Fundraisers should do just that: fundraise. Those of us working in advancement understand the importance of ensuring fundraisers are able spend their time in the community, building relationships and securing gifts. As researchers and prospect managers, not only can we help prepare our fundraisers for prospect visits, we can also provide the back-end support and thus, the necessary time to fully engage potential donors, to get out the door and get the gift. At the University of Calgary, prospect management has played a key role not only in supporting our front-line fundraisers, but in helping to meet our current fundraising goals, build institutional memory, and ensure meaningful, reliable, and valid data is available to current fundraisers and for future Development staff.
In 2008, prospect management at the University of Calgary underwent a substantial overhaul, the goal of which was to have a more effective prospect management system. Prior to this exercise, prospect management was largely reactive data maintenance. Understanding the need for a more strategic and supportive practice, the new system was developed and launched, and is characterized by the following:
- Functional definitions for data
Developing functional definitions for what prospect pipeline data does ensures that fundraisers have context regarding what prospect information is necessary and why such information is required. Having a functional definition for certain data means that we go beyond what the data is to what the data does. For example, when fundraisers provide the amount they expect to receive from a prospect, they aren’t just adding their best estimate based on active cultivation and discussion of a prospect’s philanthropic interests and financial ability, they are contributing to one of the most integral reports generated by prospect management. The amount expected is not simply a number, but an essential piece of information that helps to inform financial projections and future strategy. This helps fundraisers understand why prospect management requires certain information, and also contributes to a shared sense of accountability and collaboration across the team.
- Centralized structure
Prior to 2008, the decentralized model of prospect management resulted in largely retroactive maintenance to ensure that valid, reliable data was available in Raiser’s Edge. Given that each fundraiser was responsible for entering their own pipeline information, and that we lacked thorough practices to ensure standardized data entry, it was difficult to generate useful reports. In order to become more effective, prospect management was centralized; that is, all of the information which the fundraisers collected during their meetings with prospects is sent to the prospect management team who specialize in prospect pipeline data entry and analysis. When a fundraiser has met with a prospect, made a phone call or exchanged correspondence, the information discussed is recorded in Raiser’s Edge, communicating the fundraising intentions to other fundraisers at the University, especially those involved with a prospect and especially when it involves a potential gift. This is done by way of contact reports and pipeline updates which are sent to prospect management who reviews the contact report for completion and updates. The prospect management team ensures pipeline updates are recorded on what we call the Record of Engagement (the proposal in RE.) This centralized model frees up the fundraisers to actively fundraise and helps to maintain accuracy and consistency with regards to pipeline information and related reports.
- Rigorous standards and expectations around intra-institutional communication (i.e.: contact reports) and pipeline information
As an integral part of prospect management’s mandate to promote dialogue and communication among fundraisers at the University of Calgary, contact reports are used to capture the contact that is made between the University and its prospects – individuals and organizations in the community – and openly share that information. The current template provides standardized guidelines for what information the fundraisers are expected to provide, as well as an Contact reports provide meeting narratives and context, prospect pipeline updates, and a means of capturing performance metrics. Containing a number of mandatory fields, proper completion and timely submission of contact reports helps to ensure that information relevant is circulated, and that the required reporting information is captured.
In addition, given that one of the primary functions of the contact report is to provide prospect management with prospect pipeline updates, prospect management developed a prescribed set of data requirements for each fundraising stage which reflect the ongoing development of the relationship between the University of Calgary and a prospect, and the progress of an initiative for which the prospect’s support is being asked. Such data requirements include the phase criteria, or what it means to be in a phase; the required pipeline information; the phase timeframe, or maximum time allowed in the phase; and finally the requirements to move a prospect to the next phase in the pipeline.
All contact reports are reviewed by prospect management and vetted for completion and accuracy, and any concerns are brought back to the fundraiser for clarification.
- Ties to performance metrics
In order to facilitate compliance with the prospect management procedures, submission of contact report entry is built into fundraiser performance metrics. Fundraisers at the University are measured on a number of metrics, including face-to-face meetings, stewardship report delivery, and pipeline advancements, the latter of which ties directly into prospect management. Simply put, if you build it into their performance metrics, they will come.
The current model – that of a service-oriented, centralized prospect management – is the result of the University’s investment in prospect management-specific positions. Over the last four years, we have developed not only new practices, but also a new culture relating to the relationships within the larger development office. It’s important to remember that in prospect management, there are no hard and fast rules about how it should operate, and what works for the UofC is not necessarily what will work for all organizations. Prospect management practices are uniquely tailored to individual organizations – to their size, their complexity, their needs and goals. One thing that is common to all shops, however, is that prospect management is an essential part of the fundraising process, and big or small, all shops would benefit from some form of prospect management.
Kat Carson is the Prospect Management Specialist at University of Calgary, a position she has held since 2009. Prior to joining the Development Office at the University of Calgary, Kat worked with a number of non-profit organizations in the arts and education sectors in various capacities. She has a BA in Film & Media Studies from the University of Alberta, a BA in Psychology from the University of Calgary.