Q &A: CAREER TRANSITIONS
Tracey Church (TC), Liz Rejman (LR) and Melody Song (MS) – three dynamic women who share a passion for prospect research and who have, over the years, contributed – and continue to do so – to enhancing, strengthening and nurturing the profession within Canada and beyond. Their career paths have spanned consultancy, frontline fundraising and advancement leadership, and we are delighted to have them share their personal career journeys and insights with us.
How and why did you become a prospect researcher?
TC: I had been running my own research and writing company when someone alerted me to the Prospect Researcher positions at London Health Sciences Foundation (LHSF) and the Richard Ivey School of Business. The skill sets were the same and I was encouraged to apply. The rest they say, is history. I was hooked! I didn’t even have a chance to apply to the Ivey position as LHSF took me on right away. Sarah McCarthy took the position at Ivey and is still there today. We have become great APRA colleagues and friends.
LR: Sarah McCarthy introduced me to APRA Canada, back in the day when it hosted webinars at regional sites. The people around the table welcomed me and the content was interesting. During the last couple of years that I worked at Huron, we had a comprehensive campaign where I researched alumni. I really enjoyed the work and in the summer of 2009 decided that my next job would 100% prospect research.
The months passed and the job prospects in London for a dedicated researcher simply weren’t surfacing. I e – mailed Tracey to set up a meeting, intending to alert her of my interest in research so that she could be on the lookout for available jobs. I will never forget her response: “I’ll be happy to meet you, but I should tell you, I’m leaving LHSF. Do you know of anyone who would be interested in my job?” In that moment, I knew I was following the right path.
MS: Unfortunately, Sarah McCarthy didn’t introduce me. She sounds like a great mentor! After a career in communications, I was recruited for a development position at the Alberta Ballet (mostly for my love of dance) and became Director of Development in less than a year. I didn’t quite like frontline work but my communication and event organization skills were handy in a smaller organization where I wore many hats. It’s amazing how much I learned about fundraising on the job. When a research position opened up at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), I felt that it was time to focus on one area and learn from the best.
What excites you about the prospect research?
LR: Connecting the dots, whether connections between people or connecting information between our prospects’ interests and the organizational needs. My interests within prospect research focus on what’s next on the horizon: whether that be social media, the filter bubble/alternative search engines, or content curation.
MS: I came from a for – profit and communications background and prospect research was a fresh and new field to me. There are always new things on the horizon and I feel I can make a concrete contribution to a body of knowledge that’s developing. At one of the recent APRA International sessions, the presenter said people always look up to the “rock star” status of a development officer. However, the skills of a development officer don’t change for years and it’s prospect research that is responsible for all the innovations in the fundraising field as technologies and processes change. We are the ones pushing the envelope.
TC: I have been a volunteer my whole life and working within the charitable sector makes the most sense to me. Research has always been my passion and let’s face it, prospect research in Canada is a challenge! Each organization has its own mission, goals, fundraising process and campaign. I love the people I have met both within prospect research and fund development as a whole.
Why did you transition out of/into prospect research?
TC: I have always done consulting “on the side” and saw the opportunity at KCI. The idea of working for a firm that had multiple clients interested me as it would help expand my knowledge of the charitable sector further. I felt I had several innovative skills and forward thinking processes which could aid both KCI in increasing their research and analytics presence in the field and help their clients with their research needs. The change seemed the ideal “next step” for me. I had been working in London – based organizations for years. CNIB helped me to expand my horizons and skill set to see things on a national level (and each province is very different, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise). KCI, in turn, has allowed me to expand across the sectors and now I not only have great relationships working with clients across Canada, but also across sectors from arts, education and healthcare to community & human services, and more. I also get to do a great deal of research training, one of my great loves.
MS: I have transitioned in and out of prospect research. I came from frontline and at the time I didn’t understand the process enough to like it. I was exhausted having to deal with board members. I love the academic side of research and the ability to focus on one area. Having been a frontline fundraiser really helped me with research and enabled me to provide strategic recommendations to major gift officers.
In turn, being a researcher helped me to learn the best fundraising practices and the behind – the – scenes aspect of a major capital campaign. If I were to go back to the frontline, I think I would be more comfortable because I would know more about donors and would feel more confident asking for a gift.
LR: I transitioned into prospect research because I was tired of wearing many fundraising hats (direct mail, events, call centre supervision, etc. etc.). Funny enough, after four years focused solely on prospect research, I missed many aspects of fundraising and wanted to challenge myself with frontline work, especially in a smaller organization. Being in a small shop, I still have to do my own research.
TC: It’s really all about broadening horizons whether across organizations and/or taking on alternate roles within your own organization. There are opportunities either way. Preeti Gill is a good example: she worked in a higher education environment for years and now works for a community foundation.
What were some of the main challenges with the job/career transitions?
MS: I didn’t really experience any challenges. I liked the change either way and feel that frontline and research experience complement each other. I feel that it’s increasingly important for researchers to have frontline fundraising experience as the job requires us to take on an advisory role with more focus on interpreting information rather than simply gathering information.
The only challenge was when I transitioned from for – profit to non – profit. I had a difficult time realizing that in non – profit, bottom line doesn’t matter as much, it’s relationships that matters.
LR: When I moved out of fundraising and into research, I had to demonstrate that I had the skills to be a full – time researcher. Moving out of research into frontline fundraising, I had to demonstrate that making a face – to – face ask was something I could do.
If you decide to transition, volunteering to gain necessary skills helps, but you need to ensure you are measuring your output in the volunteer role in order to provide quantifiable evidence of your experience.
TC: Taking the plunge! Getting out of your comfort zone! Many more clichés can fit the bill here. I remember someone once quoted “do something brave every day” or “do something that scares you every day”. Making the big decision to move is a hard one but one which has paid off many times in job satisfaction and broadening horizons. I actually don’t move from a position until I feel I have done a proper job at the one I’m at. I never understand how development officers can bop around after less than two years – that never made sense to me and it’s the reason why, I stay at a position on average about four years or more. It’s hard to leave the friends you have made at an organization and move on, but friends are friends and we all stick with each other regardless of where we work. It might be more difficult to transition from fundraiser to research as there are many trained researchers in the field.
MS: It isn’t easy to find researchers in Calgary. There aren’t many of us and organizations are creating research positions here and not able to find trained professional researchers. It’s a completely different market experience out west.
How has your work as a prospect researcher prepared you for your current position?
LR: I conduct a lot more background research on a donor, volunteer or topic. I look at things through the lens of “What are the connections? Where is the best fit?”
TC: I think I am a good fit at KCI because I have done my best throughout my career to not only continue my professional education within prospect research but also within the whole charitable sector as well. You have to try and understand everything within the sector and your organization to provide a good “big picture” approach as a researcher.
MS: I think people should broaden their horizons and learn every aspect of fundraising. It would be helpful whether you are working in frontline or behind – the – scenes.
Looking forward, where do you see yourself in the next three to five years?
TC: I just started at KCI and hope I will still be there in three years! When coming into the position and since I began, the folks at KCI have very much advocated that I be involved in a variety of projects and so far this has been the case. Everything from feasibility studies, compensation benchmarking, campaign planning, to environmental scans, have come my way and they couldn’t have found a more enthusiastic student and participant. This, in addition to the many research projects we are working on. There is a tremendous depth of knowledge from which I hope to gain.
LR: My original intention was to become a consultant in research – there are so many organizations out there that need some good research to help them make strategic decisions. This plan is now on hold since I’m really enjoying the work in my new role at Museum London.
MS: I am increasingly excited about frontline fundraising now, but would love to do consulting one day. Raising millions of dollars is exciting and I am currently working on raising funds for the Pandas for the zoo (as a development officer). The project is close to my heart and now with prospect research knowledge, fundraising feels fun and easy.
I’d like to do a bit of frontline work before embarking on consulting, which as Tracey said, could introduce me to many different organizations and that sounds really interesting.
Some feel that prospect research can be a “dead – end” job – do you think there is some truth to it? Why?
TC: Nonsense. Prospect research as a field has become more relevant than ever with regards to providing strategic direction to an organization. Some of the “traditional” roles of a researcher are changing, but what isn’t changing in this day and age? We have to move with the times and may have to shift our daily responsibilities from creating paper profiles to analytics, but this allows us to broaden our intelligence and skills.
LR: I think that research is very hot and hip within fundraising right now. More and more organizations are looking for dedicated researchers to help them secure bigger and more gifts. There are more opportunities outside of higher education and hospital foundations.
The field of research itself has also evolved. We now have people specializing in prospect management, data analytics, business intelligence, to name a few. The possibilities are greater than ever before: you can choose to be a specialist or a generalist.
MS: I want to know why people would think prospect research is a dead – end job. I don’t know the answer but I do have a feeling that some people do think that way and definitely not the three of us. Perhaps in a bigger team, researchers get less opportunities to see what else is available within the sector and as a result, feel “dead – ended.”
This is one reason why I love smaller shops. Small is beautiful. I like the variety – from management to writing, to valuation and campaign planning. There are so many directions one could go after this.
What are some of the career options available to prospect researchers?
TC: I remember when I first got into prospect research, I asked the same question and the answer at that time was “you can go one of two ways: into database design, or, becoming a development officer” – wrong. These options still exists, but there are now so many ways researchers can stretch their wings without getting out of research – go into another sector, a larger organization, or take on more responsibilities.
Many researchers do feel more comfortable merging more into the data system and analyst role, but many too come from an arts or social science background and may incorporate writing and strategic planning into their positions. Neither of these areas are of much interest to those interested in asking for gifts but are needed positions to be filled. Continued education is a must if you want to shift your responsibilities. If you are able to go to fund development courses or conferences, that’s great. You should also look outside the field for other higher education courses such as those within business, management, strategic planning, budgeting and coaching, among others.
LR: I think prospect researchers have a multitude of career options available – it’s a case of deciding where you want to specialize and embracing it. I look at someone like Melody who has embraced data visualization and who is now considered the go – person on the topic amongst Canadian researchers. She has embraced an area of research and has become a subject matter expert. I think that is great and we need more people like that.
MS: With regards to go – to experts, there are many other examples – Kevin MacDonell with analytics and Liz for Social Media. It’s very true that we still have so much more to explore. It’s as simple as picking a subject (visualization, pipeline, data analytic etc.) you have an interest in and educating yourself to become an expert in what are all relatively new areas. As our field changes with technology, there will always be new things (Big Data, Data Curation) to learn. On the other hand, I can also see prospect researchers becoming campaign directors or holding management roles in advancement services.
End Note
In the 2013 APRA International Conference, Tracey, Liz and Melody made presentations on topics they were most passionate about, attended interesting sessions and had great conversations with peers from around the world. And when not volunteering with APRA, participating in professional development or simply doing their daily jobs, the trio can be found hanging out and dissecting the next big thing in research.
****
TRACEY CHURCH, MLS, Senior Consultant, Research & Analytics, KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.)
Education: HBA (Western), MLIS (Western), Professional Certificate in Not – for – Profit Management (Western)
Years in prospect research: 10 years as a prospect researcher, 20+ years as a researcher
Career snapshot:
- Senior Consultant, Research & Analytics, KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.) Jan 2013+
- National Director, Prospect Research, CNIB 2008 – 2013
- Prospect Researcher, London Health Sciences Centre 2003 – 2008
- Part – time Faculty, Western University, MLIS program 2008+
- Tracey Church Research, Writing & Consultant Services 2001+
LIZ REJMAN, CFRE, Head of Development, Museum London
Education: Undergraduate degree in anthropology; Professional Certificate in Adult Education, CFRE designation
Years in prospect research: Four years dedicated to prospect research; 15+ years in fundraising; entire career in not – for – profit
Career snapshot:
- Head of Development, Museum London July 2013+
- Development Researcher, London Health Sciences Foundation 2009 – 2013
- Associate Director, Alumni & Community Development, Huron University College 1998 – 2009
MELODY SONG, MA, CFRE, Senior Officer, Prospect Research Calgary Zoo
Education: BComm. Marketing; M.A. Communications; CFRE Designation
Years in prospect research: Five years as a prospect researcher; 7 years in fundraising
Career Snapshot:
- Senior Officer, Prospect Research Calgary Zoo 2011+
- Prospect Research Specialist, SAIT Polytechnic 2009 – 2011
- Director of Development, Alberta Ballet 2006 – 2008
- Marketing & Communications Professional in various organizations 2000 – 2006