Around the World of Relationship Management in 60 Minutes: The Essential Packing List

Natalie Walden, Senior Associate Director of Prospect Management, Johns Hopkins University

Sara Anello, Senior Portfolio & Pipeline Analyst, The George Washington University

What are the most essential aspects of relationship management? How do you decide what elements of RM to implement or improve at your organization? Natalie Walden, Senior Associate Director of Prospect Management at Johns Hopkins University, and Sara Anello, Senior Portfolio and Pipeline Analyst at the George Washington University, will guide you on a whirlwind tour of the most crucial pieces of RM through the lens of developing an “essentials list” for your own RM adventure. Whether you are new to the prospect development field, in a relationship management role for the first time, or seeking to refresh or expand your relationship management skills, this session will provide a framework to assess your own RM knowledge and the strengths and opportunities of RM operations within your organization. You will take away your own custom RM packing list and identify areas for additional learning so you can shape the RM program you want!

From Data to Donors: Practical AI for Prospect Development

Ronda Oyen, Director of Client Solutions, Kaleidoscope

Nayeli Garcia Mowbray, Founder of Chameleon Collaborative

Artificial Intelligence is no longer theoretical in prospect development — it’s already changing how prospect researchers identify, qualify, and prioritize donors. Yet many advancement teams are navigating uncertainty around where AI fits, how to evaluate tools, and how to apply them ethically and effectively.

In this session, Kaleidoscope and Chameleon Collaborative LLC will share practical, researcher-centered approaches to using AI across prospect research, portfolio management, and donor strategy. Through real-world use cases and workflow examples, attendees will learn how AI can automate low-value tasks, surface stronger prospects, and enhance collaboration between researchers and frontline fundraisers — without sacrificing professional judgment or ethical standards.

Designed for the Apra community, this session emphasizes actionable takeaways, data readiness, governance, and responsible AI adoption aligned with prospect development best practices.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

The Great Portfolio Bake Off: Recipes for Fundraising Success

Emily Allegro, Director, Prospect Development, UNC Charlotte

Andi Marrs, Assistant Director of Prospect Development, UNC Charlotte

The Great Portfolio Bake Off: Recipes for Fundraising Success invites attendees into the fundraising “tent” to explore how UNC Charlotte revamped portfolio reviews using Salesforce dashboards and reports. Inspired by The Great British Bake Off, this session reframes portfolio management as a recipe-driven process that relies on the right mix of prospects, clear expectations, and thoughtful feedback. Attendees will see how shared dashboards function as common recipes for success, how portfolio reviews can be collaborative and low-stress, and how data helps identify challenges like stagnant prospects or imbalanced portfolios before they become bigger issues. Through practical examples, the session demonstrates how a lighthearted but structured approach can strengthen strategy, improve alignment between prospect development and fundraisers, and lead to healthier portfolios overall.

Laying the Groundwork: A Strategic Approach to Early Campaign Planning

Chris Copsey, Assistant Vice President, Prospect Development, UNC Health Foundation

In this presentation, you will learn the basics of how to prepare your organization for a new fundraising campaign. There is more to campaign prep than just a gift table (although, you will learn how to put one of these together as well!), so there will also be discussion on corralling big ideas, working out a campaign pipeline for gift officers, and putting it all together for presentation to a Board or Leadership.

Navigating the Rise of Donor Advised Funds: Insights, Trends & Prospect Research Strategies

Melissa Bank Stepno, President & CEO, Helen Brown Group

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) are in rapid growth mode, so much so that they are reshaping the philanthropic landscape. Beyond changing how donors give, there are prospect research and operational considerations for us to consider as well. This session explores DAF mechanics, growth drivers, the latest research and trends, and then provides an actionable checklist to help your team refine prospect identification techniques, surface DAF giving opportunities, and inform fundraising strategy.

Prospect Development as Agents of Ethical Organizational Change

Adrienne Robertson, Senior Prospect Research Consultant, Virginia Commonwealth University

While traditional Due Diligence focuses on financial and reputational risk, VCU has expanded its scope to prioritize the safety and well-being of the staff themselves. As part of a CASE award-winning initiative, VCU’s Prospect Development and Advancement Solutions teams now proactively document and track interactions with outside stakeholders that pose a threat of interpersonal harm to VCU staff. This session uses VCU’s Constituent Review Committee as a case study for how advancement professionals can manage up and champion ethical frameworks that protect colleagues from harassment, discrimination, or unsafe professional environments.

The presentation will detail the development of this program, identifying the institutional gaps it fills and the best practices for documentation. Following the case study, attendees will participate in an interactive breakout session to navigate real-world ethical dilemmas involving donor behavior and staff safety. We will conclude by discussing how prioritizing interpersonal safety aligns with APRA’s upcoming relationship acceptance guidelines, empowering attendees to return to their institutions as advocates for a safer, more ethical workplace.

Transplanting Expertise: How PD Thrives in New Institutional Soil

Rachael Walker, Donor Strategy Manager, St. Luke's Health Foundation

Merissa Lawson, Prospect Development Manager, National Parks Conservation Association

Lauren Woodring, Associate Director, High Net Worth, Yale University

In prospect development, you may spend your whole career in one sector - or you may move around. Three industry veterans will discuss their recent transplants from many years in one nonprofit sector to another. Merissa Lawson from higher ed to cause-based; Rachel Walker from higher ed to healthcare; and Lauren Woodring from arts to higher ed. You'll hear about what transfers, what changes, and how to root yourself in a new role.

When Change Becomes How We Work: Shifting from Announcing Change to Leading Change

Lindsey Nadeau, VP, Philanthropy Insight, UNICEF USA

Most change initiatives don’t fail because the change itself is wrong. They fail because execution doesn’t account for how people actually work or how leaders often talk about change. Too often, change is framed as something that can be announced and adopted, rather than something that must be absorbed, practiced, and sustained over time. If you’re trying to change the way people work, the change has to work for them. And leaders have to understand what change management actually requires.

Whether launching an integrated ask pipeline, gift officer onboarding, or gift de-restriction policies, leaders frequently underestimate the cultural, operational, and emotional dimensions of change. In complex fundraising organizations, multiple changes often occur simultaneously, compounding the strain on staff capacity and focus. Successfully leading change therefore requires not just managing down, but managing up to help leaders see the full scope of what change demands and why clear prioritization, pacing, and support matter.

Drawing on case studies from across prospect development and fundraising, this session examines the moments when change accelerates alignment or derails it. Attendees will be introduced to the ADKAR change management framework and explore how timing, communication, incentives, and shared ownership influence outcomes. The session also offers practical strategies for engaging leadership in more realistic conversations about change, including how to surface risks, advocate for bandwidth, and spot early warning signs before change fatigue sets in. This session is designed for professionals who want change that lasts, not just launches.

MINI SESSIONS

Change Management on the Fly

Sarah Daly, Senior Director of Prospect Development and Information Systems, PBS Foundation

The philanthropy sector is facing critical challenges right now. With increasing demand for services and changes to federal funding, regulations, and institutions, many of us are scrambling to keep up. Let's look at some top Change Management practices and talk about your approach to change in this highly participatory session.

Planned Giving Prospecting: Where Data Meets the Road

Jenny Alstad, Senior Director, Prospect Development & Strategy, College of Charleston

In this session, Jenny Alstad, Senior Director of Prospect Development & Strategy at the College of Charleston, shares her approach to identifying transformative planned giving prospects by blending data-driven methods with insights directly from her frontline team of officers. Attendees will learn how to move beyond conventional segmentation such as lifetime giving and recent gifts. By combining quantitative patterns with qualitative insights, this presentation shows how curiosity and strategy can come together to elevate planned giving efforts, uncover hidden prospects, and inspire transformational support.

More information on additional full and mini sessions will be announced very soon!

ROUNDTABLES

Due Diligence Tools

Janelle Wilson, Associate Director of Prospect Research, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Join fellow prospect researchers for a lively, practical roundtable on our favorite due diligence research tools and sites, both free and paid, and how to use them effectively. We'll compare go-to sources, share smart search approaches and workflows, and trade tips for getting better results faster. Expect an engaging, peer-driven discussion with real-world examples, tips and tricks you can apply immediately, and plenty of takeaways to strengthen your process. Whether you're building your first profile or refining an established approach, this is a great chance to connect with peers, swap strategies, and strengthen your day-to-day research toolkit.