Separate Worlds: Let’s unify the Worlds of Prospect Research and Development Officers for Better Fundraising
Why Doesn’t AFP and APRA work together more? I have asked myself that about a thousand times.
I am one of the very few Development Officers that have attended APRA PD, the international conference of Prospect Research for over 12 years. I also speak at both APRA PD and AFP ICON. So I am a real mutant! What always strikes me is the tremendous lack of information both sides have about each other when both are supposed to be partners of each other. Let me upfront say a big caveat here. Development Officers have a great deal less information, even some misperceptions about Prospect Researchers and APRA. It’s not equal.
I can speak in front of 200 AFP members and ask them what APRA is and about 5 people will raise their hands. I can speak in front of 100 APRA members and ask them what AFP is and 75 will raise their hands.
A big reason off the bat for this is that most Development Officers don’t have any experience with or effectively working with a Prospect Researcher. Firstly, most nonprofits, 70% have never had a Major Giving program. I don’t know of any data on the prevalence of prospect researchers in the nonprofit fundraising world but that data can give you some ideas. When you go to APRA and meet hundreds of prospect research professionals from all over a great preponderance comes from major institutions with long term investments in fundraising.
The next layer is that those who have prospect researchers don’t work closely or effectively with them. My life’s work is to teach institutions how to conduct effective Major Gifts prospecting. Ivy League schools, museums, animal shelters in the south, five-person nonprofits. All of them with an effective program, mission and more can raise Major Gifts. It’s a different size program with a different gift size of course.
Why do I care about Major Gifts prospecting? Because I have seen it personally to be the most transformative action a nonprofit can take. It’s the difference between powerful funding and thus powerful program/mission. Or the boom and bust starvation cycle that is the over-reliance on foundation/government funding. I have personally seen Major Gifts prospecting save whole institutions from closure and collapse; I have seen great good done because Major Donors came forward through this type of work behind the scenes.
Here are some central points that need to be said out loud:
· We as a profession need to raise the status and respect for Prospect Research as a whole. This includes salaries and influence in the organization.
· We need to ensure that small and medium-sized nonprofits have effective prospect research as a great leveler of fundraising, not just large institutions.
· We need to ensure that institutions that currently have Prospect Research and Management staff work with them effectively.
I believe we can improve philanthropy as a whole through more sophisticated and advanced fundraising. We can avoid what happens in many towns in the US. Where all of your Development Officers are approaching the same people! Nobody effectively prospects or builds new donors.
Another great reason for making some of these points happen is to address some major issues in philanthropy. Firstly, Prospect Research can be a great agent to identify and promote new philanthropists. Good Prospect Research can help you find and engage the newly wealthy and help them cross that bridge to Major Giving.
Let’s also talk about the remarkable whiteness of philanthropy. No, not all wealth is held by straight old white men. Wealth is changing dramatically in this country. It’s sad we still must promote women as philanthropists, like they just showed up on the scene? For 20 years philanthropic leaders have wrung their hands about the lack of diversity in the nonprofit world. Very few have talked about the lack of diversity in donors, and even less have talked about the total lack of diversity in Major Donors. Of course, this is because of historic implicit bias in a mostly white nonprofit world. Latinos, African Americans, Asians, Muslims, LGBT Americans and other groups go under solicited and engaged.
There are so many assumptions about the philanthropic culture of “those people”.
Prospect Research literally is the bright flashlight in this dark room. Wealth is multicolored and multi-gendered in the US today. Find it. Turn on your TV and see a Honda commercial. That family in the car sure is Hispanic. Why? Because corporate American figured out years ago we have money and we spend it. Nonprofit America still hasn’t gotten the memo. I have raised millions personally from people of color because I did my research. I found them.
So how do we bridge the chasm between the two worlds of Prospect Researchers and Development Officers? We can do a lot personally in our practices. By promoting this type of dynamic partnerships.
But let’s also ask APRA and AFP, why don’t local chapters and the national organizations work together more closely? AFP needs to promote the effective use of PR&M not as a panacea for all development issues, but as s indispensable part of all fundraising. That’s a big statement but I challenge you if you’re a Development Officer to attend the APRA Conference next year. You will be stunned by the wide range of uses of prospect research.
I have spoken and keynoted many wonderful AFP and APRA chapters nationally. I have only once seen an invite go out to both local chapters. Credit goes to the AFP Chapter in Tulsa. I have urged it, promoted it myself. Can you imagine a conference, a joint conference from the local AFP and APRA Chapters on helping small and medium nonprofits start a Major Giving program? Wow! Talk about a powerful game-changing and leveling educational initiative. There are even parts of this country, like the South, where there are much fewer prospect researchers, especially outside of universities. There are plenty of small and medium nonprofits, doing good work struggling to raise money and survive. Let’s help them.
I know it's not that simple. I know there are many factors to good fundraising at nonprofits. But in my 34 years in the field, the most powerful thing any organization can do is start to systematically raise Major Gifts. And the foundation to great Major Gifts fundraising is our friends in Prospect Research and Management. Let’s bridge that chasm. Let’s join hands and figure out how we can better work together to advance great work and causes!
I am one of the very few Development Officers that have attended APRA PD, the international conference of Prospect Research for over 12 years. I also speak at both APRA PD and AFP ICON. So I am a real mutant! What always strikes me is the tremendous lack of information both sides have about each other when both are supposed to be partners of each other. Let me upfront say a big caveat here. Development Officers have a great deal less information, even some misperceptions about Prospect Researchers and APRA. It’s not equal.
I can speak in front of 200 AFP members and ask them what APRA is and about 5 people will raise their hands. I can speak in front of 100 APRA members and ask them what AFP is and 75 will raise their hands.
A big reason off the bat for this is that most Development Officers don’t have any experience with or effectively working with a Prospect Researcher. Firstly, most nonprofits, 70% have never had a Major Giving program. I don’t know of any data on the prevalence of prospect researchers in the nonprofit fundraising world but that data can give you some ideas. When you go to APRA and meet hundreds of prospect research professionals from all over a great preponderance comes from major institutions with long term investments in fundraising.
The next layer is that those who have prospect researchers don’t work closely or effectively with them. My life’s work is to teach institutions how to conduct effective Major Gifts prospecting. Ivy League schools, museums, animal shelters in the south, five-person nonprofits. All of them with an effective program, mission and more can raise Major Gifts. It’s a different size program with a different gift size of course.
Why do I care about Major Gifts prospecting? Because I have seen it personally to be the most transformative action a nonprofit can take. It’s the difference between powerful funding and thus powerful program/mission. Or the boom and bust starvation cycle that is the over-reliance on foundation/government funding. I have personally seen Major Gifts prospecting save whole institutions from closure and collapse; I have seen great good done because Major Donors came forward through this type of work behind the scenes.
Here are some central points that need to be said out loud:
· We as a profession need to raise the status and respect for Prospect Research as a whole. This includes salaries and influence in the organization.
· We need to ensure that small and medium-sized nonprofits have effective prospect research as a great leveler of fundraising, not just large institutions.
· We need to ensure that institutions that currently have Prospect Research and Management staff work with them effectively.
I believe we can improve philanthropy as a whole through more sophisticated and advanced fundraising. We can avoid what happens in many towns in the US. Where all of your Development Officers are approaching the same people! Nobody effectively prospects or builds new donors.
Another great reason for making some of these points happen is to address some major issues in philanthropy. Firstly, Prospect Research can be a great agent to identify and promote new philanthropists. Good Prospect Research can help you find and engage the newly wealthy and help them cross that bridge to Major Giving.
Let’s also talk about the remarkable whiteness of philanthropy. No, not all wealth is held by straight old white men. Wealth is changing dramatically in this country. It’s sad we still must promote women as philanthropists, like they just showed up on the scene? For 20 years philanthropic leaders have wrung their hands about the lack of diversity in the nonprofit world. Very few have talked about the lack of diversity in donors, and even less have talked about the total lack of diversity in Major Donors. Of course, this is because of historic implicit bias in a mostly white nonprofit world. Latinos, African Americans, Asians, Muslims, LGBT Americans and other groups go under solicited and engaged.
There are so many assumptions about the philanthropic culture of “those people”.
Prospect Research literally is the bright flashlight in this dark room. Wealth is multicolored and multi-gendered in the US today. Find it. Turn on your TV and see a Honda commercial. That family in the car sure is Hispanic. Why? Because corporate American figured out years ago we have money and we spend it. Nonprofit America still hasn’t gotten the memo. I have raised millions personally from people of color because I did my research. I found them.
So how do we bridge the chasm between the two worlds of Prospect Researchers and Development Officers? We can do a lot personally in our practices. By promoting this type of dynamic partnerships.
But let’s also ask APRA and AFP, why don’t local chapters and the national organizations work together more closely? AFP needs to promote the effective use of PR&M not as a panacea for all development issues, but as s indispensable part of all fundraising. That’s a big statement but I challenge you if you’re a Development Officer to attend the APRA Conference next year. You will be stunned by the wide range of uses of prospect research.
I have spoken and keynoted many wonderful AFP and APRA chapters nationally. I have only once seen an invite go out to both local chapters. Credit goes to the AFP Chapter in Tulsa. I have urged it, promoted it myself. Can you imagine a conference, a joint conference from the local AFP and APRA Chapters on helping small and medium nonprofits start a Major Giving program? Wow! Talk about a powerful game-changing and leveling educational initiative. There are even parts of this country, like the South, where there are much fewer prospect researchers, especially outside of universities. There are plenty of small and medium nonprofits, doing good work struggling to raise money and survive. Let’s help them.
I know it's not that simple. I know there are many factors to good fundraising at nonprofits. But in my 34 years in the field, the most powerful thing any organization can do is start to systematically raise Major Gifts. And the foundation to great Major Gifts fundraising is our friends in Prospect Research and Management. Let’s bridge that chasm. Let’s join hands and figure out how we can better work together to advance great work and causes!
