Happy Prospect Development Pride Month!

In case you haven’t heard, Helen Brown started this wonderful movement via blog post as a means to advocate for our profession. And, it looks as if the movement is spreading like wildfire.

I take great pride in my role as Director of Prospect Research and Management at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and as the new President of APRA-MidSouth -- mostly because I work with a wonderful team at UAB as well as a dynamic group of APRA-MidSouth board members who are also committed to promoting our profession. But one thing I’ve noticed as I’ve progressed in my career, prospect development is not only a job.  It is ingrained into everything I do and say – and I’m not ashamed at all. For example:

•    Whenever my prospect research eyes spots a newly mounted for sale sign in my neighborhood, my first impulse is to pull up Zillow and/or my county tax assessor’s database to see how that sale will affect my bottom line.
•    My relationship management instincts kick in every time my daughter asks for a sizable donation. Usually, the response is for her to qualify a few more prospects before hastily jumping into the solicitation.
•    And even though I’m not directly involved in data analytics, I have even managed to define the characteristics of our upcoming family reunion attendees that have the strongest potential for causing a ruckus.

So please join me in showing your #ResearchPride and let us know how APRA-MidSouth can advocate for you. We are planning a wonderful calendar of events for this year and will be sharing those dates very soon.

In the meantime, please join our chapter.  We look forward to networking with you.

Sabrina Latham                                         

Director, Prospect Research and Management

President, APRA-MidSouth

Meet & Greet in Birmingham, Alabama

APRA MidSouth members are invited for a tour of Children’s of Alabama, Wednesday, July 15 at 10:30 am. Afterward, the group will walk to Taziki’s for lunch.

Parking will be available in  5^th Avenue (Park Place) Deck. Bring your parking ticket inside to have it validated.

478 16th St South, Birmingham, AL 35233

Directions: https://goo.gl/rw9tD3

If you are able to attend, or have questions, please contact Sarah W. Hodo, Donor Services Coordinator, Children's Hospital Foundation at sarah.hodo@childrensal.org or 205.638.6907.

What is Your Plan to Identify Parent Prospects?

I was recently looking into some information about prospect research, and came across a blog post by Helen Brown (see link below) with some great ideas and suggestions. For those who work in an educational institution and have new parents of incoming students, what have you found to be your best approach to identify potential parent prospects? Do you have a process document as Helen suggests?

"For many educational organizations, June is the time to research parents of incoming students. How well do your data transfer systems integrate for ease of access to allowed information? Do you have a plan to manage this time-sensitive research? Create a process document for this important activity so that your best practices are repeated every year."

http://www.helenbrowngroup.com/12-great-ideas-for-prospect-research-in-2013/

Job Openings: Vanderbilt University: Special Projects Department, Development and Alumni Relations

Vanderbilt University's Development and Alumni Relations' Special Projects division is seeking prospect researchers for two open positions.  The Special Projects office is primarily responsible for admissions monitoring and new parent prospecting. Click the links below to read a full, detailed job description.

Research Analyst

Research Specialist

APRA-Midsouth Spring Conference in Birmingham, AL

Join Birmingham-area prospect researchers on April 23rd for a day-long APRA-Midsouth Spring Conference full of exciting programming and networking opportunities.

For more information:
http://apramidsouth.wildapricot.org/event-1891811

Free Learning Opportunity for APRA Members

Join APRA member Darren Cooper on March 3, 2015, in the first-ever #ChatBytes, a 20-30 minute live-interview podcast capturing the insight of prospect development industry experts.

Darren is a prospect research and fundraising strategy consultant based in Rochester, Minnesota. In this #ChatBytes podcast, Darren will be answering questions about his recent blog post Buyouts, Acquisitions and Inversions, Oh My! He will share what it means to your insider prospect when a public company experiences a change in control.

Darren has an ability to bring insight and clarity to the technical aspects of public company insider prospects, while also pointing out fundraising strategies. Find out how he gained his expertise and hear his tips for tying it all into fundraising success.

The podcast will take place at 9am PST/11am CST/12pm EST. #ChatBytes is an initiative of the Prospect Research Institute.

Learn more: http://www.prospectresearchinstitute.org/chatbytescooper/

Buried Treasure: Stories of Prospects Found

The latest APRA MidSouth podcast features Geoff Little and Mitch Roberson discussing techniques for prospecting. For more content like this, become a member of APRA MidSouth. Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/apra-midsouth/buried-treasure-stories-of-prospects-found

Hollywood Reporter Reveals Tinseltown Salaries

From assistants to animal actors, screenwriters to movie stars, agents to producers to directors, this revealing article gives salary ranges for many jobs found in and around the film and television industry in the United States.  This article is a must read and must save for any prospect researcher who has ever had to research a prospect working in Hollywood!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-salaries-revealed-movie-stars-737321

The Janitor Who Became a Major Donor

A fantastic story from Philanthropy.com:

http://philanthropy.com/blogs/fundraisingwisdom/2014/09/15/the-janitor-who-became-a-major-donor/?cid=pw&utm_source=pw&utm_medium=en

Grateful patient article in the Columbus Dispatch

In the face of declining research funding, some local hospitals are turning to their doctors to be more valuable fundraising allies when well-heeled patients want to donate. Over the past 14 months, Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center has trained about 120 physicians on how to respond appropriately when a patient broaches the topic of charitable giving.  

http://shar.es/11KjB9