Bringing Fundraising to Life at the AFP International Conference

I’m a big advocate for technology—at AFP we strive to integrate technology into our programs and services so they are accessible—anywhere, anytime. Our use of communications is changing rapidly; I’m scheduled to give a presentation in the next couple of weeks via Skype, a new approach for us.

But in terms of learning, sharing and creating a sense of community, nothing compares with a live gathering of fundraisers, which is why I’m so excited about AFP’s International Conference on Fundraising, April 1-3, 2012, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

There will be some amazing speakers, including Scott Harrison, founder and president of charity: water, and hockey legend and philanthropist Wayne Gretzky. You’ll find inspiration and innovation from distinguished speakers such as Claire Diaz Ortiz, author of Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time and How to Fundraise on Social Media, and Lisa Shannon, author of A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman.

On Monday, April 2, we’ll present the NextGen:Charity Experience, in the style of the popular TED-conference presentations, featuring rapid-fire messages (all under 18 minutes with no PowerPoints) from game-changing leaders and innovators across all industries. All geared to nonprofits.

These amazing speakers, the 140-odd educational sessions, hundreds of vendors and our extraordinary Awards for Philanthropy honorees, ensure that the conference will cover every conceivable aspect of fundraising and provide new ideas and inspiration to all participants.

For me, though, the beauty of the conference lies in the community it brings together. Live meetings are, well, alive. They are two-way and multi-dimensional. The experiences are as diverse as the people involved.

I think networking is an overused word. What really happens at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising is connecting—ideas and people coming together in new ways. A major gift officer having coffee with a direct mail veteran, a development director from a grassroots advocacy organization chatting with the CEO of a national nonprofit: These are the connections made at AFP, and they are what keep us strong as a community.

And those connections are important, because we face a difficult fundraising environment. Our previous State of Fundraising Surveys and the most Nonprofit Research Collaborative studies show that we’re still slowly recovering from the impact of the recent recession. Fundraisers are trying to keep up with technology while addressing the demands of a new generation of donors and dealing with increasing competition for the charitable dollar.

All of these issues—and more—will be addressed at the conference—through speakers, sessions and the impromptu conversations and connections created by attendees. I hope you’ll join us there.

Learn more by visiting http://conference.afpnet.org and come join the largest—and most comprehensive—gathering of the fundraising community!

Engaging Donors by Providing Options

One of the ideas we’ve discussed a lot this year is stewardship: the need to engage our donors on their terms.

Donor retention levels are low because—in large part—we’re not practicing good stewardship. We’re taking our supporters for granted. We’re generalizing and categorizing without understanding them, trying to provide them with information or give them any options.

Now, there’s further evidence we have to take our blinders off.

In a new study by Campbell Rinker and Dunham+Company, one out of two donors age 60 and older had given an online gift at some point. In addition, the typical donor age 60 or older had given nearly 30 percent more gifts online than those under 40.

Think about that. We’re constantly told that older people are not interested in giving online. But have you asked your older donors that question?

Now, the study also found that 85 percent of older donors who have not given online said they were not willing to consider giving an online donation. But that only underscores my point: We HAVE to get to know our donors, and one way we do that is by giving them options. It’s quite likely that some of the older donors who gave online probably never thought they’d ever give online either, but with a little education and hand-holding, they tried it.

Giving options. Providing education. Keeping an open mind. Those aren’t radical ideas. They’re just good stewardship, the lynchpin of our profession.

Reaching Out to New Communities

The AFP Board of Directors recently voted to approve two new membership categories for our association.

The first is critical—a membership for young professionals under 30. We need to support the first generation coming into the profession as their chosen career. Our new Young Professionals category gives us a vehicle to listen to the needs of this cohort and engage them in ways that they identify with. Seventy-five dollars is a more accessible investment for them, and it’ll allow them to experience the benefit of being part of the AFP community.

The second is a category of membership for small shops. Charities with an operating budget of one million dollars or less can now join AFP through the Small Organization individual membership. That’s a big plus for them—in terms of cost and keeping the membership at the charity when a fundraiser leaves—and a big plus for AFP—allowing us to directly engage with the charity and learn more about what they most value from membership as well.

Introducing new membership categories allows us to explore new ways to engage the profession and ensure we are better able to represent every individual involved in fundraising.