Calendar of Past Events from 2004-2005:

Prospect Management Reporting

Date: April 28, 2005
Location: 163 Williams Street, 12th Floor, Room 1235
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Speaker: Jon Thorsen
Senior Director of Development - American Red Cross

Prospect management reporting is an essential component in measuring fundraising progress. With the development and implementation of relationship management programs, fundraisers are paying more attention than ever before to important measurement factors. Effective prospect management reports can help fundraisers and management track accountability and performance, maximize available resources (people and contacts), use time more efficiently, set targets, project revenue and establish reasonable fundraising goals. Data-driven decision making also offers an ideal opportunity for positioning the research office as a strategic development partner.

This session will focus on the elements necessary to produce effective reports and the role Research can play in the reporting and evaluation processes.

Jon Thorsen is the senior director for Development Resources at American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, DC. In this position, he oversees development research, prospect management, grants administration, and donor recognition and stewardship. He earned his BA and MLIS degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and worked as a college librarian and instructor before entering the development field in 1987. He previously served as director of Development Research at Princeton University during a comprehensive campaign that raised over a billion dollars.

Jon was president of the Chicago-area chapter of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement from 1990 through 1992, and a board member of APRA International from 1992 through 1998, including three years as APRA president. He received the APRA Service Award in 1999. Jon has taught sessions at local and national conferences of APRA, CASE and AFP. His articles on the development profession have appeared in such journals as APRA's Connections, CASE Currents, Foundation Giving Watch, The Funding Connection and The Non-Profit Times, and he is the author of the Internet column Up to Speed:Trends, Events & Issues in Development Research.