As the Manager, Prospect Strategy & Research, you will directly impact our organization’s fundraising efforts by growing, supporting and evaluating the pool of potential and current donors. Your prospect development work will contribute strongly to our ability to make strategic decisions with regard to fundraising initiatives and campaigns. You will play a pivotal role in allowing regional fundraisers to focus on building strong relationships with current and potential donors.
Additionally, the Manger, Prospect Strategy & Research will directly manage and execute prospect development activities for a portfolio of regions. Some specific work examples include: defining prospect development strategies by region, assessing prospect and donors pipelines, and researching and documenting board member and champion networks.
Prospect Strategy and Research (60%)
- Evaluate prospect development knowledge and capacity of assigned regions. Provide tailored guidance and trainings to improve and support regional development activities.
- Work with aligned staff to implement strategies to ensure prospect development efficiency and effectiveness.
- Set vision for creating a healthy and robust pipeline for regions to increase base of support and knowledge of prospects.
- Lead and engage in development strategy discussions with regional staff.
- Make recommendations and coach regional staff regarding portfolio management, next steps, solicitation, cultivation and stewardship plans.
- Create systems for maintaining prospect and donor information in Salesforce, including updating and maintaining biographical, philanthropic and affiliation data from internal and external sources.
- Train regional staff on all aspects of prospect development and serve as an on-going resource.
- Provide high level prospect research support to regional staff.
- Scan public information and media for information about new and current donors as well as relevant general fundraising news, and distribute as appropriate.
- Provide prospect research support for events.
Prospect Management (25%)
- Assign prospects to appropriate staff members.
- Oversee systems that manage portfolios and pipelines and actively collaborate with development staff to ensure accuracy
- Direct new prospects process, including the prospect research, assignments, and qualification period for regions.
- Evaluate prospecting and qualification activities in order to propose improvements.
- Participate in Moves Management meetings.
Analysis (15%)
- Present prospect development data in an engaging and accessible way to increase comprehension and usability.
- Coordinate prospect ratings activities and implement and manage prospect rating system.
- Identify and qualify new prospects by utilizing donor modeling techniques.
- Utilize internal and external data to support and inform organizational priorities and campaigns. Including but not limited to: wealth screening, data mining, relationship and geographical mapping.
- Minimum of 2-4 years of prospect development experience required
Skills
- Strong ability to interpret and synthesize data and information from multiple sources to develop insights and recommendations
- Ability to think critically and strategically while making timely decisions and demonstrating good judgment
- Superb organization, detail-orientation, and project management skills
- Strong training and relationship management skills, preferred
- Proficiency with online research databases or screening services, required
- Proficiency with Salesforce or other CRM database, required
- Proficiency and comfort with Microsoft office applications, including Access, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, is required