Every time I think about all the changes APRA engineered throughout the last 12 months, it simply amazes me. I have to thank all the board members and volunteers whom contributed their time to make it all possible.

Pamela_Poland

Formal prospect research is a central plank in fundraising platforms — but it was not always this way. Early fundraising efforts were typically organized by high society, and their established networks and relationships were elemental to success. In recent decades, many socio-economic changes and the rise of technology, including the Internet, have democratized fundraising. These trends have generated a professionalization of the entire field, with prospect research and management encountering some of the most dramatic changes.

Chris_Cannon

Ask most people how their car works and you’ll get a response that makes an automobile sound much simpler than it really is. “You turn the key, the engine starts and then you step on the gas to go.” A car, however, is comprised of a whole lot more “stuff” than the ignition, engine and gas pedal. It is a system with a complexity that is hidden by its usability and ubiquity. Everyone knows how a car works, right? Not really.

With the trend towards increasing accountability in advancement, Prospect Management (PM) can and should play a key role in defining metrics and setting standards by which development officer performance is assessed and fundraising goals are set and measured. Clear and concise prospect management reports are a vital tool in the Prospect Research and Management office’s toolkit.

One of the most frustrating things to happen during research is to end up having only the prospect’s primary real estate asset information to determine capacity. The Russian proverb, “Don’t Buy The House, Buy The Neighborhood,” helps answer the question: Can a home by itself be used to determine donor capacity?

Dear TMI, I would say you have a bit of a luxury problem. Many researchers are just begging for their colleagues to send information their way. Instead, they are forced to set up dozens of Google or Yahoo alerts and spend hours and hours scanning publications…

Randy_Lakeman

In the last issue of Connections, I talked about actualizing your career goals. Making it all happen might, I suggested, be mostly a matter of marketing. While marketing might not come naturally to you, it is a relatively clear solution. But what happens when the marketing doesn’t work?

Shelby_McClintock