2007 Ann Castle Award Recipient: Elizabeth Crabtree

Elizabeth Crabtree, Director of Prospect Development at Brown University, is the recipient of the sixth annual Ann Castle Award.  In her position at Brown, she manages a team of professionals that provide advice, counsel and analytical support to several areas critical to Brown’s fundraising effort, including:  campaign planning and management, prospect identification and research, data mining, modeling and market research, and relationship management.  Elizabeth is a member of the board of directors for the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA), where she serves as Vice President of Education and Professional Development and chaired APRA’s 2005 and 2006 International Conferences.  Elizabeth is also a member of AFP, CASE, and NEDRA, and is a frequent, nationally recognized speaker and philanthropy and nonprofit research consultant.  As the founder of givingresearch.com, Elizabeth is creating a website to share resources, techniques and best practices related to understanding wealth, philanthropy and fundraising research, which is due to launch in the near future.

Previously Elizabeth held senior development positions with Northern Illinois University, Benedictine University, College of DuPage and the Digital Schoolhouse Foundation.  Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Elizabeth spent eight years working as a marketing director and senior analyst in the consumer products and manufacturing industries and six years in arts management as a talent/music agent.   Her expertise spans the areas of corporate, foundation and government relations, marketing and business development, communications, and program and volunteer management.

Elizabeth is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and is currently an Executive M.A. candidate in the Philanthropic Studies program at Indiana University.

Elizabeth Crabtree embodies the spirit of the Ann Castle Award.  Elizabeth is very generous to the research community, giving of her expertise, guidance, and her wealth of resources that she has created through her professional experiences, and her research on the world of philanthropy.  She has given much to the profession, and to both NEDRA and APRA.  She is a speaker at many conferences and workshops, often given pro-bono, and is a mentor and advisor to all in the research profession.  Elizabeth’s vision, accompanied by her intelligence and warmth make her an outstanding leader in the development field. The NEDRA Board and nominating committee are pleased to recognize Elizabeth Crabtree with this prestigious award.