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September 20, 2018 By Helen Brown Leave a Comment

What’s going on with us?

Photo via Good Free Photos

Last week, a colleague in our sector asked me:

“Helen, about how many prospect development professionals do you think there are in the United States?”

Hmmm, good question, I thought. Best guess, around 5,000, but I’m not sure I know why I’ve settled instinctively on that number.

What do I know for sure about our numbers in our profession, that could help me get close to an answer?

  • Apra membership is usually around 2,000.
  • My gut tells me that most people become Apra members or renew in years that they are going to the conference. Between big shops of 20 and little shops of one, maybe that’s a quarter of all potential members?
  • About a third of all Apra conference attendees each year are first-timers. How does that figure in?

That wasn’t a lot of data to go on to make a guesstimate. I had to do a little research.

After lots of time online and talking with people, what I discovered made me blow a low whistle when I saw it on my spreadsheet.

During the decade 2006-2016…

  • The number of nonprofit organizations filing 990s* in the US increased nearly 30 percent;
  • Over that same period, growth in the nonprofit sector as a whole was up 20%,  contrasting massively with the for-profit sector which had a growth rate of only 2-3% according to a report by PNP Staffing Group. 50% of nonprofits surveyed reported staff increases.
  • AFP membership increased 18 percent
  • CASE institutional members increased 8 percent
  • During the same period, Apra membership declined 3.4 percent.

Wait, what? Apra membership declined? That makes no sense. Based on the number of nonprofits alone, but also the rate of growth in all of those other areas, including the number of fundraisers joining AFP, there should be more of us, not fewer. Right?

I thought, okay, maybe it was just our international association that saw a decline for whatever reason(s). Maybe the growth was in the chapters.

So I contacted my friends at NEDRA, which I know is a strong and thriving chapter, to see what the numbers had been for the same period. And what I learned is that, over that decade, there were declining numbers of NEDRA members as well.

Low whistle time.

Here’s the table I created with data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Apra member numbers from past virtual business meetings, and my dear webfriend, Archive.org who helped with the CASE and AFP historical numbers.

Even if you’re not a chart person, you can see from that “Change over decade” line that something is up. Or down, as the case may be.

So what’s going on here?

I don’t believe it’s that Apra and NEDRA aren’t offering valuable continuing education, networking, and other member benefits.

But everything around us is growing fairly substantially. Why are we as a profession not growing, too?

Well, maybe membership isn’t an indicator of how many prospect development professionals there actually are. Maybe people “age out” of our professional associations when they hit a certain level or add other layers to their job title. They’re still there, doing the work, just not a member of anything.

Maybe they just don’t join to begin with, because they don’t know that professional membership associations exist for research, prospect management, and fundraising data science folks.

Maybe organizations just put budget money into professional memberships for front-line fundraisers and not for prospect development. Or maybe our professional association membership fees are too expensive for the ROI (which, for the record, I don’t believe, since the cost is similar to AFP).

It’s not that everyone isn’t getting membership dues paid – just not us. Maybe we’re not very good at making a very good case for (our own) support.

Or maybe (gulp) our profession is declining.

It was too many Maybes. I needed to phone a friend.  

I contacted a wise fundraising data science colleague and put the numbers in front of him. James had some great suggestions for other, more nuanced data that could be considered, like:

Has membership cost changed over time for these associations? If rates haven’t gone up at AFP or CASE and they have at Apra and chapters, is that a factor in their increasing membership numbers?

What is peoples’ engagement with Apra and chapters on social media and prspct-l? Has it grown over time? Social media engagement is free and could include not only people who are full-time fundraising intelligence professionals, but also those who do the work as one part of a many-hatted job. How many people follow these accounts or actively use the listserv? Are MOOCs and free podcasts a factor?

All good questions but finding some of these data points is beyond my ken.

So I’m back at the beginning. I have data, but no answers.

What do you think is going on? I would love to hear your thoughts on these questions:

  • How many people do you think there are currently in the prospect development field?
  • Is this number growing or falling?
  • Why do you think membership numbers in our professional associations is declining?

As always, thanks for reading, and for your contributions.


*Nonprofits are required to file a 990 with the IRS when they reach income of $50,000. Obviously, the smallest of these will not employ prospect development professionals, but this group overall hires both consultants and part- and full-time prospect development professionals.

Filed Under: Career development, Non-profit trends Tagged With: membership, prospect development, prospect research

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Josh began his career in development as the Phonathon Coordinator at Keene State College. He then worked at non-profit consulting firm Schultz & Williams in Philadelphia.

He started his research career at the University of Pennsylvania as a Research Assistant in 2005. He then moved over to the Wharton School of Business, where he became the Associate Director, Research and Prospect Management. Josh joined the Helen Brown Group in 2016.

Josh is also a Colorado licensed Realtor and graduate of Lehigh University.

In March 2017, Kristina joined the Helen Brown Group as a Research Associate. Before joining HBG, she was the Research Manager at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an Associate Manager of Prospect Research at City Harvest, a food rescue organization. Kristina started her non-profit career as a legal assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004.  She is a member of Apra and Apra Greater New York. She was Apra Greater New York’s Director of Programming from June 2014 to May 2016. Kristina graduated from The University of Chicago and the Bard Graduate Center.

Grace began her career in development in 2001 as Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a Harvard Medical School-affiliated academic medical center.

In 2003, she became a prospect researcher for the BWH principal and major gifts team and spent the next 11 years in various research positions with BWH, culminating as Assistant Director of Prospect Research. She has been affiliated with The Helen Brown Group since January 2014.

Heather began her career in 2002 as a prospect research coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and then moved to Carroll College in 2004.

In 2005, Heather began working on her own as a freelancer and eventually started her own consulting firm, Willis Research Services, in 2007. She joined The Helen Brown Group in 2012.

Heather is a member of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement and the Montana Nonprofit Association.

Jennifer began her career in development at her alma mater, Wheaton College, where she was an administrative assistant for the major gifts department.

She joined The Helen Brown Group in March 2008. She earned a master’s degree in library science from the Southern Connecticut State University in May 2009. Jennifer is a member of APRA and NEDRA.

Rick has been a member of the Helen Brown Group team since 2005. Prior to joining HBG, Rick was director of research at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Rick has worked in development since 1996, both in prospect research and major gifts fund raising. His experience includes the University of Vermont, Phillips Exeter Academy and St. Paul’s School.

Rick is past president of NEDRA and is a member of and frequent volunteer for APRA.

Josh began his career in development as the Phonathon Coordinator at Keene State College. He then worked at non-profit consulting firm Schultz & Williams in Philadelphia.

He started his research career at the University of Pennsylvania as a Research Assistant in 2005. He then moved over to the Wharton School of Business, where he became the Associate Director, Research and Prospect Management. Josh joined the Helen Brown Group in 2016.

Josh is also a Colorado licensed Realtor and graduate of Lehigh University.

Mandi has worked in prospect research and management since 2006. She began her development career as a research analyst in development research at City of Hope, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles. From there, she became the manager of prospect development at Huntington Memorial Hospital, a community hospital in Pasadena, CA. Most recently, she was the associate director of prospect research and management at Occidental College, a private liberal arts college in LA.

Mandi has a BA degree in print journalism from Southern Methodist University and a master’s degree of library and information science from UCLA.

She joined the Helen Brown Group in May 2019.

Kelly began her career in development in 2008 as an administrative assistant in Major Gifts at Wheaton College.

In 2010, she became a research analyst at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Division of Development & Jimmy Fund as part of the prospect identification team. Kelly joined The Helen Brown Group in 2013.

She is a member of APRA and NEDRA.

Jayme began her career in development in 2008 at the Rutgers University Foundation, where she spent the next seven years, first in prospect management and then prospect research. She spent several years at Monmouth University as their senior prospect research analyst, working with the fundraising staff, university president, and top leadership. She has worked as both a volunteer and consultant for non-profits in the areas of research and writing.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Drew University and a master of communication and information sciences from Rutgers University. She is a member of APRA.

Jayme joined The Helen Brown Group in April 2019.

Julie has managed finances for The Helen Brown Group since its founding.

In her spare time, she is an editor for the PBS series Masterpiece at WGBH. Julie was nominated twice for an Emmy award for her work on the PBS show Zoom.

Heather began her career in development in 2001 as a prospect researcher for National Wildlife Federation (NWF). She was with NWF for more than thirteen years, including nearly five years as director of research and analytics. Heather is a former secretary of the board of directors of APRA-Metro DC.

She joined The Helen Brown Group in October 2014.

David began his career in development at The Gunnery school in northwest Connecticut in 2011, where he worked in database management and prospect research. Subsequently, he joined the College of Saint Rose as a development research analyst before leading Albany Medical Center Foundation’s prospect research efforts as Associate Director of Prospect Research. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Siena College and is a member of APRA and CASE.

Michele began her career in development in 2012 when she joined the UC Berkeley corporate and foundation relations team as a development analyst. She spent a year and a half at Cal before returning to UC Davis as a prospect analyst. She was with the prospect management and relations team at UC Davis for almost three years prior to joining the research and relationship management team at George Washington University as a Senior Prospect Analyst in 2016.

Michele received her BA in creative writing from Florida State University and her MA in higher education leadership from CSU Sacramento. She currently resides in Northern Virginia, is a member of Apra International, and serves as the social media chair for Apra Metro DC. Michele joined The Helen Brown Group in July 2018.

Kenny has worked in development since 1999 and has been involved in prospect research since 2002. Prior to joining The Helen Brown Group, he was the director of

Prior to joining The Helen Brown Group, he was the director of donor and prospect research at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Kenny is a member of APRA and NEDRA.

Angie has worked in development since 2002, partnering with a wide range of nonprofit institutions. She began her professional career at Vanderbilt University in research and prospect development.

She has also worked with a number of community nonprofits in front-line fundraising, grant-writing, and event management. Angie holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a BS in Journalism from Middle Tennessee State University. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a member of AFP Nashville and APRA MidSouth, where she has been active on the executive team.

She joined The Helen Brown Group in October 2015.

Tara began her career in development in 2002 on the major gifts team at Simmons College, where she ultimately served as assistant director of prospect research.

Since that time, she has worked as a senior research analyst at MIT, as associate director of prospect management and research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and most recently as director of development research at Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP). Tara originally joined the Helen Brown Group team in 2007 and served as a research associate and ShareTraining coordinator until 2008 – she rejoined the company as a senior researcher in 2013.

Tara currently serves as vice president of the New England Development Research Association (NEDRA), where she chairs the Website and Technology Committee and formerly served as editor of NEDRA News. Tara has also been involved with the Membership Committee, Chapters Committee, and Bylaws Task Force of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA).

Maureen has been a part of the non-profit world since 1991. She started out in annual giving at Harvard Law School and continued her career as director of annual/special gifts at UC Santa Cruz.

In 1999 she made the switch from front-line fundraising to serve as director of prospect research/management at Bentley University and in 2001 began her role as administrator for the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester. She became part of the HBG team in September of 2011.

Helen has been a development professional since 1987. Her previous experience includes The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Albert Einstein Institution, Boston College, the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University.

Currently she works with a variety of clients to establish, benchmark and re-align research departments; identify major gift prospects; and train researchers and other fundraisers through on-site and web-based training services.Helen is a former member of the board of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) and is past president of the New England Development Research Association (NEDRA). In 2006 she received the NEDRA Ann Castle Award for service to the prospect research community.

Helen is Special Advisor on Fundraising to the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester and is a member of the board of directors of Factary Ltd. (Bristol, UK). She is a member of NEDRA, APRA, the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP), Women In Development, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and Researchers in Fundraising (UK).

Helen is a frequent speaker and has led seminars for a number of professional associations, including Action Planning, AFP, APRA, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), NEDRA, RIF, the Planned Giving Council of Central Massachusetts, the Georgia Center on Nonprofits, the International Fundraising Congress and Resource Alliance.

Helen is also co-author (with Jen Filla) of the book, Prospect Research for Fundraisers (Wiley & Sons, 2013).

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