Prospect Management Policy

Prospect Ma

Home | Contact Us | A to Z Index | Search

Approval Date: October 21, 2011


Go to:	[Overview]	[Purpose]	[POLICY]	[DEFINITIONS]	[RELATED LINKS]
This document is the parent policy for any associated procedures or appendices. Questions regarding this policy should be addressed to the Office of Administrative Responsibility.

Prospect Management Policy

Office of Accountability:	Office of Advancement
Office of Administrative Responsibility:	Office of Advancement Services
Approver:	Board of Governors (University Relations Committee)
Scope:	Compliance with University policy extends to all members of the University community.

Overview

The Board of Governors of the University of Alberta is accountable for the effective and efficient stewardship of University funds. The University operates under the authority of the Post-Secondary Learning Act, Statutes of Alberta. The University of Alberta is a registered charity.

Purpose

The purpose of the Prospect Management Policy is to guide the overall fund-raising efforts of the University of Alberta by promoting proactive and interactive strategic fund-raising. It is designed to help members of the Advancement community (professionals in fund-raising and alumni relations) perform at high levels of excellence while respecting, first and foremost, benefits to the University and donors’ choices to support the area(s) of their greatest interest. It is neither a “prospect ownership system” nor a policy designed to restrict the activities of fund-raisers. Specifically it is designed to:

- Coordinate the management of relationships with current and potential donors to the University.

- Achieve strategic donor contacts and ensure coordinated cultivation and solicitation of current and prospective donors.

- Facilitate the sharing of accurate, timely information University-wide.

- Record, track the progress of, and report on prospective donor relationships to the University of Alberta. Preservation of institutional history and knowledge occurs through Contact Reports, tasks, a central file, and other records.

- Establish and support an active pipeline of potential donors (Prospect Pipeline).

- Foster interaction and communication among Advancement staff members and senior administrators.

- Meet University of Alberta strategic fund-raising goals.

POLICY

The University of Alberta will conduct its relationships with donors and prospective donors within the following:

1. CORE VALUES

The Prospect Management Policy at the University of Alberta has been developed with the following core values:

- Benefits to the University should be maximized in scope, size and relationship regardless of which sector of the University benefits.

- The wishes of the donor are paramount to the activity related to our work.

- Effective prospect management reflects an overarching goal to advance the overall objectives of the University’s strategic plans, while encouraging collaboration, cooperation and participation of all individual units.

- The important roles played by many people over many years in the building of relationships that may result in gifts will be recorded, measured, acknowledged and respected.

- The Prospect Management Policy will be transparent, simple to understand, and respectful to those engaged in building relationships. This Policy will also provide formal structure to guide process; however, it will also ensure that a level of flexibility and responsiveness exists to address unforeseen opportunities.

2. CONFIDENTIALITY

Donor information is subject to public disclosure laws; therefore, discretion must be used when entering contact reports and other donor-related information into Advance, the University’s relationship management database. The University of Alberta Prospect Management Policy is in compliance with the Government of Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act).

3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

As authorized by the Board of Governors, the Chief Advancement Officer is responsible for the administration of the Prospect Management Policy. This responsibility is designated to the Senior Director, Office of Advancement Services. While the policy applies directly to staff who must implement it, the coordination process includes consultation with University officers, deans, directors, key faculty and fund-raising volunteer leadership to determine the most appropriate prospect assignments and solicitation strategies.

In determining the assignment of a donor/prospect to a manager, factors such as a prospect’s giving history, demonstrated or stated areas of interest, degree relationship to the University, and institutional contacts are taken into account. The primary consideration in prospect assignment is the probability of maximizing a donor’s engagement in support of one or more of the University’s priorities. To achieve this, assignments may change with time. The materiality of the relationship between a current and/or prospective donor and their areas of interest within the University will be key to sustained and significant success.

DEFINITIONS


Any definitions listed in the following table apply to this document only with no implied or intended institution-wide use. [▲Top]
Prospect	A prospect is a donor or prospective donor to the University of Alberta. A prospect may be an individual, corporation or foundation.