I'm a consummate learner. I'm always learning something new and known for sharing what I’ve learned with others. From the practice of law to fundraising and management positions with Southwestern University School of Law, American Heart Association, Colorado Public Radio, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (HQ), and now at Blackbaud as a strategic analytics professional for 15 years, I've been learning about the planned gift donor and the data behind them. Planned gifts aren’t made in a vacuum; the speed of knowledge in our industry is increasing as are the tools we use to identify the best prospects for these gift types. Nothing is the same as it was when I started fundraising in 1989. Today, teams of data scientists combine thousands of bits of information with AI and robust analytics to understand the donors that make planned gifts. Lawrence and I are honored to share what we've found out to help us all better understand the planned gift donor and explore the data behind them.

I am committed to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of fundraising and ancillary programs using data-driven strategies

Lawrence Henze is the Senior Principal Analytics Architect for Blackbaud. During his career at Blackbaud, he has worked with nonprofits, colleges, and universities in both consultative sales and strategic implementation roles to encourage and facilitate the use of predictive analytics and related tools to promote fundraising success.

Before joining Blackbaud, Lawrence founded Core Data Services, a groundbreaking analytics approach to fundraising, in 1998. (Blackbaud purchased Core Data in 2001, creating Blackbaud Analytics). Lawrence’s experience as a development officer at Carroll University (WI), the University of Wisconsin Foundation (Madison), and the University of Dayton provided the understanding and motivation to use statistics to challenge fundraising axioms and create data-driven solutions.