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From the
President:
Welcome and thank
you for stopping by the Indiana Chapter of APRA (APRA-IN) website!
Please take some time and explore its content and be sure to let us
know what you think.
The APRA-IN
chapter was the first APRA state chapter, founded in 1988.
Celebrating our 20th anniversary, we find ourselves over
100 members. Our members are located all over the state of Indiana
(including several APRA International members from the states of
Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky who call APRA-IN their state chapter).
Our members represent over 55 different institutions, ranging from
higher education, arts and civic organizations, to health and human
services.
Each year, in
support of our mission “to foster professional development and
career growth, and to promote standards that enhance the expertise
of its members”, the chapter hosts educational and networking events
throughout the year. We offer four major state-wide events held
once in each of the spring, summer, fall and winter. These vary
from workshops spanning lunch to full-day conferences and include
content designed for every level of experience and expertise. Our
events feature national speakers on current and emerging topics as
well as our own members sharing their knowledge and experience. To
that end, we are always looking for ideas on topics that matter to
you and, of course, would be thrilled to have you volunteer your
time and energies on an event planning committee. If you are
interested in helping, please don’t hesitate to contact any of our
board members.
In addition to
our own events, several of our larger organizations are often
willing to host members (at no cost) at their sites for APRA
international “webinars” (check this website or with board members
if you are interested or looking for a place to attend). At APRA
International Conferences, Indiana members will often arrange a
dinner out or other group gatherings. If you are planning to attend
this year’s APRA International Conference in Denver, look for
information about such gatherings.
Each year, we
also have a number of our members who are new to the field of
research and new to APRA. We are proud to offer a mentoring program
to support our members who are new to the field. The mentoring
program includes two related components. First, each year we offer
– free to APRA-IN members (a nominal fee is charged to non-members)
– our Basic Skills Workshop. Designed for professionals with two
(2) years or less experience, the workshop is presented by seasoned
veterans within the Indiana membership and contains practical
applications and topics to get you up and running fast. This year’s
workshop will include even more hands-on exercise and case study
content. In addition to the workshop, our chapter is known for our
Mentoring Program. The program pairs new professionals with
veterans (based on institution type, size and geographic location)
and encourages a continuing one-on-one dialog for advice, guidance
and learning as issues and questions arise in “real time”. If you
are interested attending the workshop, being paired with a veteran
professional or if you would like to offer your expertise as a
mentor, please contact Kay Farrell at Purdue University who serves
as our Mentoring Chair.
APRA Indiana
events are the perfect place to learn, grow and increase your
professional network. Our events are open to members and
non-members. Members of APRA International who live or work in the
state are automatically considered members of APRA-IN and all
APRA-International members are welcome to participate in our events
at member rates. For our professionals representing organizations
with limited resources, we offer a state-level membership at an
affordable annual dues rate. Although our state-only members are
not recognized by APRA International, many have joined as a
cost-effective alternative to take advantage of our state chapter
events and activities. We encourage all development professionals in
the state of Indiana, either working in or interested in the field
of prospect research, to join APRA-IN! If you are in need of
financial assistance, check out our local conference scholarships
and our International Conference Scholarship. Please note these are
available to members only.
Our board and
volunteers are constantly working to enhance, improve and advance
the field of prospect research and to increase the value of APRA and
APRA-IN to our members. I encourage you to check this site
regularly for updated information about upcoming events and other
chapter activities that may be of interest to you. All along the
way, if you have any questions at all, I encourage you to contact me
or any of our board members (listed on our “Board Members” page).
We are more than happy to help in any way we can.
I sincerely hope
that you will take full advantage of everything offered by APRA-IN.
The fundamental value
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provided by all
of our events and offerings is the opportunity to network with peers
and to share with and learn from each other. Of course, we would
love to have you volunteer with an event or project.
On behalf of our
entire board and our membership, I look forward to meeting you at an
APRA-IN event soon!
Augie Freda
President, APRA-IN
Director, Development Research
University of Notre Dame |
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