Ohio Prospect Research Network News

New Year, New Ideas

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 14:24:50 GMT

2019 is a year of exciting opportunity for OPRN.

Mark your calendars for the OPRN Conference, May 9-10 in Columbus.
Check out the OPRN Webinar through APRA's Share the Knowledge event. Beth Havens and Regina Alhassan will show us how to turn the top five prospect research mistakes into learning opportunities. Register here.
OPRN is looking for guest bloggers! If you are interested in writing on a topic that is your expertise, or have a topic you'd like to know more about, email us at info@oprn.org.

New Ideas and new opportunities abound at OPRN! Share the opportunity OPRN has to offer with your colleagues and friends. Not only will it be more fun to share events with the people you know, you'll be sharing the opportunity to grow and advance in the Prospect Development profession.

You don't have to be a researcher to be a member! Grant writers, stewardship, small shop fundraisers and others find OPRN a great resource for networking and learning.

Need to renew your membership? Renew here.
Want to share the opportunity to join with a friend? Share this link.

The new board meets in February, and we can't wait to start moving forward in this exciting year. We look forward to partnering with many of you and to share all the great things planned as they unfold in the year ahead.

Here is to a great year of growth and potential!

Call for Volunteers

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 21:32:12 GMT

OPRN needs your help! As we work to increase our regional presence, develop a more robust communication plan, and update our branding, OPRN is looking for volunteers to serve on various committees.

Volunteering is a great way to network with fellow prospect development professionals, and learn more about the industry. If you would like more information or are interested in volunteering, please email us at info@oprn.org

Register for the FREE 2018 APRA PA & OPRN Joint Happy Hour in Pittsburgh at 2018 APRA Conference

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 14:43:08 GMT

We are pleased to announce the 2018 APRA PA & OPRN Joint Happy Hour in Pittsburgh during the APRA Conference!! Drinks and appetizers will be provided. Please register Here.

2018 APRA PA & OPRN Joint Happy Hour
August 9, 2018, 5:30pm
Bistro on Penn (922 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA)
(may show up as Sharp Edge Bistro on Google Maps)
Drinks and appetizers will be provided.

Please register Here

You do not need to be members of OPRN to attend. Please feel free to invite friends from the Ohio, Northern KY and Pennsylvania area. We love new friends!

A special thanks to our sponsor GG+A and to our friends at APRA PA for helping make this event possible.

Congratulations on a great 2018 Spring Conference!

Thu, 10 May 2018 19:44:45 GMT

Conference presentations are available to current members in the "Members-Only" section. Enjoy!

Thank you so much to everyone that attended our 2018 Spring Conference! Also, a special thank you to our presenters, Signature Sponsors - Blackbaud/Target Analytics and Donor Search, and our Scholarship Sponsors - LexisNexis and iWave, for their time and support!

Congratulations to Kelli Clawson, this year's recipient of the Anne E. Mayer Distinguished Service Award, and to James Hess and Laura Weibel, who received Eileen Fitzgerald Conference Scholarships.

Deadline extended for the Anne E. Mayer Distinguished Service Award!

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 16:57:48 GMT

We have extended the deadline for nominations for the Anne E. Mayer Distinguished Service Award to Friday, April 6th. Nominate someone who deserves gratitude for their service today!!: https://goo.gl/4Ftxaa

Alexander W. Oftelie to Keynote 2018 Spring Conference

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 21:39:13 GMT

We're thrilled to welcome Alexander as he provides the keynote on Friday morning. His subject? The Frontier of Fundraising Analytics: Hype or Hope.

#OPRNStrength

2018 Conference Registration is Now Open!

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 17:37:19 GMT

Registration for OPRN's 2018 Spring Conference is now open! Don't miss valuable workshops on Thursday and Friday's keynote from Alexander W. Oftelie, along with other industry professionals!

Present at our 2018 Conference!

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 17:56:32 GMT

OPRN is looking for presenters for the May 3-4, 2018 conference in Columbus, Ohio.

The deadline to apply is November 10, 2017.
Full (75 minute) and mini (30 minute) presentations are welcome on the
full breadth of topics related to the prospect development industry.

Never spoken at a conference before? Don’t worry – everyone starts somewhere, why not start here!

If you have questions or comments, please contact the OPRN Conference Coordinator.

To apply, please visit the Application page at SurveyMonkey.
Please note that nominations are due by November 10th of each year!

OPRN offers three opportunities for you to participate in this year's Chapter Conference:

Present a full presentation (75 minutes)
Offer a mini-presentation (30 minutes)
Lead a roundtable discussion

Topics to Consider:

Metrics and Analytics
Data visualization
Small Shop Tools and Management
Researchers and Major Gift Officers
Data Management
Prospect Research Consulting
Recent Projects
Ohio-specific research trends and/or tools

Conference Registration is Now Open!

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 15:43:51 GMT

Registration for OPRN's 30th Anniversary Spring Conference is now open! Don't miss terrific Thursday workshops by Bond Lammey and Nick Sollog and a can't miss keynote from Josh Birkholz, plus lots more!

Conference Update: Two Thursday Workshops!

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 22:34:07 GMT

We're excited to announce that there will be two Thursday workshops at this year's conference! Registration will open soon and read more about the first workshop below:

Relationship Management: Building the Car while Driving It

As prospect development professionals, we are often tasked with developing and implementing complex systems and processes to make our fundraising programs operate efficiently. Unfortunately, the expectation is generally that we develop and implement these systems simultaneously. What does this mean for establishing a successful relationship management program? In this workshop, Bond will discuss:

The fundamental elements of a strong relationship management program
Tactical steps to enact solid processes based on the tools you have at your organization
Strategies to gain buy-in from senior leadership and development officers

The full session will be three hours, divided into two parts as outlined below.

Part One: What’s in Your Toolkit?
This session will walk through the key elements of a strong relationship management program, will offer some tips to implement any elements that are missing, and will discuss maintenance of a program over time to ensure it will benefit the organization long-term. Participants will be able to assess what relationship management elements they need to add or modify at their organization and will walk away with some resources to aid them in putting it all together.

Part Two: From the Toolkit to Construction
What processes do you have in place to manage portfolios at your organization? Do you actively manage them, reviewing portfolio counts and development officer activities regularly? Do you assess the capacity, inclination, and engagement of currently assigned prospects and look for opportunities to assign and remove prospects proactively? Do you assess the fit of prospects that are assigned by development officer? This session will discuss a variety of techniques and strategies involved in portfolio reviews, rebalances, and optimizations, with examples for shops of all sizes and levels of maturity within their relationship management program.

Bond T. Lammey is a managing associate at Bentz Whaley Flessner specializing in prospect development. Bond’s experience ranges from higher education to academic medicine, large and small social service agencies, and national and local member/cause organizations. Prior to joining BWF, Bond led prospect research efforts at the University of Chicago, where she oversaw the central prospect research team and developed integrated strategies with prospect management, analytics, corporate and foundation relations research, and non-central research teams at the medical center and Booth School of Business.

Bond received her BA in Sociology and her Master of Management in Nonprofit Administration, both from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois. She is on the board of Apra International and has presented in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Asia at CASE, ADRP, AASP, and Apra conferences.

Joshua Birkholz to keynote OPRN’s 2017 Spring Conference

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 21:44:23 GMT

OPRN is excited to announce that Joshua Birkholz will be the keynote speaker for our 2017 conference. Josh is a principal at Bentz Whaley Flessner and an engaging and in-demand speaker. It’s been a few years since Josh has joined us, so we are delighted to have him back for our 30th anniversary celebration!

OPRN’s annual conference will be held April 27-28, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza Columbus. Stay tuned for more details!

Here’s a bit more about Josh:

Joshua M. Birkholz is a principal at Bentz Whaley Flessner, where he oversees consulting in development operations, information systems, prospect development, interactive communications, and analytics. His contributions to the fundraising industry include founding the BWF analytics division, guiding several institutions through billion dollar campaigns, advocating for the integration of data science, and establishing more than 50 in-house analytics programs throughout North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim.

Josh has streamlined fundraising infrastructure, developed performance metrics strategies, and ushered organizational change for leading non-profits in higher education, healthcare, the arts, advocacy, and social service sectors. He is widely regarded as a leading innovator in 21st-century development strategies. And, he is the author of the sought-after book, Fundraising Analytics: Using Data to Guide Strategy.