Often the terms prospect research and prospect management
are used interchangeably, and the line between the two gets fuzzy. Those who do not work in one of these two
areas will often think that these two are the same, and yet there is a clear
difference between prospect research and prospect management. These two things are equally important, yet
quite different. From where I sit, let
me explain:
Prospect Research
The gathering of information on a specific prospect (which
can be an individual, corporation, or foundation ... but typically is an
individual) in order to inform a gift officer about a persons career,
education, philanthropic interests, family connections, wealth and financial
holdings. It incorporates (if a prospect
researcher is good at their job) an element of analyzing all of the information
that is gathered via the research and making a recommendation to the gift
officer as to how to best engage, cultivate, solicit, and steward that
prospect.
Prospect Management
The process of planning, recording and reporting on the
progress of a prospect as they move through the various stages of the
cultivation cycle. A prospect management
system is an intentional process that directs prospects through the various
cultivation stages within a specified time frame, with the optimal outcome
being that the prospect makes a gift. A
well-structured prospect management process is a key element that allows
fundraising to be done in an efficient and successful manner. It relies on the person who oversees the
prospect management system to incorporate descriptive analytics (and if they
are really good at their jobs, predictive analytics) when assessing a gift
officers portfolio in order to uncover what is working and what is not working,
to see the consistencies as the outliers, to find those patterns and
relationships in the data that will ultimately guide the overarching strategy
on how to prioritize a portfolio based on the fund raising goals of the
organization. In summary, as a prospect management professional, my job is to
make order out of chaos and then do everything in my power to keep things from
devolving back into chaos - which is exactly like herding cat.
