Friday, August 24, 2012

What Was the Deal With the 2012 Big APRA Conference?

Was it the number of attendees? On the second day of the conference, I ran into outgoing APRA board president Michael Quevli. I cornered him and said “I keep going to these packed conference sessions. Wow. Are random people sneaking in this year or what?” He assured me, the registration desk was on top of things, and the room monitors were as polite, and firm, as ever. They were trained to spot missing lanyards miles away. No bling, no sing. Michael noted that the numbers this year were set to break 1,000 total registrants; it looked like the best APRA conference numbers anyone remembered.

Was it the strong analytics curriculum available in a variety of formats throughout the conference? It’s no secret to those of us who have been in prospect research for a while: analytics is where the excitement and energy is for our field. Our work is to harness analytics curiosity, follow it up by expertise, then implement model findings into front line strategy. Fundraising programs collect a lot of information; it’s time to seriously use it, for ourselves, and for our senior leaders. Analytics drives the prospect research individual or shop to more compelling, less banal work (read: manually updating written profiles). Defining subsets of constituents, identifying unique patterns, and truly gaining insight into donor behavior is where today’s prospect researcher is headed.

Was it realizing many of our vendors are truly committed to advancing our profession? For example, I give you Tony Glowacki. What I like about the WealthEngine chief is that during the analytics symposium’s first day – he gives a workshop talk before lunch, Why We Love Big Data. Now, it was a pleasant overview of our nonprofit industries’ being able to do more than ever technologically, intuitively, with information we already have. But this isn’t why I like Tony. I like that he dismissed us to lunch over in the big ballroom (a delightful multi-course affair paid for by his company), only to pop up again minutes later – as the featured lunch speaker! Tony! Toni! TonĂ©! We weren’t eating sandwiches, we were inside a Tony Glowacki/Wealth Engine three-meat club deluxe. The lunch turned feast when he gave us the world premier of the WealthEngine Institute. It’s gobs of premier industry resources – free. Once back home at my Vanderbilt desk, I had time to more deeply review the institute’s offerings. MUCH relevant, recently researched, and handsomely presented bits of industry content here. Need to share the nature and scope of an analytics project with unconvinced superiors? The 84-page Growing Individual Gifts: An Analytic Approach to Data-Driven Success resource should do the trick. The graphics are especially helpful. Tony and WealthEngine’s passion to connect with their audience, and to help lead the industry in this conversation make a strong impression. 

Was it the ace conference sessions? Here are a few I attended that were particularly inventive. They reminded me of a meta-theme I too often forget: we prospect researchers work (or should!) in a tech field. Using Game Theory in Analytics by Rachel Link and Gregory Duke; Innovative Patient Prospect Identification by Elizabeth Dollhopf-Brown and Alex Oftelie, and Portfolio Support and Tracking Performance by Stephen Hardy. Also excellent was Ethics: Go Fish! by Christy Wineland. Finally, the APRA Roundtable Networking Event was an enlightening occasion to meet attendees in my city, state, and/or region. We are a whole lot different, a whole lot the same.

Was it the fundamental theme of generosity set by the big APRA leadership? Yes, and certainly not just them. The conference planning committee, the presenters, the many chapter presidents and chapter leaders, the tireless volunteers, and of course the spirited, curious attendees – all gave shape to the nature of this professional, original, important, and fun occasion. So, yes. Yes to this and each of the preceding questions. The deal is that there is an energy, enlightenment, and excellence associated with APRA. Next year’s conference is in Baltimore, Maryland, from August 7-10, 2013.  It will be held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. I plan to be there! I hope you also will make plans to attend.

Geoff Little, President, APRA MidSouth
president@apramidsouth.org

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for a great blog post, Mitch. I'm thrilled you had such a positive experience you were moved to share it with others! --Karen Isble, University of Michigan, APRA Board of Directors

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  2. Thanks for this post. I wish there were Twitter and LinkedIn buttons so I can share this.

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    2. Hi! Thanks so much for your comment and suggestion. At the end of each post, buttons are available to mail, blog, tweet, or facebook each post. Buttons are located just under the author's signature. Also, feel free to follow us @APRAMidSouth and retweet posts from there!




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  3. Also,is there a way I can get an RSS feed? There are some interesting posts here and I'd like to stay informed.

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    1. You should be able to follow by RSS. Look for the RSS button located in your browser's tool bar to set up. Or, if you would like to follow through Google Reader, or something similar, then copy and paste the blog address into thier subscribe function. You can also follow by email - see the right side panel to add your email address. Hope that helps! Let us know if it isn't working for some reason!

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