The APRA Skills Set: Advanced Prospect Research

Updated January 26, 2005

Introduction

The APRA Skills Sets are designed to help advancement professionals and human resource professionals
design job descriptions, training programs, and performance evaluation tools for prospect research
professionals. Since development organizations come in many forms, it is important to note that the APRA
Skills Sets are recommendations that should be customized to meet the specific needs of each institution.

At present, the APRA Skills Sets are comprised of four individual Skills Sets. The first, Prospect Research
Fundamentals, focuses on the skills that should be acquired by an advancement prospect researcher in the
early part of his or her training. The second, Advanced Prospect Research, builds on Prospect Research
Fundamentals and outlines skills required for advanced prospect research work. The third, Research
Management, is a distinct set that does not build on the first two, but instead outlines the skills required for
the management of a prospect research operation. The fourth, Relationship Management, is a second
distinct set that does not build on the first two. This skills set outlines the skills required for a professional
whose job is comprised solely of relationship management responsibilities.

Definition of Terms

The APRA Skills Sets use the following terms to describe the proficiency levels. The proficiencies build
upon each other and assume that preceding proficiencies have been attained.

Information Proficiencies

ƒ Awareness: Individual can recognize terms and has broad understanding of meanings; actual
practice may be minimal and infrequent; could not instruct others.
ƒ Understanding: Individual comprehends the philosophy supporting the issue, policy, or procedure
ƒ Knowledge: Individual has a significant grasp of details, specifics, and shades of meaning, could
present information to colleagues inside and outside of development

Skill Proficiencies

ƒ Ability: Individual is trained, but not experienced at accomplishing the activity

ƒ Proficiency: Individual has developed skill using industry and institutional best practices; practice
has been intense and/or frequent
ƒ Mastery: Individual has comprehensive grasp of task details, specific procedures, and task’s
connection to strategic objectives; practice has been intense and/or frequent; could instruct
colleagues
The Advanced Research Skills Set assumes that all proficiencies in the Prospect Research Fundamentals have been
achieved. The Advanced Research Skills Set is comprised, therefore, of all components of the Prospect
Research Fundamentals Skills Set and five additional categories.

1. Advanced General Fundraising

2. Advanced Prospect Research
3. Relationship Management
4. Resources
5. Advanced Professional Skills

Note: For the purposes of this document, the terms “relationship management” and “prospect management” are
interchangeable.

Advanced General Fundraising

ƒ Understanding of outright and deferred giving vocabulary, vehicles, and strategy

ƒ Understanding of ever-changing trends in fundraising and philanthropy, within your organization as well as in the
broader context
ƒ Understanding of how the governing board functions within your organization and what role the board serves in
fundraising
ƒ Knowledge of organization's history and mission; strong ability to articulate same
ƒ Knowledge of a broad array of fundraising practices and procedures
ƒ Ability to apply appropriate fundraising strategies to projects
ƒ Ability to analyze and match charitable and economic interests of prospective donors and to properly profile donor
prospects from a fundraising perspective

Advanced Prospect Research

ƒ Knowledge of and ability to utilize IRS statistical net wealth estimation data
ƒ Knowledge of the establishment and use of private personal and family foundations, including the ability to identify
and interpret the key informational areas of an IRS Form 990 and Form 990-PF, including (but not limited to)
header; reporting date; total asset base as of reporting date; asset description and valuation; gift history and giving
patterns over time
ƒ Knowledge of multiple screening strategies and methodologies, including (but not limited to) constituent list
segmentation on the basis of limited, specific variables such as zip code, giving history, age, sex, or other
demographic data; external, electronic database screening; and peer group screening
ƒ Ability to find and use a wide variety of digital and print resources
ƒ Ability to read and interpret legal documents commonly used at the organization's prospect research operation as
appropriate
ƒ Ability to find and evaluate evidence of philanthropic interests in other organizations
ƒ Ability to identify and present information about luxury items and collections, including estimated value, importance
to the prospect, and relevance to one’s organization
ƒ Ability to employ a wide variety of proactive prospecting methodologies, including but not limited to the following:
o Ability to perform in-house data mining, including sophisticated constituent database queries and a strong
understanding of statistical modeling concepts
o Ability to use mailing and contact lists from other sources, such as list houses, other organizations, and
internet searches, particularly to identify interest categories and affiliations appropriate to specific
organizational goals or projects
ƒ Mastery of all aspects of real property research, including issues such as assessment vs. market value and
property history as well as financing strategies and general market conditions
ƒ Mastery of SEC data, including elements such as compensation information contained in proxies and 10K reports;
insider stock options, ownership, and transfers; business interlocks; specific reporting relationships; and accurate
evaluation of profit and loss and business forecast statements
ƒ Mastery in accurately analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating information collected about a donor prospect, coupled
with great skill in both written and verbal communication of both the essential data and the final interpretation of its
meaning
ƒ Mastery of general fundraising strategies, which may be appropriate to the donor prospect in the identification-
cultivation-solicitation-stewardship cycle of fundraising and the ability to offer strategic suggestions and
approaches
The APRA Skills Set: Advanced Prospect Research
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Relationship Management

ƒ Ability to orient and train colleagues on the principals of relationship management and the details of the
relationship management system
ƒ Ability to serve as a liaison between development staff and technical staff for the development and execution of
queries, reports, and other relationship management tools
ƒ Ability to facilitate and coordinate definition of relationship management policies and procedures
ƒ Proficiency with constituent segmentation strategies
ƒ Proficiency with retrieving and analyzing prospect data to inform cultivation strategies as well as individual and
team-level prospect pool management
ƒ Mastery of organization's prospect tracking and management systems, including relationship management data
entry, queries, and reports

Resources

ƒ Understanding of current privacy laws, such as HIPAA

ƒ Understanding of information management issues, trends, and tools
ƒ Knowledge of changing market of subscription-based research resources such as electronic wealth-screening
services, news databases, and business directories
ƒ Ability to assess quality of resources and make recommendations that are most appropriate for specific information
needs
ƒ Ability to maintain information management systems, hard-copy and electronic. Highly developed ability to identify,
evaluate, and utilize new or alternative resources for information, including text sources, electronic sources, and
screening results. In particular, thorough review of source validity and the creative use of sources as applied to the
process of evaluating donor prospects for capacity, inclination, and readiness
ƒ Mastery of in-house resources and all proprietary information systems
ƒ Mastery of privacy policies of professional organizations such as APRA, AFP, AHP, and CASE, and expertise of
organization’s internal privacy policies

Advanced Professional Skills

ƒ Knowledge of organization’s job and performance evaluation process

ƒ Knowledge of principles of management, leadership, conflict resolution, negotiation and motivation
ƒ Knowledge of solicitation strategy and major gifts process
ƒ Ability to work with development officers to help build prospect strategy
ƒ Ability to teach basic prospect research skills to a diverse audience (this includes making public oral presentations,
designing and implementing formal training on basic prospect research, and mentoring up-and-coming
researchers)
ƒ Ability to liaise with development officers in order to anticipate and respond to needs of information and information
management needs
ƒ Ability to demonstrate commitment to adhere to all legal privacy requirements and all ethical standards upheld by
organizations such as APRA, AFP, AHP, and CASE
ƒ Ability to demonstrate commitment to promoting or advocating prospect research (this involves proactively seeking
opportunities for researchers to be involved in development activities within an organization, and promoting
prospect research within the fundraising profession)
ƒ Ability to demonstrate commitment to professional development, including attending regional professional events,
participating in a mentor/mentee relationship, or seeking other professional education opportunities

© 2005 APRA

The APRA Skills Set: Advanced Prospect Research

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