Data, Research, and Values – Storytelling in Prospect Development
Dear Diary,
In 2018, I wrote about The Traits of a Storyteller in an entry that married prospect development professionals and the known terminology of storytelling. Through that post, I wanted to know if fellow colleagues far and wide would consider themselves as storytellers. In this post, 6 years later, I thought it was time to revisit the topic and expand on it through an interview with a prospect development professional and storyteller, Shika.
Thank you, Shika, for allowing us to beautifully learn with you, and from you. You truly are a storyteller.
Q: What makes a prospect development professional a storyteller?
Shika: A good story comprises equal parts compelling characters, a gripping plot, and an unforgettable twist near the end. Prospect development professionals are excellent storytellers. Our prospect management and data analytics colleagues point organizations toward the most compelling characters (read: donors). They can identify an organization’s future mid-level, principal, legacy donors, and much more. Prospect researchers gather the necessary intelligence on characters (read: donors) and use those details to complete a great first draft (read: donor profile). And finally, gift officers use and edit what’s been compiled when they meet donors and draft a final version of the novel (read: solicitation strategy). The storytelling conducted in the fundraising sector is circular. It involves many professionals; some use Zoom, whether on their desktop computers or laptops, while others use a cell phone or tablet, and others conduct in-person conversations, but their common driving force is to tell the best story possible.
Q: What has shifted in our data and research today versus five years ago? What stories should we be telling today that we did not share five years ago?
Shika: I began in this industry when dinosaurs first roamed the Earth and men lived in caves (LOL). So many, many things have changed since then. There was a time when only those with .edu email addresses could have Facebook profiles and when only those with verified check marks from a social media platform could use the Live (video feed) function. Now, anyone in the world with any smart device, internet connectivity, and reasonable investigative skills can find and reconnect with lost friends (looking at you Facebook and LinkedIn), look up and get salary information for most public workers in many states, see the most recent purchase price of a property and its value (looking at you Zillow.com), access financial details for the top five highest salaried persons working at a publicly traded company (looking at you sec.gov), and much more. Those examples are data that are not hidden behind paywalls. Raw, unfiltered data is everywhere, and the sheer available volume is astounding.
The next big questions for prospect development professionals should be how to ethically access and consume the raw data, what next steps one should take with the raw data, and how to translate raw data’s untapped power into short- and long-term actionable strategies! With a fully fleshed-out process for handling raw data, the stories our industry tells (including those still left to be written) will remain accurate, up-to-date, and vibrant. This vibrancy that I mentioned must include stories about characters (read: donors) who are diverse. I would encourage my fellow prospect research development colleagues to make it their responsibility to prioritize building prospect pools that celebrates diversity!
Q: Shika, thank you for elaborating on how connected we are now versus five years ago. Information is truly at our finger tips. How far can we evolve in information sharing? Can we expect a diverse prospect pool to be what catapults our stories and organizational stories? When stories reflect user-experience and community, it is expansive and can really bring-in more support. What are your thoughts on this statement, and can this be our future?
Shika: You’ve posed an interesting and layered question. For the sake of time, I'll address the diversity aspect of your question because diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is near and dear to me. A diverse prospect pool will not materialize out of thin air. The organization’s priority has to be diversity! This priority includes hiring/recruiting/retaining diverse fundraising and prospect development professionals, seeking out and attracting diverse board candidates, and sifting through an organization’s database for ways to inject diversity into a gift officer’s portfolio, among other activities. Organizations must ensure that their culture promotes a work/life balance, offers professional advancement opportunities that don’t stifle growth, exercises fair and equitable compensation practices, and invests in its commitment to DEIB. I believe that once the organization shows its long-term commitment to DEIB principles as it relates to its staff, then it becomes natural for all its employees to search for and be willing to tell stories about global audiences whose accents may be dissimilar, whose culture may be different, whose complexion may be distinct, and yet are committed to the organization's mission and are philanthropic.
Q: What is the relationship between values, data, and fundraising when writing a paragraph or profile on a prospect?
Shika: This is a topic I’ve always considered, even before the advent of so much data being available. For instance, simply because there was an article in the newspaper about how a donor treated their former business partner that ended their business relationship, does a gift officer need that piece of information? Should prospect researchers raise awareness about the donor’s unpleasant, but not illegal, character traits? In the year of 2023, I say yes. However, there is a disclaimer I must insert. Suppose the organization’s leadership deems character nuances that I posed in my example as “getting in the weeds” (read: an organization still wants the donor’s philanthropic support despite any gray morality issues revealed in the article). The prospect researcher must adhere to the organization’s business practice (and may need to consider finding a job that aligns with their personal values).
Values and data are very tricky. Religious, economic, family, etc. values aren’t the same from person to person. As they shouldn’t be because each person is unique. Given that fact, to help everyone in the organization, a due diligence policy should be created and shared throughout the organization. This will help prospect researchers become keen on activities in the donor’s history that violate the organization’s policy or could potentially diminish the organization’s reputation.
Q: Recently, you joined a new organization and role at a healthcare-based organization. How do you plan on telling stories regarding your prospects and donor base? Will your fundraisers have a role to play?
Shika: Allow me a moment of transparency, and I request the reader’s grace as I may stumble in my answer. As you shared, I recently transitioned from a long tenure at a higher education institution. I am still settling into my role at my new employer who operates in the healthcare space but is also a higher education institution with an alumni base because it’s a medical school. However, while I worked for my former employer, I hungered to do “more” though I didn’t know what “more” should entail. So, I began a job search. Fast forward a few months, and I learned that I was the final candidate for my current employer. Can I tell you how quickly those nerves crept up on me? We’re all researchers, right? So, I used trusty Google to help me out. And phrases like grateful patient program and the HIPAA law popped up and seemed daunting. But can I share something else? While a few of the terminologies differ from the type of organizations within the non-profit space, the heart of the work is all the same. Chief among a prospect researcher’s job is identifying donor-partners who will promote the organization’s mission to those they know and are philanthropic supporters.
The stories written about donors are tweaked from organization to organization. Some organizations have a limited budget with only a few tools at their disposal and others may have a larger budget with a lot of fancy research tools. At the end of the workday, everyone is part and parcel of the storytelling process. Gift processors, executive assistants, data entry professionals, prospect researchers, data analytics team members, prospect management/relationship colleagues, gift officers, etc. play a vital role in fundraising. As I maintain, the act of solicitation is a circular one and involves many faces and hands.
Until next time, May 15th!
