Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
Marriott Marquis Times Square
The Marriott Marquis, New York, NY
Friday, June 22, 2018
8:45am – 5:00pm
Research
Track Chairs: George Hartman and Poonam Prasad
8:45am – 10am
From Discovery to Major Donor
Discovery work can be exciting but can present some challenges. This presentation is a case study of how the principal & major gifts team at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund launched an innovative, data-driven culture of discovery at their organization. Hear the challenges and learning opportunities they encountered when they embarked on changing the culture of outreach. See how the team approached discovery work by harnessing data, research, and prioritizing outreach efforts.
You'll learn to:
Navigate the successes and challenges of building and implementing a discovery program
Empower both frontline and operations team members to prioritize discovery work
Take small risks that lead to big changes and can shift conventional thinking
Speakers:
Megan Heister, Director, Research & Prospect Management, Planned Parenthood Federation of America & Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Jamaul Webster, Principal & Major Gifts Director, Planned Parenthood Federation of America & Planned Parenthood Action Fund
10:45am – 12am
A Tool for Data-Driven Portfolio Reviews
Portfolio reviews are essential for ensuring that gift officers can focus on the best prospects, but they can be time-consuming for analysts. To make this process more efficient, we developed an Excel tool that enables analysts to make the same (and sometimes better) recommendations in a fraction of the time.
You'll learn to:
Develop an organized, data-driven approach to portfolio reviews
Build a portfolio review tool using Excel
Speaker:
Lindsay A. Brown, Associate Director, Analytics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2pm – 3:15pm
The Million Donor Question: How the ACLU has Identified Its Best Prospects During Times of Change
Since the 2016 election, the ACLU’s base of supporters has quadrupled to about 2 million – the greatest outpouring of support in its nearly 100-year history. In this intermediate-level session, the presenters will discuss how the organization has identified and engaged its highest-priority donors and prospects.
You'll learn to:
Create a structured approach for uncovering the highest-priority prospects among a large group of supporters
Develop and apply prospect identification and prioritization tools
Establish best practices for portfolio sizes and prospect management and qualification
Speakers:
Lexi Adams, Deputy Director of Leadership Gifts, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Jeff Vessels, Director of Leadership Gifts, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
3:45pm – 5pm
Asia: A Continent in Perspective
In recent years, U.S. institutions increasingly received transformative gifts from Asian donors. This session will provide an overview of the vast and varied wealth landscape in East and Southeast Asia; discuss how information is discovered, evaluated, and speculated upon; and provide insights on evaluating the gift capacity of Asian prospects.
You'll learn to:
Overall wealth information and about individual fortunes in East and Southeast Asian countries
Valuable resources and tools to find Asia-related wealth information
Techniques to help you evaluate an Asian prospect's gift capacity
Speaker:
Linlin C. Reid, Senior Research Analyst, New York University