Prospect Research vs. Prospect Management

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.