Last December, the prospect development community found itself at an unusual crossroads: the imminent release of the Epstein files had our field buzzing with a mix of anticipation, uncertainty, and, frankly, a bit of anxiety. How should institutions prepare? What would the release mean for donors already in the pipeline? Were our due diligence processes ready for the scrutiny that might follow? 

Apra is unique because our members and our leadership work within the field itself, so we had the same questions! We responded by hosting a pulse check - a rapid-response virtual gathering designed to meet practitioners exactly where they were. Hundreds of prospect development professionals from across the nonprofit sector showed up, representing higher education, healthcare, arts organizations and beyond. Together, attendees worked through the practical realities of due diligence: how to build or strengthen due diligence workflows, how to integrate AI-assisted research alongside careful manual review and how to construct these systems even when starting from scratch. You can revisit that conversation at What the Sector Told Us: The Top 5 Due Diligence Priorities and Resources in the Epstein File Landscape by Courtney Cutler, Catherine Flaatten, and Lindsey Nadeau. 

As it turned out, the Epstein file release didn't quite deliver the seismic revelations many had anticipated. But here's what did happen: hundreds of prospect development professionals left that session more prepared, more connected to their peers and armed with concrete next steps for shoring up their institutions' gift acceptance and due diligence policies. That, in many ways, was the more important outcome for our field. 

Why Due Diligence Policies Matter… And What They Actually Do 

For those newer to the field, or for anyone who has found themselves explaining this work to a skeptical colleague or leadership team, it's worth pausing on what we mean by due diligence and gift acceptance policies - and why they are so fundamental to ethical, effective fundraising. 

A gift acceptance policy establishes the formal criteria an organization uses to determine whether a proposed gift should be accepted, declined or subject to additional review. It covers everything from gift type and valuation to donor background and reputational considerations. A due diligence process is the investigative framework that informs those decisions - the structured research and review that prospect development professionals conduct to surface potential red flags before a gift is finalized. 

Together, these policies do something critically important: they remove the burden of judgment from any single individual. When a major gifts officer is cultivating a high-capacity prospect, the last thing they should be doing is making a unilateral decision about whether that donor's background presents reputational risk to the institution. A well-constructed due diligence and gift acceptance policy creates a documented, repeatable process - one that distributes decision-making across multiple stakeholders and applies consistent standards regardless of a donor's wealth or prominence. 

This matters for equity, too. Without a clear policy, gift decisions can be influenced - consciously or not - by familiarity, prestige or proximity to leadership. A step-by-step framework ensures that every prospective donor is evaluated against the same criteria. It creates accountability and consistency, which are foundational to fundraising that is both ethical and equitable. 

Prospect management and prospect research professionals are uniquely positioned to champion these policies within their organizations. We understand both the information landscape and the stakes involved. And when the field is shifting as rapidly as it is right now, that expertise is more valuable than ever. 

The Conversation Continues: Join Us on June 17th 

Due diligence hasn't become less relevant just because the news cycle moved on - if anything, it has become more pressing. We heard clearly from practitioners after our December pulse check: peer learning is invaluable, and the demand for practical, real-world guidance on navigating due diligence in a complex environment has only grown. 

That's why we're excited to invite you to Due Diligence in an Uncertain Age: Gift Prospecting and Acceptance on Wednesday, June 17 at noon EST. Register here. 

The webinar opens with something we rarely get enough of: real stories. Three due diligence professionals, including a colleague working outside of the United States, will share anonymized accounts of real-life scenarios their institutions faced. How did their gift acceptance and due diligence policies help identify red flags? What did the process of actually dealing with those situations look like, step by step? These aren't hypotheticals. They're the kinds of challenges many of us have encountered, or will encounter, and hearing how peers navigated them is the kind of learning that sticks. 

The second half of the session moves into segmented breakout rooms, giving you the opportunity to connect with and learn from peers who are working through similar challenges. Whether you're a seasoned director building out a formal policy for the first time, or a newer professional trying to understand how due diligence fits into the broader prospect development workflow, there's a seat at the table for you. 

The world is not getting less complicated. Donors are not becoming less complex. And the responsibility our institutions carry, to protect their reputations, to fundraise ethically and to make principled decisions about the gifts they accept, is not diminishing. This series is our community's answer to that challenge: thoughtful, practitioner-led and grounded in the real work you do every day. 

We hope to see you on June 17. 

Jennifer Moody
Partnerships, Manager, The Health Initiative

Jennifer Moody serves as the Partnerships, Manager at The Health Initiative, where she focuses on development operations. With a career dedicated to optimizing healthcare philanthropy, Jennifer previously served as Vice President of Research for GOBEL and Manager of Prospect Management for Henry Ford Health. She began her PD career working in arts and culture at The Henry Ford. Jennifer holds an MPA and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from Wayne State University, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University.