One of the definitions Merriam-Webster (n.d.) provides for the word unstable is, “liable to change or alteration”. Lately, this feels like an accurate way of describing some of the landscape in the fundraising world. Change is nothing new for prospect development (or, indeed, in life), but the scale and pace of change in recent years seems to be making many pause.

In response to recent sector-wide challenges, Apra has offered discussion sessions focused on changes impacting our profession including “Navigating Prospect Development in Times of Rapid Change” in March and another discussion session in July titled “The Path Forward: Creative Solutions for Prospect Development in a Changing Landscape”. These sessions were free and open to anyone with an Apra account.

The second discussion session (the focus of this post) aimed to bring PD colleagues together in a safe space to connect and share ideas amidst changes taking place in our profession today. This conversation was scheduled in response to challenges shared in the March session and focused on exploring innovation, resilience and opportunity in our field.

To name a few examples, some strategies identified by PD colleagues focused on:

1. Harnessing artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs) to help address resource constraints, and finding ways to address related ethical and governance questions
2. Utilizing novel prospecting techniques to identify new donors
3. Analyzing portfolios and pipelines in new/deeper ways
4. Developing strategic partnerships with new vendors and/or contractors
5. Understanding donor advised funds
6. Deepening and building new relationships externally and internally
7. Taking risks

Many of these topics and more have already been discussed in depth. For just a couple of examples, see here for a discussion of challenges and strategies identified in the March discussion and this Connections article on generative AI and prospect research (shout out to Connections — a great resource overall!).

Moreover, each organization (and individual) necessarily approaches these strategies differently based on a variety of factors including industry, size of the organization, structure of the team, resources available and so on.

I really appreciate the many concrete suggestions and contributions offered. And as I’ve been reflecting on how to best handle change and the unknown, one theme in particular strikes a chord with me: deepening and building relationships. While I’ve personally only been an Apra member for a few years, it has always seemed to me to be a community that really comes together to intentionally and collectively shape the future of our field. We have already been getting out in front of important questions such as: How will we ensure that new technologies are used ethically in PD (see Apra’s Ethics in AI Toolkit)? And how will we ensure skills in our field are distributed equitably?

Finding ways to connect more deeply with each other can help us not only respond to challenges, but proactively shape the path we take at the individual and collective level. I see events such as the Apra-hosted discussions as reminders for us to reach out to our communities (internal and external, professional and personal), and to look for ways to collaborate on our vision for the future and to come up with solutions to challenges that impact us all.

References

Merriam-Webster, (n.d.). Unstable. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unstable