It’s hard to believe that my year as Apra president is nearly complete. It started with demonstrated passion from our members about the importance of transparency and accessibility to our community, and will culminate in seeing many of you in person at Prospect Development 2023 (PD2023) in Indianapolis. For me, this year has been a humbling one of growth, intentionality and gratitude.

So, please allow me to celebrate a few highlights from our year in review:

Apra focused on year one of our strategic plan by launching our new associate management system to give us better insight into the behaviors of our community. We solicited your educational and professional needs for the forthcoming member needs survey releasing later this fall. We infused data science curricula into a wider variety of our educational programming to improve membership confidence in driving organizational decisions using data. We also came together to discuss the importance of open access for our community.

This strategic plan doesn’t position Apra to migrate away from its core values. We continue to be bold, opportunistic and forward-thinking — focusing on staying relevant in a changing landscape and expanding our role in advancing our values across the philanthropic industry.

Last fall we also launched a new associate membership level. This offering was designed to offer a curated set of member benefits at a lower cost to those newer to the field, early in their career or working part time in prospect development. Many of these benefits center on virtual educational content and community building. Since the launch, our community is larger and stronger ­­­— we exceeded our year one projections for the associate member level by 50%, with nearly 90% of those as new members. Our full membership offers the same comprehensive benefits current members are accustomed to, along with free expanded educational content from past conferences and webinars.

Here are a handful of other notable highlights:

• Prepared for PD2023 in Indianapolis (Aug. 28-31). This conference is shaping up to be one of Apra’s best — 35 breakout sessions covering prospect research, prospect management, data science and leadership. Registration is still open!
• Completed and released Apra’s first data science course, Apra Fundamentals: Data Science with R.
• Refreshed the DEI Data Guide, a free resource that guides organizations in their appropriate use of personal and sensitive constituent data.
• Finalized Apra’s Data Minimization Guide (coming soon!), a companion to the DEI Data Guide.
• Planned the fifth year of Apra’s Plug In event. This year will focus on metrics and is being held November 1-2. Registration is open!
• Undertook market research to better understand growth potential, focusing on organizations
• Quoted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy multiple times, where we commented on ethics in fundraising, the future of AI in philanthropy, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Drafted a guiding document to position the Apra Foundation for continued future success.
• Entered our third year of awarding the Apra Foundation’s Professional Development Assistance Fund grants, continuing our work to support Apra members experiencing financial hardship in having access to educational content and training opportunities. This year, we awarded grants to 15 individuals.

While I’m able to report out some of Apra’s accomplishments over the prior year, I can’t take credit for these wins — they are our accomplishments as an association and as a community. Our Apra staff team has been instrumental in executing much of this work, but it is our committee chairs and volunteers who have given of their time and talent to bring this work to life. Apra has amazing and dedicated volunteers — thank you for your contributions.

I soon will pass the baton to President-Elect Rodger Devine, who is already hard at work recruiting committee chairs and defining direction for the upcoming volunteer year. I feel honored to have succeeded him and look forward to sharing my experiences with him as he navigates the upcoming year.

I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings. See you at Apra Prospect Development, August 28-31 in Indianapolis!

Carrick Davis
President, Apra and Executive Director of Prospect Management & Research, University of California

Carrick Davis is the executive director of prospect management and research at University of California, Davis. He has spent his career in nonprofits, focusing on translating data into actionable insight. In his time volunteering with Apra, he has been a committee chair, a chapter leader and is in his sixth year as a board member. In his role as president, he also chairs the Apra Foundation Board. Away from work and Apra, he enjoys cooking, cycling and spending time with his partner and two fur babies, Percy and Jonas.