Research Department Success Archives

October 5, 2023 By Helen Brown

Wearing Many Hats Including Research: Strategies for Success

Are you a small-shop researcher? Wearing (one-too) many hats – or maybe managing someone who is? HBG’s Maura Baron has some great advice for you in today’s article about her journey from having multiple responsibilities in a fundraising department to becoming a full-time research professional. ~Helen

Maura Baron

The Art of Part-Time Research: Strategies for Success and Effective Management

Like many others in this field, I became a prospect researcher in a roundabout way, and through a series of diverse roles, I discovered my passion for digging deep into donor information and uncovering hidden connections. Here is a reflection on my journey and some valuable insights I’ve gained along the way for people who juggle multiple responsibilities including prospect research and their supervisors.

A Meandering Path

My journey into prospect research began after I took some time off from the workforce to be a mom. When the opportunity arose to join a capital campaign at my alma mater, a school close to my heart, I jumped at the chance. I started as a “campaign associate,” and this marked the beginning of my third career as an advancement professional.

From the start of the campaign, I was immersed in research-focused tasks: creating gift charts, identifying lead donors, preparing leadership gift asks, conducting wealth screenings, creating profiles for donor visits, and managing event guest lists. These responsibilities gave me a taste of the world of prospect research, and I quickly realized that I loved it!

However, as my tenure in the position progressed, I found myself pulled into various other areas of advancement, from event planning to alumnae activities. While these experiences were valuable and allowed me to gain new skills, my heart remained firmly rooted in research work. I wanted to uncover new donors, identify aligned foundations, and locate elusive alumni who had gone on to significant roles.

Embracing Research

When the campaign ended, and I began contemplating my next career move, I discovered a job opening for a dedicated prospect researcher at a community foundation. This position was added to support an endowment campaign and required me to build a research department from the ground up.

In this role, I created research profile templates, managed the organization’s first-ever database wealth screening, and selected vendors to support our research efforts. Yet, as time went on, I found myself being pulled into various other responsibilities (sound familiar?). While I appreciated the diverse experiences, I realized that my true passion lay in research work, and I was determined to find a way to focus on it fully.

Landing My Dream Job

As the endowment campaign began to wrap up, I started thinking about my next career step. I saw a job posting on LinkedIn for a consultant position at the Helen Brown Group. The idea of being completely dedicated to research every day thrilled me. I admired the work of the Helen Brown Group and had thought about how wonderful it would be to join their team.

Now, as a dedicated research consultant at the Helen Brown Group, I can confidently say that I’ve found my dream job. Reflecting on my journey, I want to offer some tips to fellow “part-time” researchers and their managers.

Tips for Part-Time Researchers

In the world of non-profits, it’s a reality that many organizations consider a full-time dedicated prospect researcher a luxury. Research responsibilities often get bundled with other tasks such as event support, donor support, and database administration. Here are some tips for those who find themselves in similar roles:

Advocate for Research: Ensure that your organization understands the value of research. Share examples of gifts and relationships that were advanced thanks to your research efforts.
Collaborate with Gift Officers: Encourage your gift officers to communicate the importance of research within the organization. A successful collaboration with gift officers can showcase the value of your work.
Segment Your Time: Work with your supervisor and team to allocate dedicated time and resources for research in your daily schedule.
Utilize Remote Work: If you have a hybrid schedule, consider using remote work time for research tasks. Fewer distractions can enhance your research productivity.
Expand Research Functions: Look for opportunities to add more research functions to your role. Explore avenues like foundation or corporate prospecting and prospect management processes within your organization.
Leverage Events: Use events as opportunities to demonstrate the value of research. Ensure top prospects are on the guest list, coordinate personal outreach efforts, orchestrate meaningful touch points between leadership and prospects at events, and encourage gift officers to follow up effectively.
Screen New Board Members and Volunteers: Continuously screen new additions to your organization to identify potential connections and prospects.
Master Your Database: Become an expert in your organization’s database and CRM system. A well-maintained database is crucial to effective research. Teach your colleagues how to access wealth information and highlight its importance.
Get Involved: Volunteer with local chapters of associations like AFP and APRA to expand your network and knowledge and to promote yourself as a research professional.

Managing Part-Time Researchers

If you’re a manager overseeing a part-time researcher, here are some considerations:

Job Responsibilities: When creating positions, think about which responsibilities complement research work well. Avoid pairing research with roles prone to frequent emergencies.
Skill Sets: Ensure you hire the right candidate. The researcher’s skill set, in terms of technical abilities and soft skills, may not necessarily align with the skill set required for other functions, making the hiring process challenging. It’s worth noting that one skill that cannot be taught is a genuine passion for research. Additionally, a researcher’s career progression is unlikely to lead them to a role as a gift officer.
Protect Research Time: Recognize the value of research and prioritize protecting your researcher’s time for focused work.
Strategic Assignments: When assigning non-research tasks, choose responsibilities that can benefit research efforts. For example, having a researcher check in guests at events can lead to the discovery of valuable donor connections.
Full-Time Research: Consider the value of making research a full-time position.

My Journey’s Conclusion

My previous positions and the varied roles I’ve played in the world of non-profits led me to being a dedicated prospect researcher. My involvement in all aspects of fundraising, donor engagement, and non-profit management has equipped me with a unique perspective. I understand how organizations function, and I grasp the motivations of donors, making me better at what I do.

If you’re a part-time researcher like I once was, or if you’re managing one, remember that research is a valuable asset that when supported and promoted, can transform your organization’s fundraising efforts.

February 23, 2023 By Helen Brown

Planning and Managing a Project

How often do you have projects that bubble up unexpectedly? If you’re like my team and me, it’s pretty frequently. Projects can be kind of fun and exciting – a little something different to do! But making sure that the project doesn’t go off the rails, get mission creep, or – gulp – fail, is the key to looking forward to the next one. (Add usually is also the key to moving forward in your career). This week HBG Senior Consultant Angie Herrington shares lessons learned for managing projects successfully – while also (sometimes with a little help from a friend) keeping your sanity. ~Helen

A project is a bundle of tasks necessary to create a solution. A simple definition but for our purposes we’re going to look at it as a process of creating a plan and managing it to keep it on track. Based on scope or size, a project’s complexity can be anything from an internal department screening verification to building a prospect management system.

The Beginning

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen R. Covey

Chancellor Bob “The Boss” Smith has come to you with a request. Your most important job right now? Stay quiet and listen. The Boss has an idea, and he may or not know what it will look like, but he needs a solution which is now your job. It’s then your turn to tactfully find out why this is needed, how is it going to be used, who will use it, and does he already have a visual of what it will look like. It’s possible The Boss won’t have any answers, but he has an idea and it’s an opportunity for you to help shape it because ultimately, you’re the subject matter expert.

Planning

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” – Alan Lakein

A project is about creating a process involving multiple steps and/or people. Where do you start?

Meet internally with your supervisor and team to prioritize it with other projects.
Visualize the steps. Projects aren’t one-size fits all so do your best to estimate the time for each step, including meetings and administrative tasks.
Meet with others who need to be involved and discuss their ideas, time estimates, and workload.
Don’t forget to factor in your own time if you have other responsibilities or unrelated work and if you’ll need to delegate something.
Ask more questions for clarification.

How can you stay organized? We don’t always have time to create or maintain flashy visuals, Gantt charters, or learn one of the many available planning software programs. There are people whose sole jobs are certified project managers. It doesn’t hurt to understand basic concepts from agile or scrum project management methodologies because the clock is ticking and knowing steps to keep a team collaborating on schedule and being accountable will make your life easier. For us we can use basic tools we’re already familiar with like spreadsheets, word documents, free online templates, online whiteboards, a calendar system, and other simple tools to get the job done to the best of our abilities.

Proposal and Negotiation

“Everything is negotiable. Whether or not the negotiation is easy is another thing.” – Carrie Fisher

Now that you know who and what you need it’s time to draft a proposal, so everyone understands the plan, timeline, and role. This is the time to clearly manage expectations. Including more than one option for The Boss to consider might help you manage the scope and time you’ve estimated and later during negotiations. Compromise, but be careful not to overpromise, propose or leave anything vague. Although it’s not always possible, work with the ultimate decision maker or keep them involved in some way to stay on track.

Document. Document. Document. Can you guess why I’ve stressed this detail? Do this from your first meeting to the last. Document changes to your proposal. The project itself or who you’re working with might be complex, so I also suggest having someone else in the room from the beginning to help take notes, catch anything overlooked, and make sure there aren’t misinterpretations.

Communication and Comprehension

“Communication sometimes is not what you first hear, listen not just to the words, but listen for the reason.” – Catherine Pulsifer

We all say communication is the key, but it means nothing unless there’s comprehension. Part of being an effective project manager is you’re also a translator. As researchers we have to know a little bit about everything and that includes our internal partners.

For example, you need data from your CRM and help from your database manager or the report writing team. During your planning stage bring everyone in on the full picture of the who, what, and why. Asking for XYZ could get you a .csv file with 300 columns and 10,000 rows when there might have been an option for a report with context. Have a basic understanding about the different groups you’re working with and put effort into understanding their terminology vs. The Boss’s. Adapting will make your life easier. You’re the negotiator working with a variety of personalities, skills, and work styles helping them understand their piece in the puzzle.

Implementation

“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” – Guy Kawasaki

You’re now in the thick of it. Manage your progress with a tracker including tasks, status, and updates. Schedule regular meetings with agendas to add notes with who’s doing what and a focus on next steps. Similar to the Agile method, if it’s appropriate and you think productive, share your work in stages with The Boss to get input as you go.

Guess what? The Boss has a new idea or change to the project, and it will add more time. Ask, “what will this replace” or “that’s an interesting idea and something to consider as a phase two of the project.” We need to prioritize what’s most important vs. what would be nice if we had more time.

At some point you might have a meltdown and it’s good to remember suggestions like go for a walk, get fresh air, make a new friend with the person who stopped you from throwing your computer out the window. I made a discovery on a Sunday night during a series of email exchanges. (You’re probably thinking the lesson was never to reply to email off hours. That’s a great idea and I’ll add it to next year’s performance goals.) In this case I learned my Apple Watch has a heart rate monitor that will trigger if my beats per minute goes over 120 after 10 minutes of sitting. The second time it went off an hour later I made another discovery. My husband knows how to block websites like my email account on our wireless router and where to hide my cell phone.

You’ll find times when you have to stop and ask yourself “is this reasonable?” or “is this worth it?” and need to go back to negotiate. If you find yourself in this situation, remember what we do isn’t going to end the world. Remind yourself of the bigger picture. If your own efforts to bring the project back to a manageable level isn’t working, ask for an outside perspective or your manager to step in to help.

Retrospective

“Regardless of what we discover, we must understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job he or she could, given what was known at the time,
his or her skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.” – Norman Kerth

The project is done! A retrospective session is the final piece of the documentation process and will give you and/or your team time to reflect. Discuss your successes, complications (missteps and/or those out of your control), what you would do differently, and any next steps. It will help everyone understand your work, The Boss might remember where your office is and have another great idea, and you’ll inevitably do something similar again. We learn from the past and (hopefully) know what not to repeat or will work better next time.

Most importantly and I can’t stress this enough, thank those who helped. The Boss may have moved on and will never be aware of your efforts or the benefits of an Apple Watch’s heart monitor. You can be better because you were there with everyone else. A little gratitude makes a big difference to them and for you.

Lessons Learned

“Some lessons can’t be taught. They simply have to be learned.” – Jodi Picoult

Sometimes project management is an attempt at good intentions. Do I practice what I preach? No comment. I learn something every time that helps me with the next project. I’ve tried to get ahead on known projects and never heard a peep until two days before the deadline. There’s that saying, “your lack of planning is not my emergency.” Periodically check in with your development officer on their goals and your potential role. Remember to manage other’s expectations and especially your own. It’s easier said than done but that’s one of the lessons I’ve learned along the way and will hopefully practice the next time.

Angie Herrington

December 1, 2022 By Helen Brown

Key Performance Indicators

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be a tricky thing to measure in prospect research.

For example, how do you measure the impact of due diligence research that helped your organization narrowly miss partnering with disaster? 10 hours of research that, essentially, you have nothing to show for.

How do you track a day of research that finds that, yes, the donor prospect is capable of a major donation – they just have negative interest in or no connection to your cause.

It’s a lot easier to measure what’s easiest to track. Like:

The number of new prospects identified.
The number of reports written.
The number of screening prospects qualified.

Basic math. 1+1+1+…

Back in the day, those things were enough.

(Those things were never enough. We just weren’t grown up yet as a profession to know that they weren’t enough. We didn’t know how to set the proper expectations for ourselves. And those things were just easiest for us to track in our less-sophisticated databases, so that’s what we did.)

Also, I’m not saying that those things shouldn’t be tracked, I’m just saying that they’re the baseline. Things of interest. Not things to base the measurement of our department’s impact on.

And here is where I send out a big thank you to the very interesting (and much too short!) panel discussion on KPIs at the RiF conference this week for sharing their knowledge, ideas, and getting me thinking about this. The panel featured moderator Chris Davis (Birkbeck College) and panelists Hannah Clarke (UCL), Nidhi Fisher (Science Museum), and Ed Raichura-Brown (Marble Prospects) who each brought thought-provoking insight to this important topic.

The panel was called “Measuring and Showcasing the Impact of Prospect Research” and, naturally, KPIs factored in heavily in the discussion.

Things to consider in establishing KPIs

So, okay, if it’s hard to measure some things that may be important (but we’re not sure how important), and too easy to track other things that are just …things to count, what do we measure?

One important observation that came up in the panel discussion that we all agree on is that, in order for prospect development to have true impact, we have to set our goals according to the big picture.

What are the targets that the entire fundraising department has to meet?

What are the goals that each fundraiser has to meet? What about the unit? Department? Entire institution?

Once we’ve identified those larger goals, we can start thinking about the KPIs that we then need to set for ourselves…and then some.

Measuring the best of our energies and skills

Wildly plagiarizing from John F. Kennedy here:

We choose [the KPIs to measure our impact] not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.”

For example, let’s say it’s determined that we need to identify 100 new donors at the principal gift level for a new initiative or campaign. Fine. That’s easy enough to measure – you do the project and afterwards you download a list showing the 100 folks who weren’t previously identified or assigned who now qualify as principal gift donors. But what about:

Who found them?
When were they found?
Was there a specific resource that was used to find them? (Were they found through one person’s initiative or a wealth screening, for example).
And, most importantly, did that constituent actually go on to make a principal gift? Which fundraiser was responsible for the ask?
If they didn’t give, what was the stated reason? If they did give, how long did it take?
If fundraisers and prospect researchers are paired, at the end of the year or campaign, which teams proved most effective at converting new prospects to donors? Why?

These are the kinds of questions that lead to setting KPIs that help us measure impact. Because we can now draw a line between the person who identified that prospect right through to the fundraiser who made the ask to the principal gift that came in.

We learn that Jane Researcher identified 30% of the successful new prospects – what was her secret sauce? You can bet we should do that again.
We see that when Jane’s identified prospects were given to Fran Fundraiser, 90% of the time a gift came in, so they clearly make a great team. (why? What’s the secret to their success? Can we now replicate that with other teams?)
What about the prospects that didn’t go on to make a gift? Can we look into why not so we can specifically not do that again?

Maybe you have other questions you need to have answered

Maybe your fundraising goals are tied not to finding and engaging new donors, but to retaining and upgrading current donors.

What KPIs would be important to consider to make that goal successful? What KPIs from Major Gifts, Prospect Research, Stewardship, Donor Relations, Communications, and more would all tie into it?

And that’s really it, right? All of the group moving together toward the goal, considering the questions: what do we need to monitor in order to inform us that we’re on the right (or wrong) track? Or that we were successful (or not, or could have done better, or…) when we’re done?

Because those are the KPIs that you need to set. Not just the easy things. And if the KPIs you’re currently tracking aren’t getting you to the goal, why are you still wasting the time it takes to input them?

And what about those really hard things? Or things that lead nowhere? Or that tell you inconvenient truths?

What about the projects that expended energy with (seemingly) no result? The due diligence report that took 3 days with the decision not to move forward? Should you bother to track that?

Yes. Absolutely.

In soccer, tracking saves is just as important as tracking goals, right? It’s no different in fundraising.

The hard things can tell you where you’re most effective.

February 10, 2022 By Helen Brown

The RiF Prospect Research Handbook is out today!

Lots of times we might have a brilliant idea to nudge forward (or perhaps even revolutionize) our profession, but then we think, ugh, is it worth it? That would take forever! And we go back to whatever it was we were doing before our daydream.

Fortunately for all of us that’s not what happened back in 2019 when Ben Rymer, then chair of Researchers in Fundraising (RiF), dreamed up the bold idea to create a soup-to-nuts Prospect Research how-to Handbook. In case you’re not familiar with RiF, it’s the professional association for prospect researchers in the UK. Just like Apra here in North America, RiF has a great conference every year (theirs is in November in London) as well as gatherings throughout the year.

The RiF Handbook (available today!), called Researchers in Fundraising: Best Practice Guide and Handbook for Prospect Research has been a labor/labour of love for many of us in the prospect research community. I was lucky enough to be one of the volunteer editors for a segment or two, and I was impressed at what a well-run machine it was, and what a great job that the project’s manager Ally Lee-Dudley, founder of Adcumulo, did of keeping the operation running so smoothly.

I was interested to learn more about the Handbook and the process of creating it, so I got in touch with Ben, Ally, and Chris Davis, RiF’s current chair, to find out more. Sincere thanks to Ben, Ally, and Chris for sharing these great insights!

Helen: Ben, how did the idea come about to do a Handbook for prospect researchers?

Ben Rymer: When I sent the initial proposal to the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) in August 2019, I’d known for a while that a handbook/textbook/how-to guide was needed. My feeling was that prospect research was still something of a trade, rather than a profession or discipline. We have a huge amount of expertise, experience and goodwill in the community, but it had never completely crystallised into a finished product so we could build on and improve existing good practice.

HB: What was your initial plan for the scope of the project, and did that change at all as it evolved?

BR: All I knew was that the main areas of research practice should be included. Basically I wanted to create something that I would’ve found practically useful in my first job in the sector. We cast the net wide in starting, with plans for 23 chapters. The big trade-off since then has been in response to volunteer availability. All the content is crowd-sourced, and so we have to work in sequence with the expertise of volunteers who come forward … Also, Covid hit a short time after project kick-off, but we pivoted to remote working pretty well, thankfully.

HB: Ally, how did you get involved with the project?

Ally Lee-Dudley: My involvement with the project began in January 2020 when the Steering Group were looking for a Project Manager to move the Handbook from a great concept to a work in progress. At this time there were not yet any structures, processes, or resources in place so this really was the beginning of the Handbook as an active project.

HB: How many volunteers were part of it?

AL-D: To date around 90 volunteers have contributed to the Handbook, some as writers, some as editors, some as beta-readers, as some as micro-volunteers. Volunteers come from 3 different continents, and around a dozen different countries making the volunteer effort an international collaboration.

HB: How many chapters are there, and how was the decision made on which topics to include?

AL-D: At launch, 8 chapters are available for readers plus a Resource Director and Glossary of industry terms and phrases. There are another 7 chapters in progress which will be published as and when they are completed and a further 11 chapters that are yet to be started. Publishing content on a staggered basis like this means we are able to start getting useful content out and into the prospect research community far more quickly than if we wait for a ‘complete’ Handbook. The original list of potential chapters was developed through discussions between the volunteers who make up the RiF Committee. Over time several additional chapters have been added to that list as a result of suggestions made by volunteers involved with the project.

HB: Chris, as the scope of the project evolved, what changes did that cause you to make?

Chris Davis: As we added more chapters to the Handbook, we found ourselves looking beyond our immediate peer group for input and advice, to those with specific expertise or lived experience. For example, in our chapter on Strategic International Prospecting, we were aware that we needed to get as much input as possible not only from researchers with extensive knowledge of international prospect research, but also from those with experience of living or working in different countries and communities. This was definitely a challenge, but I hope we got the balance right! Similarly, when we start work on the chapter on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Prospect Research we’ll be seeking involvement from those who are experts in the ED&I space.

HB: What surprised you most about the process, or what created the most changes or opportunities as things went along?

CD: I think I was surprised by how much content we ended up generating! I knew that the prospect research community would be hugely generous with their time and knowledge, but I was still taken aback at times by the volume of work we ended up producing. At this point I’d have to give a big shout out to our beta-reading and editing volunteers, who were a major help in clarifying and refining the chapters and getting them to where they are now.

HB: Ben, what do you think are the top 3 things that readers will find that might surprise them?

BR: 1. Reach: it is a big thing! Chapters I’ve worked on have ended up being 10,000-20,000 words long. We also have a very broad range of topics, so I think readers will be pleasantly surprised at that.

What’s still to come: by the same token, there are some big chapters in the pipeline, so reader may be left waiting for those. If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to get in touch via the Handbook website, www.rifhandbook.info.
Quality: we’ve put a lot of effort into making the content as good as it can be. For a wholly volunteer-generated initiative I think it is a solid product, but I’m biased of course!

HB: Chris, what do you think are the top things that you think readers will find most useful in the Handbook?

CD: I think that will be different depending on the needs and experiences of readers – throughout the Handbook we’ve tried to ensure that content is relevant for both those who are new to prospect research and for experienced researchers who are looking to innovate and upskill.

For early-career researchers or those who are setting up a prospect research function, we hope our New Researchers Guide chapter and the chapter on The Prospect Research Role will be invaluable. Within the Data & Skills Domain of the Handbook, there is some very detailed, nuanced, and in-depth content on estimating wealth and assigning capacity ratings – topics that we know are of eternal interest to prospect researchers and fundraisers alike!

Finally, we’ve made extensive use of case studies throughout the Handbook, drawn from the real-life experiences of researchers. We hope these will really bring the content the life and illustrate how the principles and techniques outlined in the Handbook can be applied practically.

HB: Chris, what did you enjoy most about the process?

CD: I’ve really enjoyed the experience of being involved in creating content for the Handbook, especially the early stages of this where you are exchanging knowledge with your peers. I’ve been working in prospect research for over a decade, but being involved with the Handbook has absolutely encouraged to rethink some of my settled views about the work that we do, and how we do it. I think the Handbook does reflect this process of peer exchange, and I hope that everyone who uses it will find something new and different in there that challenges their assumptions.

HB: Ally, What tools did you use for collaboration on this massive project and how well did they work? If you had another large collaborative project to undertake, would you use the same tools?

AL-D: The Handbook was always intended to be primarily a remote project, so in that sense we were lucky and the pandemic didn’t significantly affect our plans. In order to help ensure both accessibility of tools at no cost for volunteers and to help embed project sustainability by keeping the financial burden of the project low for RiF, we’ve largely drawn on tools that are available for free. As a Steering Group, our project management hub is a tool called Freedcamp, and this enables us to plot and track actions, deadlines, and milestones and assign task accountability at a strategic level.

For the Handbook’s wider volunteer community, the free version of MS Teams is our collaborative workspace. Teams provides us with a place to create, share, and store documents such as meeting agendas and action plans, and to work collectively on producing and editing content in real-time whilst being able to communicate quickly and easily with each other. Within Teams volunteers can access the web versions of MS Word and Excel so we’re all using the same tools to ensure compatibility plus there is in-build versioning history and storage back-up for those ‘just in case’ moments. We’ve recently made the switch from using Zoom for our regular meetings to using MS Teams’ video calling service; it doesn’t quite have all the same features as Zoom but it does come at zero cost rather than requiring a subscription to hold meetings for small groups for up to an hour at a time.

The Handbook itself is created using a custom-made WordPress website. We chose the route of e-publishing over hard copy for several reasons and the WordPress platform, with its almost unlimited flexibility and versatility, is the best fit to meet the Handbooks needs both now and in the future. As an e-publication it is not only much easier to keep the Handbook content up to date, it is also far simpler to ensure its availability to readers around the world who can access the content from any device with a web browser.

Overall, aside from the usual occasional IT glitch, (we’ve done the equivalent of turn it off and on again once or twice), the tools we’ve chosen have been effective and created not only a conduit for remote productivity and development, but also a space to come together a a community and experience that sense of being part of a team working towards a common goal that is so important to the Handbook.

Many thanks again to Ben, Chris, and Ally for sharing the inside scoop on the RiF Prospect Research Handbook, and for all of the hard work and coordination that went into creating it! Check out the Handbook website at www.RiFHandbook.info. If you would like to be a volunteer writer or editor for future chapters, please visit this page to learn more.

January 13, 2022 By Helen Brown

We’ve always done it this way

Photo by Chris Flook – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80320762

I’m not going to say what you think I’m going to say today about this.

A few weeks ago I was talking with a potential client. We were discussing their current need for prospect research, their upcoming campaign, and the fundraising goals and priorities that they were gearing up for.

And as we were getting deeper into the topic they said to me, “we’ve never really had prospect research before so we’re just building this program…” and then for a moment the rest of what they said went fuzzy because I knew what they were saying wasn’t true. And it dawned on me that they didn’t know that it wasn’t true.

A few years ago, they did have a prospect researcher. A really good one. But that researcher is gone and so, too, are most of the fundraisers at that organization who would remember her.

This isn’t the first time that sentence has ever been said to me. Over the course of my 15+ years as a consultant, I’ve heard it multiple times. In one case, I was the prospect researcher whose systems were forgotten. “When I got here,” my 3-time successor said, “there were no templates, no prospect management, no nothing.” What did I spend those 5+ years of my life doing?

Well, obviously not writing down processes and procedures, for one thing. Not thinking about the fact that the average life-span of a fundraising team might be one campaign length, or average about 18 months tenure per fundraiser. When that team or group leaves, there’s more than just donor relationship information that goes out the door.

We say that one of the killers of innovation at any work-place is the phrase “we’ve always done it this way.” And that’s not wrong, but it’s also not all right.

Can you imagine if all of the knowledge from one department of Microsoft or McDonald’s or Mike’s Pastry simply disappeared because one person left?

Think about that for a second.

I know, there are lots of things that aren’t apples to apples with a research department at a major corporation and one in a fundraising office. Research departments at corporations are many many people strong, so when one person leaves there’s still continuity. But even so you can bet that they have policies and procedures documents that have been amended and updated many times over the years. Sketches and diagrams, schematics and manufacturing processes. Bugs and issues and how they were fixed. What worked, and what didn’t, and why.

We can say in the beginning of a campaign or the middle of a campaign or the end of a campaign that we don’t have time to write down our processes and policies and procedures. But how are we more busy than an engineer at Apple? How is what we do (and how we do it) for our nonprofit any less important to its future success?

Stagnation is bad but completely reinventing the wheel every few years isn’t any better. “We’ve always done it this way” isn’t always a bad place to start.

March 4, 2021 By Helen Brown

Celebrating Research Pride Month: Elevating Prospect Development & Celebrating Community

Happy International Prospect Research Pride Month! This week to officially kick off Pride month I am beyond delighted to invite my friends and colleagues, Misa Lobato and Melissa Bank Stepno to cut the virtual ribbon and to share what Research Pride means to them and to our professional association, Apra. Welcome and thank you, Misa and Melissa. ~Helen

March 2021. Some might be marking this month as the one-year anniversary of when COVID rocked our world and began to turn 2020 into one of the most tumultuous years in modern history. Rather than focusing on the profound misfortunes that challenged us over the last year, as the current President and President-Elect of Apra, and Trustees of the Apra Foundation, we would rather focus on the 7^th anniversary of Research Pride month.

To celebrate, we could not find a more appropriate place to do so than on the blog that birthed International Research Pride. On March 6^th, 2014, Helen proclaimed: “I officially declare that from now on, March is International Research Pride month.”

We are Apra

For readers who are unfamiliar with Apra, Apra is the association for all professionals who strategically harness information and data to drive fundraising for philanthropic institutions. This, of course, includes Prospect Researchers but also people who work in data science and data management, relationship management, annual giving, advancement services, consulting, campaigns, and many, many others who serve data intelligence functions within fundraising and philanthropy.

Comprised of more than 1,800 members across the globe, Apra is committed to serving, representing and advancing both the professionals and the practices that enable the philanthropic success of institutions that rely on fundraising for achieving their missions. Apra fosters a collaborative environment for sharing and discussion, while leading the development, dissemination and advancement of best practices, resources, thinking and trends.

Why is Research Pride so important to us?

In an age where so many in society move around from job to job without finding a meaningful career, how many could say that they find their chosen path invigorating, energizing and stimulating? We would venture a guess that a higher percentage of Apra members would choose these words than in many other professions. We are mission-driven professionals who show up with passion, intelligence and focus in our interactions with each other and to our work in the fundraising industry.

As a community, we are advocates for the vital role of data in informing the future of philanthropy, and we continually evolve and learn to meet changing demands and technology. As a community, we have supported each other through comradery, mentorship and training. We have both learned, and continue to learn, so much from Apra leaders, volunteers and mentors. Even when we chose to follow a less-than-traditional career path, Apra still continued with us on our journey. We find fulfillment in giving back to the community that supported our professional growth.

Apra is a uniquely collaborative community of lifelong learners, where members are always willing to share best practices and help one another problem solve. This community orientation was on full display over the past year, when Apra members immediately stepped up to help one another navigate personal and professional hardships, connect and build networks, and master new skills. Apra members have shown up for one another in ways that are both inspiring and inspired.

These are the reasons we choose to serve on the Apra Board, these are the reasons we celebrate Research Pride month, and these are the reasons that we choose to give back financially to support our fellow Apra members.

Giving Back

Earlier this year, the Apra Foundation launched the Apra Foundation Professional Development Assistance Fund, initially established from the sales of our digital cookbook, Data Driven Deliciousness: The Apra Cookbook. The fund has a singular goal: to support prospect development professionals who have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19 or other factors. The fund will provide grants of $200 for Apra members to use toward any Apra-hosted educational event or Apra University content. The Foundation Board is currently reviewing the first round of applicants and will be providing the first awards this month. We plan to award another round of awards later this year.

We want to support as many Apra members as possible through this fund, so the Apra Foundation has set a fundraising goal of $2,000 for Research Pride Month. This will fund 10 Professional Development Assistance awards!

And now the appeal (since we are fundraisers, after all!): We know that many of you have experienced the learning and community benefits of Apra. Would you show your Research Pride by donating what you can to help support your fellow Apra members?

100% of Apra Foundation Trustees have pledged commitments. Join us in providing professional development opportunities for Apra Members and DONATE NOW! Thank you!

Misa Lobato

President, Apra

Director, Prospect Management & Analysis, Rhode Island School of Design

Melissa Bank Stepno

President-Elect, Apra

Director, Analytics & Business Consulting Services, Blackbaud

September 24, 2020 By Helen Brown

4 Mid-COVID tasks that get you ahead

Hi there, and welcome back to the Intelligent Edge: mid-COVID edition.

While we’re hopeful that at least one of those 50-odd vaccines in development will work – and that it really will be ready early in 2021 – that’s still half a year away.

So, now’s a good time to take realistic stock of where we’re at, see what we can do to make the most of right now, and plan as best we can to make things easier for ourselves next spring and mitigate future disruption.

From prospect development and operations perspectives, what might that mean?

Top prospect checkup

Well, first, we’re all keenly aware that the pandemic has impacted businesses – so many businesses – in a negative way. Now is a really good time to do a quick scan of your top 25-50 prospects (for large organizations, that would mean the top 25-50 in each major gift officer’s portfolio).

How has their financial situation changed, if at all? Recalculate ratings accordingly.
Is your donor in a fairly stable (or growing) industry right now? Can you code that for pulling reports?
Have they made any recent large gifts, either to your nonprofit or to another?
Do they have a donor advised fund? If so, it is noted/coded in your database?
Check the obituaries to see if there has been a recent death in their family (which, I know. It’s just unbelievably sad that we need to do this, but it’s important).

End-user check-in

It’s not just our donors and their companies that have been impacted. We have been, too, of course. Everybody’s needs have changed. No matter what your position, now is a good time to check in with your supervisor and other end users to be sure that the reports and information and work you’ve been producing is still helping drive things forward for them.

Do they need less information because concentrating on large reports is tough right now?
Do they need the information bulleted, or in prose, or in an audio memo, because it’s easier for them to absorb?
Do they need different information? Is something else about their prospects more important than it used to be?

We’re not in the same-old same-old anymore. We’ve all changed, and our needs have all changed. Check in to see how you can meet the new needs that exist.

Data hygiene checkup

If you’re having trouble concentrating, now is a really good time to do mindless data hygiene tasks. You know, the ones you’ve been putting off. Crank up the music and get them done.

For example: Currently in your database in the company field for 38(0)(00) of your constituents, I can say with some certainty that there are a nearly-equal number of permutations of the same company name. Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs Group. THE Goldman Sachs Group. Goldman. GS. GSG. Goldman Sacks.

If you fix those now when a fairly auto-pilot task is just the ticket, in the future when you want to pull a report to answer the prospecting question “hey, just how many constituents do we have that work at Goldman Sachs?” you won’t get that sinking “UGH! I have to put in 38(0)(00) different queries!” feeling.

Also, if you haven’t looked at your data entry policies (or written them at all), now is a good time to do that, so that you avoid those messy name permutations (and any other data inconsistencies) in the future.

Ethics, Due Diligence, and The Law

Was your organization affected by the Blackbaud breach? Did it catch your team flat-footed when you tried to figure out how – or if – you needed to respond or send a notification to your constituency?

Did you write down the policies and procedures you learned through that process? Do you now have someone in your organization who is responsible for managing the process and/or response when something similar happens again? If not yet, do that now.

(If you’re not a Blackbaud client, have you gotten in touch with your database vendor to find out what precautions they’re taking to avoid placing you in the same situation?)

The first lawsuits that sprang up in the Blackbaud data hijacking situation were aimed solely at the company. However it was announced this week that a new lawsuit, Cohen v. Blackbaud Inc,. also names Harvard University, Bank Street College of Education, and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum as defendants. (More information here$ and here).

There are probably more lawsuits to come. As prospect research professionals, we can help our fundraising teams stay on top of the news as it comes out.

We also tend to be the ones who are on the front lines of ethics, due diligence, and conforming with the laws that pertain to information-gathering and fundraising. These aren’t the most gripping topics, but they are important.

Can you discuss with leadership and opportunities for your team to gather for lunch-and-learns around ethics and data security? What does your team need to know to be prepared for a data breach, or to be sure you’re compliant with laws and ethics requirements?

What are you working on?

So those are just a few ideas for (actually really important) things you can do right now to stay ahead of the game and be prepared for the next few months. What are you doing right now to be prepared? Share it in the comments and bring your ideas to others!

If you want to hear more about ethics, due diligence, the law, prospect development, and how you can start those discussions in your nonprofit, join me at the APRA-MN virtual conference on October 20!

August 6, 2020 By Helen Brown

Credit where credit is appreciated

On occasion, a prospective client will ask “How much money has your company helped your clients raise?”

That’s a tricky question, because the truly honest answer is, “I don’t know.”

Some clients hire us simply to provide profiles and we don’t usually hear what happens after the fact.

If we’re working with clients on a dedicated basis – meaning that one of our team works with them side-by-side over a period of months or years – it’s a lot easier. We can trace the donations of the people we’ve identified for them and come up with a figure. Or, as happens more frequently, the fundraiser we’re working with calls to celebrate the donation – and that’s like the sun beaming through after a full week of rain. Pure joy.

We also do prospecting projects, of course, by hand and through our Data Insight team. But again, we rarely hear the long-term results of those projects 18-24 months down the road (the usual time from identification through cultivation to gift).

We would love to hear, of course, but as is the way of things, our clients are focused forward, not back.

And also, (going back to the original question), when you work in prospect development you’re entirely at the mercy of the action and skill of the fundraiser, dean, executive director, volunteer, etc., to convert that prospect to a donor. You could identify the Gates Foundation for a world-class malaria and TB charity with a connection to a program manager, but if the fundraiser doesn’t act on the prospect, that research work had zero impact.

Of course, prospect development often does have a huge impact, and there are lots of ways we can measure it, including…

Number of new prospects identified
Number of prospects identified who went on to make a gift (and why? what did they have in common?)
Estimated capacity of newly-identified prospects
Number of reports completed
Number of prospects rated and assigned

…and more. But those ways are presented in statistics, produced at our desk, provided monthly or annually in a report. Not the most super-exciting reading for the recipient, nor is the report something that generally causes the reader to call the research manager to exclaim their praises. But, you know, those stats can be kind of a big deal.

What we need, especially now, are examples of ways to communicate and celebrate the impact of prospect development.

Many times staffers will hear exciting news about a big gift in office kitchens or hallways before the monthly announcement at the all-staff or major gifts meeting. But with a pandemic going on and all of us working remotely, those moments of shared joy aren’t happening. We’re cut off from colleagues, physically isolated, and working in a vacuum. It’s hard for those moments of celebration to happen. Which means it’s even harder for staff to stay motivated and feel part of the big picture.

So especially now, when those gifts happen, how can leaders share them? How can fundraisers help prospect development folks feel valued? How can PD managers keep their teams motivated? We need to find every way we can. And honestly, the endorphins that flow with sharing that kind of joy is good for all of us, sharer and recipient alike.

How does your team creatively share celebrations now? How do you as a manager make sure that your team stays inspired – and credited – for their part in making those moments of success happen?

July 30, 2020 By Helen Brown

Silver linings

So here we are, week nine hundred and twenty-whatever, working from home, wearing a mask when we’re out, socially distancing, all that good stuff. We’re w-a-a-y past the novelty and deep into the “Seriously I cannot binge-watch yet another series” portion of this Pandemic-a-thon. And that’s if we’re lucky.

[PSA: Now is the time when it’s really easy to break down and do something that honestly doesn’t seem like it would be that risky but three months ago would have freaked you out. Don’t. You’ve made it this far and we’re all counting on you to keep being a strong link in this virtual chain. Also you’re awesome and cherished].

But, yeah, this is still 17 kinds of awful. I’ve been trying to keep a gratitude list to stay positive, and I wanted to share with you some positive things I noted that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for this pandemic.

For one thing, no one is saying “It’s impossible for prospect development folks to work from home!” anymore. There is an element of “be careful what you wish for” here, but if you’re one of the millions who’ve discovered that working from home really is a wish come true, well, there’s good thing #1 to come out of this.

Another good thing happened a couple of weeks ago. My university held a virtual stewardship event for donors to the student COVID emergency relief fund, and one of the speakers said “of course, we’d ideally be all together now so we could thank you in person.” Since my university is across an ocean, the likelihood of my being there in person would be approximately nil, but because the event had to be virtual, there I was, one happy square among many on several pages in a Zoom room. How many great opportunities will nonprofits be able to take advantage of to engage with distanced constituents (who want to be more engaged) because we’re separated?

And speaking of the benefits of virtual gatherings, here’s another good thing: All of the free and low-cost webinars this spring were great, right? Especially in the beginning when we were trying to figure out how permanent or temporary this was all going to be. But if you’re like me, right about now you’re longing to be part of a real discussion again with other prospect development folks. Conversation. Back and forth, not just being talked at.

We’re not alone. Coffee talks are springing up everywhere. Last week Apra-MN had a great coffee hour conversation featuring Janna Lee and Mark DeFilippis on the topic of the legality of using FEC data in prospect research. Lori Lawson (who helped write the guidelines on this for APRA) was able to chime in from her home in Florida. Bonus!

Next month Apra-MN will host another interactive kaffeeklatsch on the topic of New York real estate, and they’re also doing evening happy hours just for conversation. Apra-Carolinas and Apra-PA are also hosting social gatherings…maybe your chapter is doing something, too? If not, volunteer to lead one yourself! It’s great that distance doesn’t have to be a factor – we can share a beverage and talk to peers everywhere! (oh, and hey: chapter membership chairs? Members don’t need to be in your geographic area anymore! Just saying.)

What other good things are happening because of this very bad thing that you can think of?

March 26, 2020 By Helen Brown

Hiring and onboarding new remote employees

When I first started The Helen Brown Group, I met every candidate in person even though they were going to be working remotely. It wasn’t until 2014 that we took the leap of hiring someone without meeting them until after they’d been hired.

Once you get over the initial fear, it’s pretty liberating. I thought I’d share the details of our hiring process in case it’s helpful to you as you start hiring staff who will be working remotely. It’s worked well for us so far, and we’re always re-tooling it based on feedback that we encourage our new employees to share once they’re settled in and have some perspective.

I hope that you find this (admittedly almost TMI) detailed description of our process useful – you’re welcome to borrow any of it that may be relevant to your situation.

Our hiring process

We advertise exclusively on the Apra and NEDRA job boards. After the applications come in, the search committee ranks all of the applicants against each other in the cohort based on years and variety of experience. We require a cover letter so we get an immediate idea of their ability to synthesize and communicate information clearly as well as highlight what they think are the most important points. This is also the first test to see if candidates truly have attention to detail and follow instructions – no cover letter, no consideration.

Because we’re virtual, geography doesn’t matter. We can have access to talent anywhere in the US. This is such a bonus!

We look for people with a variety of nonprofit and skill types in their background. Someone who has worked in two or more nonprofit types will float higher than someone with only university development experience, for example. Another positive is someone who has volunteered for Apra or their local chapter – we like to see commitment to the profession and a philanthropic spirit, as well as an instinct toward leadership and nonprofit experience.

On the minus side, people who stay in two or more positions less than a year would rank lower. Someone might make a mistake and not fit into one job (or have a terrible boss) and leave in under a year, but two or more short runs starts looking like a negative pattern.

As a firm whose clients expect (and deserve) experienced consultants, we can’t consider anyone with fewer than two years of experience, but your requirements may differ.

Speaking generally, I think this is going to be a difficult time for new people coming into the field because it’s much harder to mentor and teach people without experience who are working remotely. If you decide to hire someone with little or no previous experience, factor in more time than you normally would for training and mentoring.

Meanwhile, back to our process…

Once we have the top 7-10, we set up one-hour phone interviews over a period of a week. Our interview questions are not designed to test prospect research knowledge and skills. That’s different, eh?

We don’t do a video interview. Why? Because 99 percent of the conversations they’ll have with clients will be on the phone – we need to see how they work in that medium. Your needs may be entirely different – if your new employee needs to be comfortable using video conferencing, now would be a good time to use that medium.

For us, we also hope that using first contact on the phone contributes to the lessening or elimination of bias. We may have no idea what they look like or what their physical abilities are, but we’ll learn plenty about how they will react in certain situations, how flexible they are to change, and what sort of team members they will be.

We ask questions to see how knowledgeable they are about the nonprofit landscape and to learn where they stand on the integrity and ethical spectrum. We also work to get a sense of how well they collaborate with people they can’t see, and what their customer service skills are. We throw a few curveballs at them to see how quickly they think on their feet.

These questions may be ones that we’d ask anyway even if our staffers were on-site, but I think they take on even more importance when the person will be working remotely.

Round 3

From there, the top candidates will be told the salary range and asked if they’d like to continue based on that knowledge. The next part is pretty grueling, so it’s not fair for them to continue if the salary won’t fit their needs.

Some might argue that it’s unfair not to tell people up front what the salary is, and I can see their point. But I personally believe that all interview experience is valuable. Perhaps more importantly, there have been a few cases where a candidate is great but they haven’t been the right fit for HBG so I’ve referred them on to a trusted recruiter or a colleague who is hiring at a place where I know they would be a good fit. Sometimes they know that I’ve done this and sometimes they don’t, but if they hadn’t interviewed with us they wouldn’t have gotten that help.

For this round, the remaining candidates will be asked to complete a full profile on the same person within a timed period. All are given access to the same information, resources, and template. It is not a straightforward test, and some of the most important information can only be gotten by thinking creatively, paying attention to small clues, pulling loose threads, and asking questions.

It always takes longer than people think (if they do it right), but the deadline is firm. This is why we don’t ask prospect research knowledge questions during the interview portion – we know that we’re going to see their skill, ingenuity, and discipline in action.

When the candidates submit their finished profiles, a member of our team takes off all identifying information before the hiring committee sees them so that we’re judging the profiles blind. Did they follow the clues? We’ve got our fingers crossed and we literally cheer when we see that someone found what we’re looking for!

Round 4

Finally, we’ll ask each of the top profile-creators for a follow up call to discuss their work, section by section. We want to see how they react to constructive criticism. Are they more interested in defending their work than learning new sources or methods? How would they react if a client asked them the same questions? Where are their strengths? Where would they need remedial training? Are they being honest?

Round 5

Then come the reference calls, which are kind of tricky. You already know that a candidate is only going to list people who are predisposed to give them a good reference, so you have to ask questions that get at what you need to know. Can the reference give a specific example of when the candidate did something innovative? What did the candidate do to prove to the reference that they had attention to detail? How, specifically, have they gone above and beyond to support that reference or their organization?

All things being equal between two candidates, if one person’s references provides answers that are vague or if they can’t provide specific examples, I’ll always choose the candidate whose references can.

And finally, the offer letter. Which is really just the beginning, of course.

So that’s our hiring process. It’s long and a lot of work for all involved, but managing virtual staff is different than on-site colleagues. You’re not going to immediately see if someone is struggling like you would if they were down the hall, so the more work you do now to be aware of what the new person’s strengths and weaknesses are, the better.

Onboarding

When you onboard a virtual employee you have to make sure each person involved in the process operates from a checklist so you don’t forget any of the elements. If you forget to explain benefits or office protocols in the first few days, it’s really hard to do that work remedially.

Each member of the HBG team is involved in our onboarding process. We take welcoming and mentoring new employees seriously, and I think it’s part of the reason why people settle in fairly quickly and successfully.

Up until now, we have had each new employee come to our office in Watertown for a two-day in-person orientation. All of their Massachusetts-based colleagues would have come to HQ to meet them, and over the two days each one would spend an hour to walk them through a different piece of HBG fundamentals: Dropbox, Zoho, Zoom, 1Password, guiding principles, logging, timesheets, resources, etc.

This training and mentoring continues after they go back home, and over the next two weeks they will have had at least an hour with every one of their teammates either in person, on a Zoom web conference, or on the phone.

New employees at HBG are required to read and sign the employee handbook, which goes into detail on everything from archives to vacations, and they must sign an ethics and confidentiality pledge, too.

HBG’s operations manager checks their paperwork, explains benefits, gets them signed up for payroll, and hands them their brand-new laptop onto which she has pre-loaded all the necessary tools. For the immediate future, she’ll have to ship them their new laptop, too.

In addition to their supervisor who works closely with the new employee in their first few weeks, they’ll also be assigned a buddy who will check in on them regularly to help them navigate internal processes and feel welcome and connected.

The first three months are a critical time, especially for people who have never worked virtually before. Have patience and accept that you may need to explain things more than once. Here are ways we manage staff and workflow on an ongoing basis:

Everyday management and communication

Once someone is hired, they have (at least) a weekly call with their immediate supervisor and a monthly call with the director of research. They fill out a timesheet weekly, and are required to log all of their completed work. Some supervisors ask new employees to use a tool like Toggl so they can quickly get a sense of where a new employee is succeeding or struggling.

For the first three months, every piece of work a new employee completes is read, edited, and returned to them by their supervisor. After that, work is spot-checked regularly for quality and consistency (even for employees who have been here for years).

As I’ve mentioned a few times here on the blog, we use Zoom to communicate as a group and individually. This includes two all-staff video calls a month as well as ongoing discussions about resources, tips, articles, and general water cooler talk in a group chat room. The third Tuesday of every month we have our “3T” meeting where we have a presentation by a vendor on their product or upgrade, or we discuss a continuing education topic presented by a team member or guest.

We also keep a repository on our shared drive of articles, how-tos, reports, presentations, and other learning materials that anyone can upload and share with colleagues.

All of this is important to keep new teammates engaged, learning, and collaborating with others. It also provides insight to their managers so we’re sure that each new employee is getting settled in as best as they can.

Building community and strengthening communication early on is really important, especially when you’re working mostly by instant message or email. Unlike in an office when you can see that someone is having a bad day and cut them some slack, or get to know their style of humor and how they joke around, virtual communication doesn’t allow for that, so you have to work extra hard to find ways to build community and have people get to know each other before miscommunications happen.

So that’s our process of hiring and onboarding new virtual employees! I hope it’s been helpful and given you some ideas that you can use, and I’d be really happy to have you share in the comments anything you do (or your organization does) to hire and onboard virtual employees.

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