Zombie proposals are a thing, not just at Northwestern University, but everywhere! A zombie proposal is when you have submitted a major gift proposal to a donor prospect, but there has been no movement since the ask. There has not been a “no,” “maybe,” and certainly not a “yes.” There is no movement. We might… Read More »

“If it’s not in the database, it didn’t happen!” How many times have you heard that phrase – or uttered it yourself? And usually, it is directed at development officers. But should it be directed at prospect research professionals too? When fundraising research is stored outside of the database, the development department faces many of… Read More »

Marianne Pelletier has answers that are rooted in a long career of dancing with data analytics. In this conversation, find out where Marianne first fell in love with analytics, how she views the influx of data analytics services, and her insider insights on the digital assets trend. Along the way, enjoy Marianne’s sense of humor… Read More »

Thank you to the 93 people who took the career survey! Are you dying to know “What Animal Best Describes a Prospect Researcher?” or were you waiting to hear “What One Word Best Describes a Gift Officer?” In eleven short minutes, you can discover those answers and more in the Career Survey Says! game show…. Read More »

The Prospect Research Institute officially came into being in 2014, but a lot of hard work started in 2013, assessing the market, deciding on the structure, and creating the first content. From the very beginning it was important to me that the professional community be invited in to ensure that one person’s experience (mine) didn’t… Read More »

A life-long skateboarder, how could Terry Synnott turn down the opportunity of a lifetime? Of course he would love to take a 4-year hiatus and skateboard with a Cirque du Soleil show! And when it was all over, he thought he would return to his first love – journalism. Spoiler Alert! He went into prospect… Read More »

Doug Cogswell is a man in motion. And he has served in the fundraising field long enough, helping a large variety of organizations, to witness first-hand what propels an organization through change and into more efficient and effective fundraising with data. We hear all the time about the importance of being “data-driven.” But it wasn’t… Read More »

Usually, when I interview someone for this podcast, I have some idea of what the person is going to say. I do my homework, read about the topic, and arrive prepared. Not this time. When I asked Adam Bradford, Director of Prospect Development at Columbia University in the City of New York, if he could… Read More »