This February, Apra is gathering prospect development professionals from across the industry for an immersive learning experience — Apra Fundamentals: Prospect Research. The three-day, virtual program will cover key areas of prospect development and insights into essential topics such as campaigns, prospect research, data science and ethical considerations in fundraising.

This tip sheet offers a glimpse into some of the best practices that will be covered during Lindsay Rogillio and Rachel Walker’s session “Working With Development Officers” on Feb. 26.

At its core, prospect development is a service. Whether you are a prospect development generalist or specialize in prospect research, prospect management or prospect data analytics, working with and supporting development officers will be central to your responsibilities.

Here are a few ways to work smarter with development officers and best support their prospect research needs.

1. Begin with a needs assessment: A structured process for assessing the needs of your organization will help you achieve a fundamental understanding of what the organization needs most from you as a researcher, what the gift officer or team of gift officers wants from you, and whether the needs and wants align. Talk to anyone who does or will make use of products from the prospect development office — including both fundraisers and fundraising leadership. This process will also help you establish a Menu of Services and determine how to best present the information to your audience. (See tip No. 3 for more.)
2. Know your capacity: What can you as a researcher reasonably accomplish, what resources do you need and where is your time best spent?
   1. Consider the tools and resources at your disposal. For example, when completing a prospect list, do you have an established report that allows you to make a few filter selections, then export for further segmentation? Or do you have to manually run several queries to then merge and refine? Or do you not have direct access to query the data, but must rely on another teammate to do so before you can review? Each scenario affects the time and effort you need to complete the request.
   2. Consider your job responsibilities. For example, you may be responsible for prospect management as well as prospect research, and thus will have to balance your time spent on research requests. The exact time spent on each area of responsibility will depend on the needs of your fundraisers and your organization, as well as your specific job role.
3. Work smart: Once you understand the needs and your capacity, consider how to best leverage your resources and skills to provide an appropriate, quality product that best serves the research need.
   1. Menu of services: Outline in writing what levels of research or research products you provide, under what circumstances they can be requested and what the requestor can expect for a standard turnaround time.
   2. Organizing and presenting information: Know your audience and provide actionable intelligence.
      1. Consider who is receiving the research. Senior leadership may prefer visuals over a huge spreadsheet. Your development officers may prefer concise bullet points over a paragraph narrative.
      2. Clearly present relevant information. The scope and purpose of the research request will help you determine what is most relevant for the requestor to know and how they can use that information to move the relationship with the donor forward.
   3. Project management: To develop an efficient process, think through what takes place from request initiation to completed deliverable. Consider: How are requests received? How do you share completed research? What parts of your process can be automated?
   4. Time management:
      1. Track time. Use your ticketing system or Excel to track time spent on research requests. This will help you benchmark efficiency and, in turn, help set or refine standard turnaround times for deliverables.
      2. Make time. You may have multiple research requests with competing deadlines. Use strategies like time blocking on your calendar to help you intentionally set uninterrupted work time.
      3. Know when to stop. Prospect researchers are curious by nature! It’s tempting to venture down the rabbit hole when your curiosity is piqued. If you have trouble knowing when to stop, one strategy is to draft a list of research resources you should always check for a particular research deliverable. Consult those resources first to ensure you cover the appropriate bases within the standard turnaround time.
4. Develop processes, procedures and best practices: Consistent research deliverables and processes help you work more efficiently and help you build a reputation of providing reliable, quality information among the development officers you support.
   1. Research request forms: Streamline and clarify requests.
   2. Standard research processes and templates: Establish a research resource checklist and create a research profile template.
   3. Style guides: Establish consistent formatting and content.
   4. Feedback opportunities: Design a method for feedback from development officers to demonstrate accountability and to ensure quality. For example, you may deploy a survey among the development officers to collect feedback. If you employ a ticketing system, automate a “How did we do?” reply once a ticket is completed.
5. Articulate your value: Communicate your impact to position yourself as a reliable, trusted resource, thought partner and subject matter expert with your development officers.
   1. Describe what you do. Talk with fundraisers and define your role for them — share what skills you bring to bear and how you do it. Develop an elevator pitch that articulates what you do and the impact it has for the organization: “I am a prospect research analyst specializing in identifying major gift donors. Using advanced research methodologies and data analysis, I can identify potential donors with the capacity, affinity and inclination to support our mission and fundraising initiatives.”
   2. Communicate your value. Share with fundraisers how your skills and expertise contribute to their work. Own your role as a subject matter expert of prospect data and help connect the dots with what the fundraiser already knows about the donor. For example, your ability to synthesize and interpret research findings can inform how they develop a solicitation strategy with a particular donor: “My research suggests the donors do not have children and they have been annual donors of $100 for the last 20 consecutive years, which indicates they may be strong planned giving donors. That information supports your determination, fundraiser, that they have high affinity and inclination, but outright capacity is low. Exploring a planned gift opportunity may be the best next step.”
   3. Quantify your value. Share analysis and case examples that illustrate your impact. You can incorporate your value add into your elevator pitch: “My research is responsible for identifying X new prospects for the discovery pool, and X amount of dollars from proactive leads that converted to qualified portfolio assignments.”

Registration for Apra Fundamentals is open. Virtually join Rogillio, Walker and other faculty members Selene Hur, manager of prospect development and research at the YMCA of Greater Toronto, Priya Balachandran, prospect research and management specialist at Northern Illinois Food Bank and Pete Kotowski, director of prospect management at the University of Denver, on Feb. 24, 26 and 28, 2025.

Lindsay Rogillio
Director of Prospect Development and Analytics, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Lindsay Rogillio is the director of prospect development and analytics at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, leading the prospect management, prospect research and prospect data analytics efforts. Prior to her current position, Rogillio spent nearly 10 years in higher education prospect development offices at the University of South Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth University. She has volunteered with aasp's Membership Engagement Committee and Best Practices in Prospect Development Committee. She holds a master's degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina, and is completing a master's in decision analytics from Virginia Commonwealth University. Rogillio loves traveling, salsa dancing and enjoying every food festival she can make it to.

Rachael Dietrich Walker
Donor Strategy Manager, St. Luke's Health Foundation

Rachael Dietrich Walker is entering her fifteenth year in prospect development. In June 2024, she joined St. Luke’s Health Foundation as its first donor strategy manager, where she is building a new prospect development program. She comes to health care after a career spent in higher education.

Walker is a longtime member of the Apra Carolinas board and currently serves as its president. She has also served in several volunteer roles for Apra, most recently on the 2024 Nominating Committee. She holds a master's degree from UNC-Greensboro and a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond.