We are so proud of our Immediate Past President and longtime Apra Carolinas member Beth Inman for her recent accolade as Apra's 2019 Distinguished Service Award recipient. Merissa Lawson, current President of Apra Carolinas, interviewed Beth to learn more about her career and the hard work that went into earning this award.
ML: Congratulations on receiving Apra’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award – what an honor! How did you feel when you were told you were being recognized?
BI: Thank you! I am extremely honored and flattered, I honestly couldn’t believe it when I got the email. I kept re-reading the email to make sure it was my name in the award info! To be recognized in this way for something I have truly enjoyed is amazing and I am so grateful for the professional opportunities and Apra opportunities I’ve had so far in my career. Apra Carolinas is such a great chapter and we have so much potential to engage even more of our colleagues and that’s what has been motivating for me in being involved at the Board level. The Board members I’ve worked with are also remarkable; we do this work outside of our day jobs and still get a lot done for the chapter! I look forward to our Board calls and that says a lot!
ML: So for any of our Apra Carolinas members that don’t know you, let’s chat about your career and what led you to this point. How did you enter the world of prospect research? We all know that it’s generally not a linear path…
BI: My bachelor’s and master’s degrees are in art history and I went to graduate school with the goal of being a curator in an art museum. For the first part of my career, I worked as a curator for a history museum and then as the associate curator of American and decorative art at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. They were both great experiences and I loved my work, but life led me to Charleston, SC and continuing in the museum world wasn’t an option. I landed at The Citadel Foundation in 2007 as the new Chief Development Officer’s executive assistant. That was such a great way to learn the ins and outs of development! I scheduled donor visits for him, accompanied him to meetings with Deans, sat in on meetings with the major gift officers, etc. About a year after I started, I was promoted into the new Director of Development Services position and over the next 3+ years, I created a prospect management program there. In 2011, I moved back to Columbia, SC to be the new Senior Director of Prospect Management & Research Analysis at the University of South Carolina. South Carolina was in the quiet phase of the state’s first $1B capital campaign and didn’t have a formal prospect management program, so I had my work cut out for me! In 2017, after almost 6 ½ years at SC, I accepted the opportunity to be JDRF’s first National Director, Prospect Management. I saw it as a great way to utilize my experience in building higher-ed prospect management programs for a national cause-based organization. My first 18 months have been a whirlwind of learning a new database (Salesforce), learning how development works in such a large organization, learning how to work remotely and it has been amazing!
ML: What do you see as the major differences in the Research field between when you started your career and now?
BI: I know it probably sounds cliché now, but I have seen how data and how to analyze it, how to visualize it, etc. has become more and more important. Development shops no longer can just have researchers churning out profiles when they’re requested. Don’t get me wrong, creating profiles is still very important, but in that work on the teams I’ve managed, I’ve empowered them to ask questions about the request and become a partner in that request; we aren’t just order takers. We can help prioritize all the leads we’ve identified, identify if there are connections between new leads and volunteers, and help with creating strategies. The best development leaders and fundraisers know our value and use it to make the organization more successful.
ML: You’ve been in the profession for over a decade – what keeps you engaged in the work?
BI: In my development career, I have had the fortune of working for 3 fantastic organizations and each one has presented me with unique challenges that keep me engaged in the work. I really enjoy figuring out ways to make the fundraiser’s jobs easier whether that means a new report to help summarize their activities, identifying new prospects, or helping them “tidy up” their portfolios so they can focus on their most important prospects.
ML: Along the way, everyone is encouraged or inspired by a mentor or colleague. Who has helped you become successful and how?
BI: My first boss in development, Terry Mularkey, has been a fantastic mentor and colleague. He helped me learn the ropes of development and was very supportive while I learned prospect development after I was promoted at The Citadel Foundation. Grace Vigilante, Kristin Richardson, Vicki O’Brien, and Lindsay Rogillio are colleagues from whom I have learned a tremendous amount. They have helped me learn more about our profession, how to look at things from a different perspective, and how to be a better leader.
ML: What do you think is your biggest contribution to the profession?
BI: This is a hard one! I had to think about this one a lot and what I came up with are more like nuggets of advice or things to ponder that I’ve learned along the way and told my teams at some point. Things like if you’re struggling with how to address something like a conflict, sleep on it. If getting older has taught me one thing, it’s to think things through before acting. (This helps me at home, too!) In our field, it is really easy to get frustrated with fundraisers or the development leaders in our orgs and most of these are likely really valid frustrations, but a wise manager at some point in my career pointed out to me that the fundraisers don’t get up every morning thinking about the same things I do. To accomplish what I needed to for prospect development, I needed to a) be mindful of all the things they do get up in the mornings thinking about and b) partner with them on how we can help with those things. Our profession is all about the proverbial 2 way street, we need each other to be successful and sometimes prospect development needs to be the driver of that partnership.
ML: How has being a member of Apra International (and Apra Carolinas) helped enrich your career?
BI: Apra, at both the national and chapter level, has played a significant role in my professional journey; I have learned so much about leadership, organization, delegating, conference planning, and even unexpected skills like updating our chapter’s website! I am confident Apra will help me continue to add to this list as I progress in my career!
ML: For someone just starting out in Research, what advice would you give? Is there anything you wish you had known or would do differently?
BI: Well, you know my first answer is to get involved with Apra at the chapter and/or the national level! Seriously, though, it really is a great way to meet colleagues and learn about our profession. Just reading the emails from PRSPCT-L makes you realize how different all of our organizations are but there is always someone out there who is facing the same challenge you are and it is likely you can learn from each other! Something I still have to be mindful of is to be confident in what I ask the fundraisers to do. My first boss at JDRF, Patrick Reedy, called me out on how I approached something I was asking the fundraisers to do when I first started at JDRF. He said I came across like what I was asking them to do was a bother and I was almost apologetic and that wasn’t OK; the work I was doing and what I was asking the fundraisers to do was just as important as everything else they’re doing and I needed to approach as such.
ML: What’s next for you? Do you have any big professional or personal goals you’d like to achieve moving forward?
BI: A very near term goal is to finish the first prospect management policies and procedures document for JDRF, so check back with me at the end of the summer and see how that’s going! A long term goal is to have the opportunity to lead a team that includes prospect development, data analytics, reporting, and records (database updates, uploads, etc.). Prospect development has evolved to need all of these components to truly operate at a high level and to lead a team that incorporates all of these would be incredible.
ML: Congratulations again, Beth! It's fantastic that you're being recognized. We'll be cheering for you at the awards ceremony in Phoenix.
