Dear Colleagues:

I have enjoyed serving as APRA president over the past year, and as my term comes to an end in August, it is an interesting time for me to reflect on accomplishments and challenges.

 

Deborah_Mueller

 

Sharon_McAndrews

PRSPCT-L, industry blogs and APRA's mailbox rumbled for days with members' concerns and commentaries surrounding the release of Anne Kadet's Wall Street Journal article (SmartMoney, "Is Your Favorite Charity Spying on You?" May 16, 2010). While I did not participate directly in these public conversations, I shared in the disappointment and frustration of seeing our profession and work regarded in such a disconcerting way. My reaction was all the more heightened since I was one of the people interviewed for the article, and my foremost concern was what the fallout might be for my institution, especially as many of our alumni, donors and trustees were likely to read the article, too.

 

Elizabeth_Crabtree

Mention "peer screening" to a development officer or a prospect researcher, and it can mean a number of different things. Many think of peer screenings as a gathering of large groups of alumni or constituents — often involving a meal — scanning lists of individuals to surface potential connections and other information they may know about a name on the list. Comprehensive peer screenings have existed long before most researchers had access to the current wealth of resources on the Internet and were considered a critical means of gathering information on current and potential prospects and volunteers for organizations.

 

Suzanne_Franzino

Prospect research consultant Maryrose Larkin was working with a small organization striving for a $25 million campaign. While this organization had a committed board, it sorely lacked donors capable of major gifts — especially someone who could make a transformational gift. When she put a list of names in front of the board to review, they discovered multiple board members had connections to a very wealthy individual.

 

Troy_Smith

Several days ago, the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) alerted its membership to an ongoing lawsuit in the state of California which could have "serious implications for vendors that work with healthcare providers… by potentially denying access to patient demographic information for fundraising." HIPAA allows the use of selected demographic fields for fundraising; these fields provide the basis for data mining and capacity screening, a practice standard to all hospital fundraising.

 

David_Eberly

Perhaps the most difficult situation that we face as prospect researchers may be the need to convey confidential information to the executives and fundraisers with whom we work. Occasionally we might be directed to uncover such information; more often, we inadvertently stumble upon it in the course of our research. How do we convey confidential information? Do we do so verbally or in writing? Should we say anything at all? If we do, are we required to document the information that we have found? How can we present confidential information effectively, guarding the privacy of the individual and the integrity of the institution? The questions surrounding the discovery and use of confidential information test the principles of APRA’s Statement of Ethics — integrity, accountability and practice — placing each under intense and sometimes uncomfortable scrutiny.

 

David_Eberly

Similar to cookie cutter homes built for the returning GI’s after World War II, but on a much grander scale, you can spot a "Relo" (pronounced REE-low) community a mile away. These new cul-de-sac communities of four and five bedroom, three and a half baths, and multiple car garage houses are lined up in domino fashion, serving as temporary homes to migrating mid- and upper-level corporate managers and executives who often work for Fortune 500 companies. These corporate nomads tend to be viewed as ambitious, are often graduates of public Midwestern universities and are individuals who realize that if they want to advance their careers and salaries beyond $100,000 to $200,000, they must be willing to move – and possibly move often, inside the United States and beyond.

 

David_Robertson