Prospect Development Analyst

The Tufts University Advancement division (UA) is a comprehensive development and alumni relations enterprise with a staff complement of approximately 200 staff members. Functional units within UA include Development/Fundraising, Alumni Engagement, Stewardship and Donor Relations, Special events, Gift Processing, Research, Prospect Management, Gift Planning, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Information Systems and Management, and Infrastructure Services. UA's mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships with Tufts University's constituents, match donors' interests with the university's needs and priorities, and secure the financial resources necessary for Tufts to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. The division is strongly committed to serving the academic agenda of the university, creating a culture of philanthropy in the extended Tufts community, and pursuing excellence and best practices in its work. Integrity, collegiality, diversity, accountability, mutual trust, and respect for the individual as well as the intentions of our donors are the values that guide the division's work.

The Office of Prospect Development and Strategic Analysis (OPD) gathers and analyzes information on, and facilitates and tracks communication with, the university's current and potential prospects and donors, including individuals, corporations and foundations. OPD is primarily responsible for one of UA's key strategic priorities: the expansion of the university's base of support, which complements the other fundamental priorities of building relationships and raising funds. OPD addresses this need by conducting sophisticated research and analysis, identifying new prospects, and managing the processes of assigning the most promising prospects to development officer portfolios and assessing portfolio performance. OPD is also responsible for maintaining current and accurate information on all prospects and ensuring the AIM database represents UA's full knowledge of prospect-related activity.

The Prospect Development Analyst plays a vital role in advancing Tufts University's fundraising strategy by delivering data-driven insights that maximize the philanthropic potential of the University's prospect base. Working collaboratively with Advancement colleagues, the Analyst will design and execute prospect identification initiatives aimed at significantly expanding and diversifying Tufts' prospect pool, with a particular focus on uncovering new principal gift-level prospects.

The Analyst will prepare comprehensive prospect analyses, profiles, and reports for Advancement staff and University administrators, leveraging a wide range of internal and external research tools and resources. In addition, they will maintain and manage prospect data within the University's advancement database, ensuring the accuracy, consistency, and strategic use of information to support Tufts' fundraising priorities and long-term development goals.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Prospect Research

Reactive Research

• Use broad range of information sources and in-house information to research and identify prospects, with emphasis on uncovering connections between potential funding sources and the needs of the University.
• Collect and analyze relevant information on corporations, foundations, and individuals.
  Interpret financial information from salary surveys, SEC documents, corporate press releases, real estate records, private company data, and other market indicators to assess viability and potential capacity to contribute to Tufts.
• Prepare short biographies and briefs as well as full profiles on corporations, foundations, and individuals.
• Respond to research questions from Tufts staff.
• Proactively facilitate information sharing between UA staff members, gift officers, and research staff on high-level individual prospects and their relationships with the University's corporation and foundation prospects.

Proactive Research

• Proactively screen and identify prospective donors through routine reviews of newspapers, periodicals, and business publications.
• Identify new prospects with specific focus on principal gift level prospects, using a variety of tools, including database mining, published print sources, and electronic media.
• Follow industry trends, rising new fields, promotions, M&A events, IPOs, etc. and update relevant database records.
• Work collaboratively with Advancement staff to understand the specific needs of the unit or constituency, including proactively analyzing data, trends, and giving patterns to facilitate efficiency and helping to organize development efforts, travel, and the management of prospect portfolios.
• Review assigned publications and other resources to uncover current information about higher education, philanthropy, and trends in various constituency fields, and disseminate to appropriate development staff.

Data Management

• Work with colleagues to review and maintain prospect data in the database.
• Participate in the design and implementation of projects that aim at keeping the data dynamic and accurate.
• Provide prospect analysis and strategies to fundraising staff.
• Generate lists and database reports to assist development officers in working with their travel and visit plans.
• Learn, understand, and actively utilize predictive models to effectively determine the most viable prospects.

General Responsibilities

• Attend and participate in development group meetings.
• Participate in organization-wide committees, task forces, or other appropriate groups.
• Keep abreast of new trends, sources, and techniques in prospect research.
• Identify and evaluate, in collaboration with the Research team, new research sources, tools, and publications to determine their viability.
• Evaluate "free" web sources and share results with other researchers.
• When applicable, share prospect research expertise with development officers and admins.
• Develop core competency/expert area to complement the needs of the university and research team.
• Share knowledge through internal training and other opportunities.
• Other projects, as assigned.

Basic Requirements:

• At least 1 year of prospect research or prospect management experience, or have worked in a similar/related role for 1 year
• Bachelor's degree or high school diploma and substantial related experience.
• Familiarity with complex fundraising databases/CRMs. Proficiency in office software, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Incumbent is required to have excellent business and analytical skills.
• They must have good writing and communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with internal staff.
• They should have demonstrated project management skills, good attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize and meet frequent deadlines.
• Candidates should possess effective interpersonal skills necessary to work and collaborate successfully with many different types of people.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of fundraising-related aspects of a research university is highly desired.