John Zajc, Prospect Researcher, Hospice of the Western Reserve

How did you get into fundraising and/or prospect research?

I got into prospect research because I was always intrigued by the work my wife, Catherine Smythe Zajc (2004 recipient of the Anne E. Mayer Distinguished Service Award) did. I’ve always enjoyed research incorporated the basics in my days running an Annual Fund. When Hospice of the Western Reserve advertised for a Prospect Researcher and I was hired, I joined “the family business.”

What was your first nonprofit job?

Clerical Assistant for the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

When/where was your first Apra conference?

Pittsburgh, 2018.

What's the best career advice you've ever received?

Not so much career advice, or advice at all, but a compliment from an executive recruiter who I know. He was impressed that I was quick to admit when I did not know something, and that I’d go look for the answer or point the person in the right direction – something he found in his experience to be hard for most people to do. Given that I’ve always been a “knowledge is power” kind of mindset, it actually surprised me that I had that growth as a person that early in my life.

What would be the first thing you'd do if you won the lottery?

Do a happy dance, then get a good attorney.