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!
Jon Garrow on A.I. Tools for the Modern Prospect Development Office
Jon Garrow has been in the weeds of capacity ratings and all things data for a long time now. That’s why I wanted to ask him about the impact of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) on capacity ratings. And I’m not disappointed that I asked. Top takeaways from my interview...
Taking Action on DEI in Prospect Development with Sharise Harrison
Sharise Harrison began her research career at Howard University, an historically black university, and she attributes this environment – where everyone in all the roles around her, looked like her – to grounding her with confidence and openness in applying DEI to her...
International Fundraising with Robert Osborne
Robert “Bob” Osborne was born into a family of fundraisers. Find out how he embraced fundraising as a career and how he bridged from being a U.S.-focused fundraising consultant to a global fundraising consultant. Bob explains that the fundraising theory – cultivating...
Visualizing Data Equity with Meena Das at NamasteData
Meena Das embodied the tech career path – gaining experience, immigrating to the US, following the job offer to Seattle – and then it happened: data inequity. She became an invisible number just when she really needed to be seen and counted. To meet Meena – even just...
Book Review | For-Profit Philanthropy
By Elisa Shoenberger In Fidelity Charitable’s 2023 Giving Report, donor-advised funds (DAFs) gave $11.2 billion to 189,000 charitable organizations in 2022. That’s almost a billion dollars more than the prior year. While some people find donor-advised funds to be an...
Brock Silvey and the Case of the Zombie Proposals
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...
#CareerCurious with Tim Wilson
When I first saw a LinkedIn post featuring the People in Fundraising podcast/webcast I was thrilled to hear about another outlet advocating for research and fundraising. But who was this Tim Wilson character? And what was the premise behind his new venture? Tim was...
Medha Nanal Answers: Can Machine Learning and AI Really Impact Your Nonprofit?
Medha Nanal has worked with all kinds of nonprofits helping them to leverage their fundraising databases. Now she is working with nonprofits to help them leverage machine learning and AI to improve outcomes in many different ways, including fundraising. Medha shares...
Staff Retention: Thank You and Goodbye
by Mark Noll, Rhode Warrior Blogger Greetings from the Florida beach. I retired a few months ago and am loving every moment of it. Despite not being in the workforce any longer, I still keep up on everything in the world of Philanthropy. Lately, I’ve been seeing a...
Michele Tanzosch walks us through her experience storing profiles inside the database
“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...
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...
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.