Join us from 9am-12pm CT on Wednesday, October 18th and Thursday, October 19th for our 10th Annual Apra North Texas Conference!
In an effort to improve accessibility and outreach to all members and non-members alike, our conference will be hosted virtually through Zoom this year. We hope to see you at our conference this year as we celebrate 10 years together as a chapter.
We'd also like to recognize our partnerships with the Apra-Greater Houston and Apra-Illinois chapters who have been instrumental colleagues and partners to work with.
**EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION EXTENDED TO MONDAY, OCTOBER 2ND.**
Registration closes after Tuesday October 17th.
Thank you to our Conference Sponsors!
Gold
| .png){kind=spacer} |
.png)
Silver
%20(1).png){kind=logo}
Schedule |
Please note that this is subject to change. You can expect the conference to last from 9am-12pm CT on both days.
Wednesday, October 18th - Day One
| 9:00 | Opening Remarks |
| 9:05 | Keynote - Take A Seat: Creating a Spot for Prospect Research at the Table Armando Zumaya, Somos El Poder |
| 10:05 | Enabling Advanced Analytic Tools and Access to Data: Bringing Technology and People Together for Better Analytics Katie Princo and Aron Sage, University of Colorado |
- iWave Sponsor Break - | |
| 11:10 | Networking Activity |
| 12:00 | End of Day One |
Thursday, October 19th - Day Two
| 9:00 | Morning Announcements |
| 9:05 | Prospecting in Indian Country: A Longitudinal Understanding of Tribal Nations in Research Bill Hamm, The University of Oklahoma Foundation |
- Insightful Sponsor Break - | |
| 10:05 | Incorporating Inclusivity Into Capacity Ratings: A Journey and an Exchange of Ideas Emma Aguirre, UNICEF USA |
| 11:00 | What's In A Name: A Historic Journey of Named Spaces Sarah Daly, Diane Kucera, Jill Rogers, Southern Methodist University |
| 12:00 | Closing Remarks |
Conference Sessions & Speakers
Keynote - Take A Seat: Creating a Spot for Prospect Research at the Table
How do we elevate the "cause" of prospect research? Prospect Research is the most powerful tool in fundraising today, yet very few institutions have it, and even those that can access it commonly use it poorly. Prospect Research is also a powerful tool for equity and racial justice, yet it is seldom thought of that way. Too often also prospect research is used to make wealth institutions more wealthy. How do we "democratize" prospect research so it can reach more nonprofits?
| Armando Zumaya, Somos El Poder Armando Zumaya has been in fundraising for 36 years in a variety of roles that have given him a unique perspective on all aspects of development offices, fundraising culture and Latinx in the US nonprofit world. He founded Somos El Poder because of his experiences of his long career in development, his success in teaching fundraising and a deep pride in his Chicano heritage. He is a noted expert on Latino Major Giving and all aspects of fundraising with the Latinx community. He has direct experience raising five, six and seven figure gifts from Latinx. He lectures and writes about the Latinx experience in the nonprofit world. His work includes direct experience raising five, six and seven figure gifts from Latinx in the US. He is an active development officer. He has spent the bulk of his fundraising career as a Major Gift, Leadership Gifts and Annual Fund Officer on two $1+ billion dollar campaigns at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career in 1985 as a canvasser for SANE/FREEZE in Los Angeles and Ithaca N.Y. where he led door to door canvassers in the field for 5 years. He has served in the Vice President of Development, Director of Major Gifts and Chief Development Officer, Annual Fund and Leadership Gift roles. He is well known for his work in teaching prospecting, solicitation, cold calling, major gifts techniques and remote constituency fundraising. He has been a tireless advocate for improving the Prospect Researcher/Fundraiser relationship and creating a prospecting culture inside development teams. He is well reviewed speaker. His session at the 2018 AFP International Conference was one of the few highlighted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's coverage of that conference out of 116 sessions in their April 17th, 2018 issue. Armando has also lectured at APRA, AFP Chapters, AFP Hemispheric, APRA Chapters, BBCON, GIFT, AFP, The Foundation Center, Development Executives Roundtable, CARA, SAWA, MARC, Compass Point, Blackbaud, Forum on Fundraising and Academic Impressions. He has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, APRA Connections, the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, and other publications. He has been widely published including the nationally acclaimed OpEd in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on March 24, 2014 entitled “Give Fundraising Researchers More Influence and More Credit”. He has also been published in the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, Currents (The Magazine of CASE) The Major Gifts Report Fundraising Compass, Bloomerang, Frost on Fundraising and others. He lives in Northern California and is a proud alumnus of the University of California, Riverside and Theodore Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles. |
Enabling Advanced Analytic Tools and Access to Data: Bringing Technology and People Together for Better Analytics
As prospect development professionals, we are often tasked with providing the most relevant insights into data, finding the “best” prospects, informing strategy, and conducting analyses. All of this is based in data – but are we managing this data, these recommendations, these insights as efficiently as we can? How do you as a prospect development professional or other partner provide actionable data? How do you ensure you’re analyzing the “right” things without wasting time? How do you encourage or influence your partners to ask strategic questions and ensure you can efficiently answer? How do you get access to data without needing customized reports or help from other areas of the organization? What data points have consistent definitions, and who decides what those definitions are? How do you tailor work to meet individual needs without overwhelming your team or other teams with personalization for different data? Do you empower gift officers or other partners to do their own research/reporting/analytics? What are the pros/cons of doing so? How do you manage that?
Join Katie Princo, Assistant Director of Research & Analytics, as she delves into the data landscape at the University of Colorado. Though she will share stories and examples, this presentation will focus more on the philosophy and approach rather than pitching one solution or tool, striving to help attendees improve their own approaches to determine what makes the most sense at their organizations.
| Katie Princo, University of Colorado Katie Princo is the Assistant Director of Research & Analytics at the University of Colorado. Her favorite professional projects have included validating data using Python, building an annual parent prospecting pipeline process, completing mini-campaign analyses, and preparing profiles and research on amazing prospects. Before her time in the CU system Advancement office, she worked on the CU Boulder campus as part of the College of Music Advancement team, coordinating in-house research and stewardship and managing two annual giving programs. She received her Master’s in Music Composition from the University of Colorado in 2013 and a Bachelor’s in Music from the University of Michigan. During her non-work time, she enjoys playing piano and organ, cooking, reading, hiking, running, and watching murder mysteries. |
| Aron Sage, University of Colorado Aron Sage is the Assistant Director of Business Intelligence at the University of Colorado. Before their time in this position, they have worked for CU system Advancement Reporting and Research departments as well as a Business Intelligence for the System University Information Services department. They received their Master's in Religious Studies from the Naropa University. During their non-work time, Aron enjoys running, snowboarding, and coaching softball at Lakewood Colorado Gifts Softball. |
Prospecting in Indian Country: A Longitudinal Understanding of Tribal Nations in Research
Tribal nations in the US have long been misunderstood by the general public, so it's no great surprise that myths and questions persist even in the world of philanthropic fundraising. With 574 federally recognized tribes spread throughout the country, tribal nations constitute an overlooked and underutilized prospecting pool for institutional partnership and fundraising. From strategies to identify tribal philanthropic interests and giving capacity to historical and ethical considerations when working with tribes, this session will empower researchers and position institutions to better navigate relationships and fundraising with tribal nations in the US.
Drawing upon the presenter's insights as an Osage tribal citizen and the University of Oklahoma Foundation's long-standing relationships with tribal nations in Oklahoma, attendees will learn about historical and contemporary tribal-federal relations that have economically positioned tribes where they are today, unique legal and business phenomenon that can be leveraged to identify tribal wealth and philanthropic indicators, and ethical and cultural factors that may illuminate pathways to connecting with tribes.
| Bill Hamm, The University of Oklahoma Foundation Bill Hamm is the Director of Prospect Research at the OU Foundation and has worked in prospect development for both OU and its Foundation for 6 years. Previously, Bill was a social worker and grant writer at Pathfinders of Tarrant County in Fort Worth, TX, where he led a second chance mentoring program and developed a veterans mentoring program. He served 8 years in the army reserve and earned a BSW with a minor in Native American Studies and an MSW with a concentration in macro-level and administrative practice, both from OU. |
Incorporating Inclusivity Into Capacity Ratings: A Journey and an Exchange of Ideas
In our ever-evolving world, new challenges are making it more difficult to get an accurate capacity rating for a prospect. With cost of living, inflation, and housing prices on the rise, it's important that our capacity estimates fluctuate along with them. Join us on the journey UUSA is going on to build more flexible, more inclusive capacity estimates. Your thoughts and ideas are invited to help brainstorm solutions on how to tackle the shifting financial landscape.
| Emma Aguirre, UNICEF USA Emma Aguirre is a Manager on the Prospect Intelligence team at UNICEF USA. In her role, she manages the research process for donor events and executive travel and helps strategize new prospect leads for her fundraisers in the Midwest, New York, and New England regions. Emma has also worked in research and prospect management at Texas Tech University, where she worked on the prospecting efforts on a few campaigns as well as helped update data analytics tools. She currently serves as the President of the Apra North Texas chapter for 2023 and has been an Apra member since the start of her prospect development career in 2017. She previously served on Apra's Editorial Advisory Committee. Emma graduated from Texas Tech University with a BA in English and Technical Communication. |
What's In A Name: A Historic Journey of Named Spaces
Honoring donors by naming facilities is a fundamental aspect of philanthropy. However, as time passes, the significance and narratives surrounding these namesakes can diminish. What happens when a building or space is renovated or demolished decades after the name was established? In the absence of a naming rights agreement, it becomes vital to preserve and understand these naming stories. At Southern Methodist University, three teams collaborated, combining the efforts of donor relations, constituent records, and prospect research. Their joint objective was to uncover the forgotten narratives associated with the naming of various spaces and provide informed recommendations to university leadership in preparation for upcoming capital projects. By revealing the lost stories behind each naming, identifying relevant stakeholders, and bridging the past with the present, these colleagues helped the university make well-informed decisions as it looked to the future.
| Sarah Daly, Southern Methodist University Sarah attended her first Apra event in 2002. Since then, Apra has been an important part of her professional life. She has served on several Apra committees and chaired the Conference Planning Committee in 2019. She joined the Apra board in 2019 and is currently serving as Treasurer. She has also been involved with Apra North Texas and AASP. Sarah started her prospect development career as a one-person advancement services shop supporting a public/private capital campaign. She joined Southern Methodist University in 2007 and now leads a team of seven prospect development professionals. This team was instrumental in the success of SMU's Second Century Campaign, which concluded in 2015, and provides strategy for the SMU: Ignited campaign, which aims to raise $1.5 billion. Sarah holds a BFA degree in theatre from Otterbein University and a master's degree in liberal studies from SMU. A passionate supporter of the arts, she sings with Credo Choir Dallas and has been involved with a variety of arts organizations. Sarah is a proud mama bear to two young adults. |
| Diane Kucera, Southern Methodist University Diane Kucera is Director of Records & Gift Administration at Southern Methodist University. Diane's career with SMU began in 1997 as Manager of Constituent Records. Prior to her current role she held positions such as Associate Director of Constituent Records, Manager of Staff Training for Development, and Senior Business Systems Analyst for CRM Customizations. Additionally, Diane played a key role on the database conversion team in both 2000 (PeopleSoft CS) and 2010 (Blackbaud CRM). Diane is a dedicated supporter of SMU Athletics and is looking forward to the 2024-2025 school year when both SMU and her sister's school, Cal, will be uniting in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Diane is a mother to two sons, both of whom attend SMU, and wife to Kyle, who is also an alumnus of SMU. The SMU spirit runs strong in her family, both professionally and personally. |
| Jill Rogers, Southern Methodist University Jill Rogers is the Assistant Director for Naming Opportunities & Recognition on the Donor Relations and Stewardship team at SMU. Jill has been at SMU since 2009 and a member of the donor relations team since 2016. She is responsible for the management of all naming opportunities and recognition across the University and supports the capital project initiatives of SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow campaign, which will raise $1.5 billion. Jill collaborates with fundraisers and leadership during every phase of a capital project, from the valuation of opportunities, management of opportunity inventory during a building campaign, oversight of the production and installation of the physical recognition for each named space, to the eventual retirement of a named space. She has also successfully partnered with the Development Management Services team to expand SMU’s CRM to manage current naming opportunities as well as backloading the system to capture all existing named recognition on campus. |
