In this Q&A, we celebrate Kathryn Thomas, recipient of the 2024 Apra Distinguished Service Award. This honor recognizes individuals whose contributions have shaped the prospect development (PD) profession and enriched the Apra community. Get to know Thomas, director of prospect development for City of Hope, as she reflects on the trajectory of PD from both personal and professional perspectives.

What drives you to support prospect development as a profession?

Collaboration as a value within an entire field was a concept I learned in high school while working at the public library. Our librarians attended American Library Association (ALA) conferences and came back brimming with new contacts and exciting ideas they had learned from others. When I joined the prospect development field, I was thrilled to experience a similar level of camaraderie and support. I attended my first Apra conference in New Orleans just a few months after joining the research and prospect management team at the Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association (WFAA). It was a great opportunity to bond with my new team, but also introduced me to open, curious and excited professionals who were happy to discuss challenges and successes. From that conference on, I enthusiastically lent my voice to Apra-WI, Apra-IL and Apra International, wanting to contribute to the dialogue and support others as they had supported me.

Do you have any mentors in the field? How have mentors affected your professional life?

I’ve not had an individual whom I formally refer to as a mentor, but I’ve been so privileged in who I have been surrounded by in this field. My colleagues at WFAA welcomed me into the fold: setting context, expanding my technical and PD-specific knowledge and supporting me in brainstorming and creating new projects. When I moved to my new organization, my teammates were equally wonderful. They taught me the differences between higher education development and healthcare philanthropy, and assisted me whenever they could.

Are there any relationships outside your own team that you have treasured building?

I’ve treasured my relationships with frontline fundraisers and philanthropy leadership. Personality-wise, we couldn’t be more different — they’re largely extroverted, energized people who love to be out-and-about while I enjoy digging deeply into a research question or technical issue, chatting in small bites and listening to quiet music while I work. However, they have provided wonderful education into how they think about our work, helping me provide better prospects. I’ve learned how to listen to their needs, balancing individual requests with organizational needs. And I’ve made some great friends all across the country.

Since you started your career, what changes have you seen in prospect development? 

I joined prospect development in 2014, and my perspective is that I joined at a time of great change and development. The field was moving from analogue to digital in all facets — from news alerts to capacity ratings — and I was lucky to enter the field while all this technological advancement was occurring. I’ve seen the change from Google Alerts to AI-enabled vendor-reporting daily for news stories across traditional and social media. I’ve also witnessed an evolution from stationary scoring for prospect prioritization to machine learning modeling that adjusts in real-time to changes in donor giving trends and prospecting priorities.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out in prospect development? Any suggestions?

My advice for someone new to PD is to approach everything with curiosity: listen more than you speak when you’re new, be prepared to iterate on ideas and embrace change, if nothing else. The world of PD is constantly moving and adjusting to the needs of our organizations and the best PD professionals anticipate those opportunities.

Tracey Robertson
Associate Director of Prospect Research, Emory University

Tracey Robertson is an experienced research analyst at Emory University working within their advancement and alumni engagement division. She supports the law school, the business school, and the corporate and foundation relations teams.