AFP New Member Chronicles: Today’s Special - Get Two AFP Communities for the Price of One!
INSTALLMENT 2 OF "ANN’S AND AMY’S NEW MEMBER CHRONICLES"
by Amy Blumenthal, Principal, Amy Blumenthal Consulting LLC
What a good investment you made!
That was what I told myself when I discovered there are not just one but two major pathways to getting value from my new AFP membership: local and global. If you’re like me, you probably joined without realizing how robust the resources are on both sides of that line. So I knew I had to share my findings as part of this ongoing “New Member Chronicles” blog I’m writing with fellow AFP rookie Ann Sebald. Ready? Here we go!
When we joined AFP of Southeastern Wisconsin, we became part of a community of local peers who can help us become better fundraisers and advance not only our careers but our profession as a whole.
But there’s more: our membership makes us part of a global community as well. AFP has over 31,000 members in more than 240 chapters throughout the world and offers education, networking opportunities, and resources to all of us on a national and global level.
Let’s explore both benefits pathways that AFP offers all of us…
Local benefits through our AFPSEWI chapter include:
- Multiple educational and networking opportunities throughout the year that connect us as a community.
- The new members-only online Southeastern Wisconsin AFP Connect Discussion Forum, which provides an instant connection to local peers who can offer advice and help us overcome challenges.
- Our members-only mentoring program, which gives new and intermediate professionals the opportunity to learn one-to-one from seasoned professionals.
- A job bank and consultant directory.
- Fundraising Day Wisconsin, a daylong conference that brings hundreds of fundraisers together to learn from world-class speakers about the latest trends and challenges in our profession.
- National Philanthropy Day, a high-profile event that spotlights the impact of philanthropy in Southeastern Wisconsin and honors exceptional local philanthropists and fundraisers. Our local celebration is one of more than 100 NPD events involving over 50,000 people that take place every year all over the world!
Speaking of philanthropy on a global level, let’s talk about our second benefits pathway. AFP Global offers myriad member benefits including:
- Online discussion groups where we can seek fundraising and career advice – it’s like our local AFP Connect Discussion Forum except it connects us to fundraising peers all over the world.
- The annual AFP ICON conference (afpicon.com), which draws more than 3,500 fundraisers from across the globe and provides unparalleled educational and networking opportunities. It’s like Fundraising Day Wisconsin but ten times the size. The 2020 conference will take place in Baltimore, March 29-31, 2020.
- The AFP Leadership Academy (afplead.org), an annual event that brings together 300+ chapter members for two days of leadership and nonprofit management training with a fundraiser’s focus.
- National AFP publications including the e-newsletter AFP Daily and the quarterly magazine Advancing Philanthropy, which provide fundraising news and practical advice.
Each one of these “benefit pathways” has its own website to help us explore the benefits listed above, register for events and conferences, access online discussion groups, and so much more:
You can peruse these websites on your schedule, at your own pace, in your pajamas and bunny slippers if you wish.
Congratulations to all of us on getting two amazing communities for the price of one! I hope these two “benefits pathways” provide a helpful framework for you to explore both.