News/Blog

By Susan Madon, CFRE
CEO and Founder, Minerva Nonprofit Management Consulting

We've all been there. The board meeting where one trustee insists on reading every line item of the 27-page financial statement aloud while another trustee quietly plays Wordle on their phone. Or perhaps you've experienced the famous "strategic planning session" where the conversation somehow devolves into a 45-minute debate about the color scheme of next year's gala invitations. One of my personal favorites was the board chair who consistently referred to our "annual giving campaign" as our "annual giving champagne" – though in retrospect, maybe he was onto something about making fundraising more festive.

By Jennifer Mignarri
Customer Success Manager, RelPro

Nonprofit organizations are driven to serve a particular community or cause. In order to execute their mission effectively and grow their organization’s impact, nonprofit professionals must prioritize relationship building that supports their organization’s development and fundraising efforts. A nonprofit’s success hinges on its ability to reach its existing donor base, identify new leads for donations and corporate sponsorship and pursue members for boards and committees.

By Melissa Gomez
Vice President of Philanthropy at the NY Hall of Science

Starting a new job is never easy.  After six years at my last organization, the thought of leaving gave me mixed emotions. The excitement of new challenges and higher pay and title were enticing, but the anxious feelings of having to make new work friends, learning new systems and operating procedures (including using a Mac as my work laptop after a lifetime of PC?!), and the general questions of “Will I like it there...” made my job search remain a thought for almost a year before I committed to a job search.

By Mary Witrow
Content Marketing Manager, Kindsight

Many of us feel overwhelmed and out of the loop when it comes to the use of AI in our organizations. Targets are often unreasonable, and we feel overworked. AI has advanced so much in recent years that it seems to be an inevitable part of the evolution of fundraising.

So whether you are an employee trying to figure out how to be more productive (do more with less) or an Executive Director trying to ensure the security of your donor and organizational information, there are many hurdles to overcome along the way in your journey to using AI. In this blog, we will discuss the challenges facing us with AI in the nonprofit sector and the possible opportunities when using AI properly.

By: Mike Esposito, CFRE
AFP-NYC’s Sponsorship Chair, Emerging Leaders Co-Chair, Nominating Committee Member, and Cohort 2 Mentor

Our Committee’s Role and Purpose

The Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) of AFP-NYC exists to amplify the voices and potential of those newer to the sector, regardless of age, by providing mentorship, creating opportunities for learning, and fostering a strong sense of community. As Co-Chair, alongside of Brently Winstead, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the continued impact of ELC on the fundraising profession this year.

by David Munshine
President & CEO, The Munshine Group

We at The Munshine Group are already looking forward to Fundraising Day in New York 2025, while still taking inspiration from the interesting ideas and exchanges from FRDNY 2024, where we were Thought Leadership Sponsors of the June 14th event.

Chances are you know the saying to never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world.  Well, the more than 1,000 fundraising pros who turned out for FRDNY '24 were a pretty sizable group, and left us with no doubt that our shared field of philanthropy is changing the world!  People are at the heart of what we all do, and finding the best people to carry out our vital work is never easy – and for many organizations it is a growing challenge.  But, by listening, learning and sharing, there are answers to be found.

By Margaret Holman
President, Holman Consulting

In today’s competitive nonprofit landscape, organizations must be strategic and collaborative in their fundraising efforts. The partnership between the board, CEO and fundraising team is not just nice to have; it is essential for long-term success.

When these three entities work together as a unified front, the results can be transformative. This partnership allows your organization to leverage the unique strengths of each entity, creating a more comprehensive and effective strategy.

How do successful fundraising organizations achieve this? By establishing a collaborative and strategic partnership that includes the following three entities:

By Lynsie Slachetka, Founder & CEO
aJuxt Media Group

Did you attend the 2024 FRDNY conference? If you did, you likely saw or interacted with marketing or social media specifically targeting fundraising individuals in New York City who were likely to attend. For the past two years, aJuxt Media Group worked with AFP-NYC to ensure packed Fundraising Day NY Events and I’m here to tell you how we did it.

by Dee Dee Mozeleski
Senior Vice President of the Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications and External Relations, & Executive Director of the Foundation for City College

I am definitely one of the luckiest people I know. I say that with all of the humility that kind of opening sentence deserves. I moved to New York City in 1992 and the only people I knew were my then-husband, his family, and my soon-to-be best friend, my daughter who would arrive a few months after I did. I started working right away and was positive that I wanted to become a social worker. I spent my first four years working at a drug and alcohol treatment center and one day, a board member asked me to lunch to share with me that she thought I was missing out on testing out working in New York City. I’d spent my first few years living in The Bronx and commuting to Queens and hadn’t learned much in between. She offered to set me up on two interviews and if luck plays any role in life (and I think it does), I was about to get the luckiest break of all.

by Eric Pannese
Chief Product and Technology Officer, Classy
 

Introducing Classy's Intelligent Ask Amounts

With AI tools gaining traction in the for-profit sector, there’s growing interest in the potential for leveraging AI tools in the nonprofit space to advance fundraising and relationship-building with supporters.

While generative AI, such as ChatGPT, has garnered significant attention, other forms of AI, like machine learning, also present a substantial opportunity for fundraisers. They can facilitate personalized asks, predict donor behavior, and offer tailored fundraising strategies for each donor.