Happy #ResearchPride month everyone!  This month I’m taking a trip down memory lane as I recall how I came across the profession of prospect research in the first place.

I have admitted this before and I’ll admit it again – when I applied for a prospect researcher position in 2009 after completing my Masters of Arts degree I had no idea what a prospect researcher actually did. If I’m being perfectly honest I was drawn by the word “research” and the fact that the job was at a private school in Winnipeg that I had a lot of respect for.

Back in 2009 history (and in effect, research) had been my life for almost a decade.  I enrolled at the University of Manitoba in 1999 and as an undergraduate I quickly abandoned my plan to become an English teacher.  Instead I took as many History classes as possible.  Medieval, Russian, Canadian, Greek and European, I took them all.  I had spent years as a Grader/Marker and as a Research Assistant for two of my most admired professors.  Most recently I had been fully immersed in my thesis for five long years.  Very enjoyable years mind you, but sometimes it felt like that thesis would never be completed!  For my thesis I had the privilege of recording oral histories from women who had immigrated to Canada from Germany after the Second World War.  I then used that information to discuss whether or not living in Canada had allowed them to come to terms with their German pasts.  I will never forget those interviews or the women who allowed me into their lives.

While I completed my thesis I worked full time for the Provincial Government.  Even back then my job included research as I researched securities companies in Manitoba.  I knew that wasn’t my forever job and I was disinclined to start my PhD.  I wasn’t sure what my next step was until one day it came to me in the form of a Winnipeg Free Press job advertisement.  “Prospect Research Specialist” the title read.  If I didn’t know what prospect research was I don’t know how 20-something me thought I could be a specialist in it, but I’m glad I did.  After reading the ad I must have thought I had the right qualifications and enough research skills.  Human resources must have thought so too because I managed to secure an interview that went well.  After the interview it was time for my “test”, which was to complete a profile for a prominent Winnipegger.  I really wish that today I had access to that first “profile” I ever created.  I know I included a lot of useful information (all in bullet form) but I definitely missed a lot too.  I will forever remain grateful that they saw something in that wealth of information and took a chance on me.

I am also very thankful for and proud of the many prospect researchers across Canada and the United States who assisted as I navigated my way through those first couple of years.  And as the role of prospect researchers evolve I am thankful for those who continue to inspire and enlighten me.  As a new prospect researcher the research skills I had perfected as an undergraduate and graduate student served me well.  However, I learned so much about fundraising and the role of prospect research in those first years.  The APRA Canada mentorship program was a lifesaver. If you’re new to prospect research be sure to check the program out, and don’t forget that the APRA Canada Conference is taking place in 2018!  Jenn Walton started out as my mentor many years ago and provided me with great information and tips.  She also provided me with a sense of belonging to a fantastic community.    Those get-togethers with our tiny community of prospect researchers in Winnipeg (and I do mean tiny!!) were enlightening and made me feel like I was on the right path.

The PRSPCT-L is another unique part of the prospect research community.  I posted so many questions that first year (and in the years following) and have received so many fantastic and helpful responses.  How many other professions out there have complete strangers giving advice to those in the same roles across North America?  It is both remarkable and inspiring.  Prospect researchers are truly remarkable people and have created such a wonderful community.  It is a community that is truly unique, helpful, and inspiring. And it is a community that I am so proud to be a part of.