Conference Sessions & Speakers

Partners, Not Police: Supporting Frontline Performance with Data Insights

Fundraisers need clarity, not surveillance, to be successful. In this session, we’ll explore how prospect development can support gift officer performance with data and insights that build trust and keep prospects moving. We’ll cover how to recommend performance metrics and activity expectations that maintain focus, design reporting that prompts action, and use data to guide rather than criticize. We’ll also clearly define the differences between our role and the role of a gift officer’s manager in compliance and accountability to help you navigate this often-sticky “gray area.” You’ll leave with new approaches to position your prospect development shop as a true partner in frontline success.

Catherine Flaatten, MPH, CFRE

Associate Vice President of Prospect Development, BWF; President-elect, Apra International

Catherine Flaatten, MPH, CFRE, is the associate vice president of prospect development at BWF, where she advises nonprofit clients on building and strengthening programs in prospect research, management, and analytics. Her consulting is grounded in past practitioner experience at The George Washington University, Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry, the National Psoriasis Foundation, and the BrightFocus Foundation.

As an industry leader, Catherine currently serves as the president-elect of Apra International. She has previously held numerous volunteer leadership roles with Apra International, Apra Metro DC, and aasp. Catherine is a frequent presenter and author in the field, and her expertise has been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Her contributions aim to position prospect development as a strategic driver of fundraising success and strengthen the profession through knowledge-sharing and advocacy.

Catherine earned both her BA in International Affairs and her MPH in Maternal and Child Health from The George Washington University. She resides with her partner and their cat in the Chicago suburbs.

From Blank Page to Briefing: A Live Prospect Research Sprint

Prospect research doesn't have to mean hours buried in Google, LinkedIn, and 990s. In this session, we'll show what it looks like to go from a blank page to a client-ready briefing in real time - live, no cuts, using real-life examples from our clients.

We'll open with a quick overview of DonorAtlas, the AI-native prospect research platform, and how it pulls data from across the open web, cited sources, relationship mapping, and instant dossiers into one workflow. Then the audience takes over: you'll vote on which real-world scenario we tackle live, choosing from six situations pulled straight from the trenches of advancement work, including:

-A briefing due tonight for a CDO

-Building a prospect list on an extra day tacked onto a conference trip

-Surfacing 30 capital-campaign-ready names for a Dean and chief of staff

-Vetting real relationship connections for a new board member

-Turning a donor event into a qualified prospect pipeline

-Identifying the right people to build a relationship with at a funding foundation

Whichever scenario the room picks, we'll work through it live using DonorAtlas - start to finish - so the room can see exactly how AI-assisted research changes the pace and depth of prospect development work.

Connor Giresi

Enterprise Account Executive, DonorAtlas

Connor Giresi is the Enterprise Account Executive at DonorAtlas, the first prospect research tool built from the ground up with AI. His fundraising journey began at fourteen when he raised his first dollar. After studying at the University of Georgia and working in fundraising throughout his studies, Connor joined DonorAtlas to help scale a new generation of AI-powered tools for development teams. In just two years, DonorAtlas has partnered with hundreds of fundraising institutions to dramatically accelerate donor research workflows, and the team’s vision for the future of AI-powered philanthropy is only beginning to unfold.

A Comprehensive Approach for Estimating Future Fundraising

Many organizations face the challenge of estimating future fundraising performance, whether for the next year, the next five years, or the duration of a campaign. Traditionally, organizations may rely on simple growth assumptions that apply a consistent year-over-year increase to historical giving. Others may use more sophisticated forecasting techniques but apply the same methodology across the entire giving pyramid, overlooking important differences in donor behavior and fundraising potential across giving levels.

In this presentation, we will explore a different approach: forecasting each component of the giving pyramid independently using methods tailored to the characteristics of each donor cohort. We will discuss a range of techniques—from straightforward trend-based projections to advanced predictive and simulation models—and demonstrate how approaching each component of the giving pyramid separately can produce more realistic and actionable estimates of future fundraising potential.

John Sammis

Executive Vice President, Data Analytics , CCS Fundraising

John Sammis, Executive Vice President, Data Analytics, brings more than 30 years of experience with statistical analysis and predictive modeling. He has devoted more than 10 years of his career to charities, universities, hospitals and other nonprofit institutions, helping them produce models and use the results to achieve their fundraising goals.

Before working with CCS, John ran a statistics software company where he helped design innovative interactive statistics software packages and a suite of asynchronous introductory statistics courses. During this time John provided statistical consulting to companies in the aerospace, automative, insurance and healthcare industries.​

At CCS, John helps philanthropy and fundraising professionals apply leading-edge data analytics tools to address specific organizational objectives. He is constantly reviewing the latest statistics tools and innovations to ensure that CCS applies the best approach for each constituent.​

John is an expert in the areas of exploratory data analysis, interactive model building, model diagnostics and data vetting and cleaning. He has a BS in chemical engineering from Clarkson University and an MBA from Cornell University.​

Key clients include: Villanova, MIT, Baptist Health Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Public Radio, ProPublica, University of San Diego​.

X Marks the Spot: Discovering Hidden Treasure with Power BI

Avast, me hearties! What if your discovery pool could become a treasure map, showing not only who is out there, but who to prioritize and what outreach traps may be lying in wait? By combining unassigned prospects, active portfolios, interactive mapping, and custom filtering in Power BI, scattered data can be turned into a strategic tool for travel planning, prospect strategy, and portfolio management.

Building on experience gained through creating a proposal pipeline dashboard, this presentation will chart the course from idea to implementation, including how the project was planned, developed, tested, and refined. Along the way, we’ll explore how mapping, filters, and automated reporting can help fundraisers navigate their portfolios, uncover gaps in contact, target outreach, and make better use of the discovery pool at large. Yarrr, there be treasure in the data!

Janelle Wilson, M.A.

Associate Director of Prospect Research, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Janelle Wilson, M.A., is Associate Director of Prospect Research at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where she has worked in prospect development for the past four years. Her work focuses on prospect research, due diligence, and data analytics, with an emphasis on developing tools and insights that support fundraiser strategy and prospect engagement.

Prior to moving into prospect development, she spent eight years in gift processing, where she managed the Foundation’s automatic giving program. She holds a B.S. in Anthropology and Archaeology from James Madison University and an M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Human Edge: Why EQ Matters More Than Ever in the Age of AI

AI can identify prospects, summarize reports, draft communications, and analyze data in seconds. So what happens when everyone has access to the same technology?

The answer isn't better prompts. It's better people.

In this session, we'll explore why emotional intelligence, curiosity, confidence, and human judgment are becoming the most valuable skills in prospect development. Through practical examples and everyday workplace scenarios, attendees will learn how to build trust with stakeholders, communicate research and recommendations with confidence, respond thoughtfully under pressure, and help their organizations separate AI hype from real-world impact.

Attendees will leave with practical habits, perspectives, and tools they can immediately apply to strengthen emotional intelligence, build stronger stakeholder relationships, navigate AI-driven change, and increase their effectiveness as prospect development professionals.

Jason Mauer

Director of Enterprise Sales, EverTrue

Weaving a Holistic Tapestry: Following the Threads of Challenge and Opportunity in Prospect Identification and Portfolio Optimization

How do we adapt prospect research and relationship management approaches within the evolving philanthropic landscape? While giving patterns change due to myriad factors, past giving data becomes harder to source. The trend of wealth and giving concentrating among fewer donors persists and deepens, and gift officers continue to engage with their portfolios differently than pre-pandemic. In this setting, proactive yet responsive prospect development is more than a differentiator - it’s essential. At the same time, prospect researchers and relationship management professionals face both challenges and opportunities while working to identify philanthropic potential and build sustained support through portfolio strategy. 

During our inaugural Apra DC-MD Fall Conference, join us for a conversation with industry leaders about evolving patterns in prospect research and portfolio management across subject areas in our region. Our experienced panelists will examine the warp and weft of prospecting and prioritization through the lens of supporting organizations spanning media, education, and humanitarian aid. Attendees will take away ideas on how to approach the responsibilities they tackle at their organizations every day.

Panelists:

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

David Hall, Director of Pipeline Development, USA for UNHCR

Lauren Helms, Prospect Management Specialist, Maryland Food Bank

Laura Simpkins, Director of Prospect Development, Howard University

Panel Moderators:

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

Tori French, Senior Associate, Prospect Research and Portfolio Management, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Closing Keynote: From Insight To Influence

Prospect development professionals generate powerful research, analysis, and strategy, but insight alone does not create lasting change. In this closing keynote, Lindsey will connect the dots between translating expertise into influence, building trust across teams, and generating organizational movement from knowing to doing.

Lindsey Nadeau

Vice President of Philanthropy Insight, UNICEF USA; President, Apra International

Lindsey Nadeau is the Vice President of Philanthropy Insight at UNICEF USA, where she guides Philanthropy toward data-driven decision-making and automation across prospect development, database management, analytics, gift processing, record management, donor relations, and strategy and operations. She previously held roles at The George Washington University, the Center for American Progress, The American University, and Public Citizen.

Lindsey is President of Apra International, a member of CCS Fundraising’s Analytics Advisory Board, and an instructor of Relationship Management: Data, Policy, & Insight at Rice University’s Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. Lindsey holds a BA in economics from The American University and resides in Reston, Virginia, as an equestrian, wife of a winemaker, and mom to Adeline (7).