A tough economy is hard on every kind of business, but especially so for non-profit organizations. It's up to the foundation or development office to make sure the money is available to advance the organization.
Stacie Haugen, Prospect Management and Research Manager for the Allina Healthcare System, oversees prospect management and research for all 11 foundations that are part of the Allina Healthcare System.
"I help them find potential donors," Haugen said. "I also help them make sure they have the right information on those potential donors, so that we're matching passions."
When Haugen went to North Hennepin Community College, she intended to go into international relations. After transferring to the University of Minnesota, she got a job at the U of M Foundation and started working in development. She discovered that she enjoyed the work, and she's been with it ever since.
She set up the prospect research and prospect management function for Children's Hospitals and Clinics. Leaving for a year and a half helped her realize that health care was her niche, and she came back to Allina in a new position.
"The thing I like about my job is I don't have to ask for money," she said. "The fundraisers are doing that work. I'm on the investigative side -- trying to figure out what people are passionate about, what the organization does that connects to those passions. I'm trying to help the fundraisers talk to the right people and be as efficient as possible."
In the college and university world, alumni lists provide a starting point for investigation. Privacy regulations make that knowledge unavailable for health care foundations, so Haugen has to dig deeper. "I read newspapers. I follow a lot of news sources on Twitter. A lot of the folks that I identify may already be our donors, but maybe haven't found the thing at Allina that they connect with and want to get more involved in, whether it be philanthropically or otherwise. The priorities are always changing -- if you aren't passionate about something today, you could be in a couple of months."
Why is fundraising so important to a nonprofit?