AFP Foundation Be the Cause – meet the Blackbaud Challenge!
When Dan Mueller of ARCW landed a $1 million gift from a brand new donor, he credited AFP with the idea that led to the gift.
Your professional growth moment might not be as dramatic as Dan’s, but I’ll bet you have one – a new idea or relationship or perspective or moment of inspiration that might not have happened without being part of this community.
Our chapter is vibrant and the connections offered through professional education, mentoring programs, member socials and more are all great reasons to get involved – because they lead to real results for ourselves and our organizations (just ask Dan!).
As we benefit from resources, best practices and research that lift our whole profession, we also are asked to give back through the AFP Foundation Be the Cause campaign.
Last year, our chapter raised more than $3,000 for this international campaign through individual gifts. In return, we earned a grant of $460 to benefit our local members, either through scholarship or professional education. As chapter president, I am excited for this chance to pour support back into our membership, but as a donor to the Be the Cause campaign, I am also thrilled to help raise the professional level of fundraisers throughout the world.
Our 2018 campaign is underway and our chapter goal is a minimum of $3,100. My personal goal for our chapter is to exceed this goal and increase to at least 60 donors. In addition to the chapter grants, we also benefit from support for the Emerging Fundraisers Academy, the AFP Leadership Academy, the Diverse Communities Scholars program, and the Chamberlain Scholars program, which last year enabled member Carolyn Hahn to attend the International conference for free.
Knowing that good things are happening because of our gifts, I am asking each of you to consider supporting the 2018 Be the Cause campaign. We have a great opportunity just now to maximize our gifts through a Blackbaud Challenge. As part of the International Conference, Blackbaud will donate $10 for the first 500 donors to the campaign for gifts made on April 15-17, 2018. The extra $10 added to each of our gifts counts toward our chapter goal! You don’t need to be present at the AFP conference; you can make your gift online at http://afpfoundation.org/bethecause any time during those dates. I ask each of you to think about what AFP has done to advance your career and overall what this profession has meant to you. Please be as generous as you can and support the AFP Be the Cause campaign.