joining Kintera in 2005. Quevli was the membership chair for two terms with the California Advancement Researchers Association (CARA), where during his tenure, membership increased from 165 to 300. He has served on the Board of the LaurelGrove Theatre and has been a consultant to various nonprofits in Southern California. Quevli is serving his third term on the Stephens College Alumnae Board. He has been a frequent speaker for CARA, APRA 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.

Helen E. Brown, President, The Helen Brown Group
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, Helen established and directed advancement research departments at Northeastern University and at the Harvard School of Public Health. 

She 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 New England Development Research Association and the 2006 recipient of the NEDRA Ann Castle Award for service to the prospect research community. 

Heather Reisz, Assistant Director of Research, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In addition to her work at The Museum of Fine Arts, Heather Reisz is a member of the Board of Directors of The New England Development Research Association (NEDRA).  Previously, she ran the research shop at the Museum of Science in Boston and was a researcher at Northeastern University and the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Reisz began her career in fundraising as a grant writer for the AIDS Memorial Quilt in San Francisco. 

Special guest: Elizabeth Crabtree
Elizabeth Crabtree, Director of Prospect Development, Brown University and APRA Vice President of Education and Professional Development will introduce the program and faculty on day one and will moderate a faculty panel at the end of day two.

Download the schedule at a glance.