Articles that inspire
Prospect Research Edge
Kickstart Your Career
If you’re just starting in fundraising research and prospect management, our Career Agent Training is the perfect first step. Designed for beginners, this program gives you the foundational knowledge and practical skills to navigate the world of prospect research with confidence. With expert-led instruction, real-world examples, and hands-on practice, you’ll learn how to identify top donor prospects, manage data effectively, and grow your career from day one. Start strong with training that sets you up for success!
Trends in Fundraising and Analytics with Marianne Pelletier
Should you train staff in-house for analytics? Are digital assets going the way of tulips and beanie babies? Are there changes in data collection affecting our “collection” of donors? Marianne Pelletier has answers that are rooted in a long career of dancing with data...
2022 Career Survey Says!
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...
Reflections on 10 Years of Prospect Research Institute
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...
#CareerCurious with Terry Synnott — Journalist, Skateboarder, and Prospect Researcher
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....
Achieving Nonprofit Fundraising Data Potential with Doug Cogswell
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...
New Educational Experience Coming in Nov 2022
November 16-20 is the blackout period for the transition. You will not be able to access the site during this time. It’s difficult to believe, but 2023 marks TEN years for the Prospect Research Institute! And you might know that when I founded the Institute, I made a...
Innovations in Capacity Ratings with Adam Bradford
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...
Cryptocurrency and the Opportunity Factor with Elisa Shoenberger
Cryptocurrency has been making all kinds of headlines these days. Described as the “crypto winter,” coins have been folding, freezing, and getting hijacked. Is this the end of the cryptocurrency opportunity for philanthropy? Not according to Elisa Shoenberger,...
Practical Tips for Succeeding With a Visual or Auditory Impairment
Disabilities can impact an individual’s work performance and daily life in many ways. The significance of the impact depends on the person’s unique level of disability and ability, but most of the time, simple accommodations can be made in the workplace and at home to help the individual thrive. If you’re looking for creative alternatives to conventional workplace practices and processes to accommodate your visual or auditory impairment (or your employees’), consider these ideas:
Fundraising with an Abundance Mindset with Gauri Manglik at Instrumentl
Gauri has found a niche within a niche – corporate and foundation fundraising within the nonprofit sector - and applied an abundance mindset to continuously listen to customers and develop software support that works. How many years have we had CRM databases? DECADES....
Jeff Jowdy on prospect research and teaching the joy of giving in major gifts
If you’ve been in the world of philanthropy and fundraising for any length of time you are bound to hear the phrase “the art and science of fundraising.” With the professionalism of fundraising comes method and best practice – the science – but always there is the art...
Digital Marketing Data for Fundraising with Joe Stabb
If anyone would recognize the gems hidden inside marketing data, it would be Joe Stabb! Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Practice at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, but his LinkedIn profile is testament to the many career paths that he has sampled over the...
Words from happy Researchers
Success Stories
★★★★★
I love your Master Class format – small group, clearly defined curriculum, solid professional information and resources and focus on discussion. But most importantly I was impressed and delighted to see that you incorporated an additional and extremely practical layer of knowledge, through hands on experience with tools (pivot tables) or resources (Candid). This adds real value to the educational experience you offer.
Betsy Mehlman
2020-Master Class
★★★★★
Jen’s course on insider stock and compensation was informative, interesting, and well-thought out. Jen broke down the complicated material into digestible pieces. She showed us resources that I use in my day-to-day research that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. Jen is always quick to respond and has been helpful even after the class has ended. She answers questions thoroughly and is always pleasant.
I was able to take what I learned from the course and present the material to our front-line fundraisers. One fundraiser told me after my presentation that she discovered one of her donor’s compensation was much higher than she thought. So, already, this information has come in handy! Thanks again Jen!
Kim Anthony, San Francisco CA
Insider Stock and Compensation
★★★★★
The Capacity Rating Workshop was really useful. I was new to the prospect research field when I took the workshop, so it helped to demystify capacity ratings for me. The online classroom provided a great forum for interaction with the other participants and for a robust exchange of ideas. Beyond that though, Jen shared a wealth of information and resources about capacity ratings and other important aspects of prospect research. I highly recommend this workshop whether you’re new to the field or have years of experience in our profession.
David Lloyd, Prospect Research Professional, San Francisco, CA
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