Prospect Research Manager

Reports to:

Associate Director, Prospect Management

Department:
Philanthropy Operations

Status:
Full-Time/Exempt

Central Park is one of the world's most famous and beloved public spaces. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1858, the 843-acre Park was the country's first purpose-built public park and is a National Historic Landmark and a New York Scenic Landmark. The Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization, was founded in 1980 to rescue the Park, which had fallen into serious disrepair.

Since then, the Conservancy has overseen the investment of over $1.6 billion in the restoration of the Park, which now hosts over 40 million visitors a year.

The Conservancy is one of the largest and most successful public private partnerships in New York City and is considered a major civic institution given its impact on the health and vibrancy of both the Park and the City. The Conservancy’s mission is to preserve and celebrate Central Park as a sanctuary from urban life. The City of New York has formally entrusted the care of the Park to the Conservancy which is responsible for every aspect of its care, including landscape maintenance, capital improvements, and the visitor experience.

The Conservancy employs roughly 400 people and has an annual operating budget of $120 million.

Prospect and donor research is the foundation of strategic philanthropy, providing the insights and recommendations to the fundraisers that allows them to make strategic, data-driven and timely decisions; progressing prospects through the donor’s journey in line with organizational priorities. Under the supervision of the Associate Director, Prospect Management, the primary responsibility of the Prospect Research Manager is to manage the day-to-day functions of a growing prospect pipeline.

The Prospect Research Manager will focus on identifying and qualifying donors and use research to inform fundraiser strategy, helping the team reach growing department goals and plan for the longevity of Central Park Conservancy. This position will also work closely with other members of the philanthropy operations team to maintain the integrity and accuracy of donor and prospect data in Raiser’s Edge.

Key responsibilities of this role will include identifying and presenting new prospects or existing donors with increased capacity, researching individual, corporate, and foundation prospects in advance of upcoming meetings or events, monitoring public information for developments on current major donors, and updating and maintaining prospect information in the philanthropy database.

• Write confidential research profiles on donors for meetings and tactical planning
• Identify opportunity within the existing donor base by monitoring incoming gifts, conducting timely capacity checks, and running regular gift reports
• Prepare research on event attendees and facilitate pre-event strategy sessions for fundraisers under the supervision of the Associate Director, Prospect Management
• Monitor news sources and share notable developments of leadership donors and prospects with fundraisers regularly
• Conduct comprehensive research on prospects while utilizing public and subscription-based research tools (iWave, Candid/Foundation Directory, SEC and FEC filings, Lexis Nexis, Rel Pro, Property Shark, etc.)
• Provide background research on donors and prospects to inform the organization’s due diligence and risk-assessment processes
• Maintain integrity of prospect records and document research findings in donor database (Raiser’s Edge and RE NXT)
• Support the Associate Director, Prospect Management with regular portfolio review process and management of fundraiser portfolios
• Coordinate and manage special projects (e.g. electronic screening by vendors, annual scoring projects, etc) and conduct proactive research projects in partnership with the Associate Director, Prospect Management

• 3 – 5 years of experience in nonprofit management, research, public relations, or information sciences
• Prior prospect research experience or related assessments of wealth
• Kn…