By Susan Fields, CFRE

While special events serve as an excellent means of generating enthusiasm and attracting supporters, preparing for them can be a time-intensive endeavor for staff, volunteers, and board members with less return on the dollar compared to other fundraising vehicles. Of course, there is always the challenge of keeping events fresh and engaging each year in an effort to attract more attendees and sponsors. This APF-NYC Educational program provided both trending and time-honored ideas for sustaining and improving existing events as well as creating memorable and lucrative new ones:

1. It all begins with the budget. Planning an event without a budget is like steering a ship without watching for icebergs. Determine in advance projected revenues vs expenses based upon your goals for table and seat sales, sponsorships, journal sales, and other pre-event fundraising. Keep in mind that things can happen! Inclement weather, a power outage, or a less-than-compelling speech from your board chair can seriously boondoggle your night-of-event fundraising.  Although many events lend themselves to making a direct ask in the room, if at all possible, try to reach your fundraising goal before the event and rely on live auctions, paddle raising, texting, pledge asks, etc. as an on-site boost to fundraising success.
    
2. Don’t get stuck in the honoree dilemma. Many organizations have reached their limit in recruiting corporate honorees as a means of raising funds and attracting attendees to their events. If you have tapped out all of your contacts, look inside your organization for honorees such as former donors, alumni, staff, community leaders, board members emeritus, local politicians, and other prominent people. Many organizations have several honorees receiving different awards to maximize table sales, sponsorships, and other fundraising. Remember that most people do not come to your event to meet a corporate honoree and will probably be more interested in hearing about people they can identify with.
    
3. Examine all the options before retiring an event. Before doing anything drastic, determine who is displeased with the event and why. Sometimes only the staff feels this way with your board, donors, and other supporters having a very different perspective. Sometimes only minor or incremental changes are needed to create a fresh, new feeling such as shorter programs, a “wow moment” from a celebrity, or a buffet dessert table where people can mingle. Of course, the financial success of the event also needs to be considered. Keep in mind, however, that ceasing to continue an event can be a very political move and all effort should be taken to discuss this decision with your board and other major players in your organization. 
      
4. Keep the length of your programs in check.  There is no polite way to get a speaker off the stage, but you can minimize the chance of them going overtime by providing a detailed run-of-show and requesting that their 2-3 minute speeches be written in advance. This will allow you to review the material and suggest eliminating redundancies. Rehearsing in advance or using a teleprompter can help keep speakers on track. Of course, not everyone needs to speak, and it is best to avoid having special presenters for each speaker.  Some nonprofits use pre-videoed presentations by family members or key individuals in the organization. Above all, avoid having a program with a long list of “talking heads” which can give your event a reputation of being painfully boring.
    
5. Inspire your guests. Everything that you do prior to the event, during the event, and after the event should speak loud and clear of your organization’s mission, goals, and value to the people that it serves. Make sure your guests are welcomed by people who are close to your nonprofit. Provide your CEO and five key board members with a list of who is in the room, where they are seated, and the cultivation and stewardship conversations that are necessary. The next morning, make sure to send an email blast to sponsors, attendees, and volunteers thanking them for their participation and informing them of the success of the event. Make everyone feel good about what they have been involved in and follow up with those who are likely to become more involved.
   

Gary Laermer, AFP-NYC President

There has been a great deal of hype and discussion surrounding Ray Dalio’s book, Principles: Life and Work. It’s a New York Times bestseller and I encourage you to pick it up if you’re looking for a career-energizing summer read. As I was reading it made me think that as philanthropy professionals, we could start our own book of guiding principles and start to gather our collective wisdom.  So, I thought I would begin with this list:

• As a fundraiser, be transparent in thought and action.
• Think for yourself, act for the cause you’re representing, and above all care for the donors you’re working with.
• In organizations large and small there is often nothing too simple to complicate.  Keep the one big thing, the one big thing.
• Keep in mind that no one should feel better or more proud about a gift than the donor.
• An oldie, but still a good one: Ask for money, get advice; ask for advice, get money twice.
• Needing money generally doesn’t attract it, impactful solutions to societal needs does.
• Only you can decide for yourself what’s most important in employment: where you work or who you work for.
• There are no small donors, only gifts you hoped would be larger.
• When a prospective donor says NO, does it really mean not now? It’s OK to ask about the future.
• Generally, a case statement is best presented by people.  If you’re waiting for the written case statement to start the campaign, you’re probably not ready to start.
• If you’re confident that you have the right number of prospects to reach the campaign goal, you’re probably overconfident.
• A campaign feasibility study can help predict a campaign’s future results, but who’s sitting at the table in the role of campaign volunteer leadership is the reality of what can be raised today.

I’m sure you have many of your own rules and principles too. They can be fun to write down and more important, review when you find yourself stuck on a project to help you to the finish line and to feel great about your achievement. What would you add to this list?

Five Ideas for Creating a Successful Partnership

by Susan Fields, CFRE

AFP-NYC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, July 18, 2019, Scandinavia House, New York City

	“Recruiting a CEO is a highly instructional process for a Board, especially when an organization seeks to become increasingly donor focused.” Rick Martin, Director of Development Ronald McDonald House
	“Collaborate with the CEO in targeting the hardest working  members of the team and validate them for their efforts. Jennifer Beirne, Chief Development Officer New York Cares
	“The greatest challenge of the Executive Director is  defining  the chain of command within the organizational structure."   Susan Newman, Vice Chair New York Edge
	“The CEO and Director of Development need to be strategic in sharing the institutional knowledge of the organization.” Gary Bagley, Executive Director New York Cares

 

The work of a fundraiser can be enormously difficult. There are many factors that contribute to this, but the one that has the most potential for generating stress is the relationship between the CEO/Executive Director and the Director of Development. This can be a marriage made in heaven or hell depending up the capacity and willingness of both individuals to accept the challenges of creative communication and collaboration. This partnership, when functioning optimally, will extend to all the organization’s constituencies, create profoundly positive change, and dramatically increase fundraising revenues.  People come to their jobs with distinctly different personalities, skills, and capacities, and there is no one recipe for building and maintaining a successful working relationship. For that reason, it is important to treat the ideas and concepts listed below as guideposts to understanding and avoiding the most common pitfalls and moving toward boundless professional growth.

1.  Accepting and working with imperfect situations. We have all heard about boards that contribute millions to their organizations as well as CEO’s who are eager to spend a lion’s share of their time soliciting major gifts. It is easy to wonder why these things aren’t happening in your organization and you may even accuse yourself of failing in some inexplicable way. Whether you are new at your job or have considerable experience, keep in mind that you do not have control over the culture and structure of your organization. What you can do, however, is define the barriers that stand between your nonprofit and successful fundraising, and take incremental steps in creating change where possible. You might also consider that some organizations are more apt to raise major gifts due to their history, the constituencies they represent, and the appeal of their mission.

2.  The source of conflict between the CEO and Director of Development. The structure of a nonprofit is inherently unique in that it requires leadership to manage and motivate a broad range of constituents and staff members, all with different goals and agendas: program staff, volunteers, board of directors, donors, community, and fundraising staff. While it is the prime responsibility of the CEO to direct the overall functioning of the nonprofit, the role of the Development Director is that of chief revenue generator. The former is the protector of the entire institution, with the latter serving primarily as advocate for the organization’s donors. When the CEO views fundraising as a necessary evil, spends limited time cultivating donors, and is reluctant to ask for money, the Development Director can easily feel unsupported in their role. On the other hand the CEO may justifiably feel torn in terms of priorities.

3.  Dealing with the “miracle worker” syndrome.  Often a Director of Development is hired to “save” an organization in financial distress. This unfortunate state of affairs is most usually a symptom of poor management and neglect of the fundraising process by the CEO and Board of Directors. For this reason it is important for job candidates to ask questions during the hiring process regarding the CEO and Board of Director’s commitment to fundraising. If you find yourself working in such an environment, accept the fact that you will be toiling long hours. At the same time this scenario can prove as a training ground for leadership and an opportunity to create substantial change in a nonprofit’s future. It is likely that during a crisis the CEO and board chair will be more amenable to accept counsel from the new Director of Development as to what needs to change. This can be fertile ground for building a relationship with the CEO in re-harnessing the power of the organization’s constituencies.

4.  The CEO as advocate for fundraising.  As the chief administrative officer, one of the most important roles of the CEO is to integrate the work of development team within in the organizational structure. This means educating the board and staff regarding the importance of fundraising.  As part of this process the CEO encourages the Program Director and Director of Development to work together in supporting one another’s goals. It is also the responsibility of the CEO to work with the Board Chair to create a document which defines the role of the board in fundraising which should include give/get expectations, attendance at events, and establishing a Board Development Committee. In support of the Director of Development the CEO also helps secure funding for the human and material resources needed to fulfill his/her responsibilities. Annual evaluation of the Director of Development allows for feedback and validation regarding performance as well as collaborative goal setting for the coming year.

5.  Personality Traits of the Director of Development. We all come into this life with a unique of combination abilities and a distinct style of relating to others. Because the leader of a fundraising team works with divergently different constituencies it is necessary to have the ability to switch communication styles with each group based upon their unique needs. This means possessing the intuitive skills to read the mindset and expectations of a major donor as opposed to a member of the program staff. A temperament of patience, flexibility, and the proclivity to create a calm and accepting work environment are paramount. This includes the willingness to work behind the scenes while giving others center stage to receive accolades for their achievements. Nothing is more important than bringing these personality traits to bear in working with the CEO in creating and maintaining a partnership that will best serve the mission of the organization that they represent.

Craig Shelley, Orr Group

By Craig Shelley, CFRE, Chapter Treasurer & Managing Director, Orr Group

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the chapter’s summer Happy Hour organized by our Emerging Leaders Committee.  It was an inspiring event; not a word that typically comes to mind when describing a Happy Hour!

There was a great crowd gathered, which served to remind me just how vibrant our profession is here in New York City.  There were countless old and new friends in attendance and in nearly every conversation I was struck by the passion with which the fundraiser described the mission they were advancing.  The diversity of the work we do starkly highlights the many needs in our society, but to see that each of these needs was being supported by a committed and passionate fundraiser was inspiring.  At times it is hard for each of us to see the forest from the trees as we focus so intently on our own work, but at a night like that it was easy to see how collectively we’re making the world a better place.

The event featured some special guests who each shared highlights of their own journey as a fundraiser and shared their top career advice tips.  I soaked up all the advice as eagerly as the most junior fundraiser in the crowd.  I was also excited to see my friend Diego Aviles amongst the featured guests.  For nearly 20 years I’ve counted on his advice and counsel in my own career and life choices.  I was glad to see others benefit from Diego’s sage wisdom.  Most notably he shared some guideposts on selecting jobs.  He always attributes my having originated this advice though I think it was born from one of the many meandering conversation Diego and I have had about the “meaning of life.”  Diego encouraged the crowd to consider three things when selecting a job – who you work for, what you work on and who you work with.  I haven’t thought much about that in a while, but it made me smile as it has proven to be great advice for me over the years when I’ve been disciplined enough to follow it; without fail when I’ve ignored even just one of those three things in taking a job I’ve regretted it.

Lastly, I was inspired by the organizers themselves, our Emerging Leaders Committee.  As I get older, I’ve certainly done my fair share of grumbling about “kids these days.”  “They” don’t work as hard as I did when I was their age.  “They” aren’t as committed to the sector as I was at their age.  “They” aren’t me.  Well, thank God.  Because “they” are so much better and more committed than I ever was then and probably am now.  As a chapter we struggle to get great volunteers to handle the myriad tasks of a thriving professional association.  Not on the Emerging Leaders Committee.  They have many talented hands making many amazing projects and initiatives move forward.  The future of our chapter and our profession in New York City is surely in great hands.

It was a great night and I encourage you to engage in the chapter’s activities; I have no doubt you’ll be as inspired as I am.

If you have ideas or suggestions for our AFP chapter please always feel free to contact me directly at cshelley@orrgroup.com.  If you’re interested in my thoughts on fundraising and news in the sector, sprinkled with the occasional picture of my kids, please follow me on Twitter @craigshelley.

Thank you for everything you do.

By Steve Jacobson, AFP-NYC President-Elect and CEO, JCA, Inc.

The Fork in the Road

This past Wednesday, I had lunch with two colleagues whom I’ve each known for more than 20 years.  We get together once or twice a year to talk about everything and nothing (yes, all three of us are Seinfeld fans).  Sometimes, we forget that we haven’t met up recently.  After all, we have jobs and families and we just get busy.  This year, we ran into one another at Fundraising Day, which, by the way, had the highest attendance since the pre-Great Recession year of 2008.  So, we promised each other that we would set a date and meet.  And so we did.

Conversation always flows freely when we meet (no, there was no alcohol involved).  We’ve spent most of our adult lifetimes in and around fundraising.  At times, we’ve even worked with one another.  Fundraising has given us not only a common language, but a common bond.  We are not just colleagues; we are friends.

At one point during our lunch, the conversation turned to the question of how we all had gotten started in fundraising.  Oddly enough, in all the years we’ve known each other, we hadn’t delved into the deep, deep past.  As it turned out, like many of you, we never set out to be fundraisers.  We didn’t study philanthropy in college; we didn’t have career aspirations to be a chief development officer, run a charity’s operations or head up companies whose missions are all about making nonprofits successful.  But, that’s who we became.

I’ve heard some people use the term “accidental fundraiser” to capture the serendipity of our career paths.  And, to some extent, that’s true.  However, I think that it’s more appropriate to look at each juncture, each fork in the road, where we had decisions to make that ultimately led us down the fundraising path – or, for others, took them off on some other journey.  For the three of us, we had no idea that the seemingly innocuous choices we made early on in our professional lives would shape our future so drastically.

The first fork in the road for me was in 1985, when I decided to leave the corporate world and co-found a start-up (did that term even exist back then?) to provide technology to all types of businesses.  It wasn’t long before we landed our first nonprofit client, NYU Medical Center (now NYU Langone Health).  I really loved working with nonprofits and, in particular, their fundraising teams.  So, two years later, I created my own fork in the road: I decided to focus exclusively on providing technology solutions to nonprofits.

My two friends had very different stories to tell about their beginnings, but the one constant was that we all got to where we are, not by designing and following some grand plan, but by making small turns – or not – that carried us down a path to the land of fundraising.  It’s been a different journey for each of us, with highs and lows along the way.  But, in the end, we all agreed that we couldn’t envision a better alternative.

How about you?  Do you have a story to tell?  If so, please email me at steve.jacobson@jcainc.com and, with your permission, I’ll compile and post them anonymously. 

Have a great Fourth of July!

By Jill Scibilia, AFP-NYC Secretary

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

- Albert Schweitzer

As a fundraiser, I feel called to ignite sparks of interest in support of the mission of the organization and people we serve. There is nothing I enjoy more than making a personal connection with someone who wants to make a difference and is looking for ideas on how she can do this.  In the best of these conversations the donor is inspired by the mission and ways she can help—and we kindle a spark in each other.

It does not always work this way.  Perhaps a new program or building project I’ve been working to fund has hit a roadblock, and I don’t have another immediate option for donors who were interested in the project—or the other options I have are not nearly as interesting. Or perhaps a donor I’ve been engaging experiences a life event that delays his ability to make a gift—or he is no longer able to make it in the way he intended. 

These are examples of experiences that have tested me as a fundraiser, and I’ll confess, these were times I felt my light go out.  This is not easy for me to admit because I believe strongly in the power of the spark when it comes to fundraising and that as a fundraiser it is my role to inspire and nurture it in others.    

The truth is we all have moments when our light goes out. Perhaps it is an experience like the ones I shared.  Or maybe we receive bad news…or perhaps someone disappoints us or we disappoint someone. Or perhaps we are simply weary from the grind of the everyday.  

So what do we, as fundraisers, do when we feel that our light has gone out? I don’t have any magical answers, but I will share what I do…

Several years back I started the practice of maintaining a bulletin board in my office.  It includes photos of people who inspire me—the people who at one time or another have rekindled the flame within me when my light has gone out.  In addition to members of my family, it includes photos of donors, volunteers, colleagues and mentors with whom I have had the privilege of working. Looking at their faces helps ground me and remind me of how grateful I am that they are–or have been—part of my life and work. So I look at their pictures and then I pick up the phone and call a couple of them.

The conversation is different of course depending on who I call.  I will call a mentor or a colleague when I need a pep talk including development colleagues I have met through engagement with AFP.  Having a network of colleagues who share my love for our profession and understand what I do is invaluable.

I find the best calls I can make when I am having a tough day are to donors.  No agenda to the call beyond making a connection or letting them know I was thinking about them.  Forging relationships with those who want to make a difference is why I feel called to this work after all.  And by reaching out to them—especially during the challenging moments—I am getting back in the proverbial saddle.  If you are new to your organization and do not yet have deeply established relationships with donors, this can be a great time to make gratitude calls to donors who have made a recent gift to thank them and introduce yourself. 

Thank you for the work you do and for the spark you help kindle or rekindle in others in support of the missions you serve and the colleagues who share our profession.

“Money, Power and Race: The Lived Experience of Fundraisers of Color” brings systemic issues to light through narratives; provides recommendations to improve equity at nonprofits

New York, NY, June 14, 2019—Cause Effective, a New York nonprofit consulting firm that helps social change groups of all mission types strengthen their fundraising and governance, released a new report, exclusive to Fundraising Day in New York, which uncovered the challenges faced by fundraisers of color across U.S. nonprofits of all sizes. The report also identified eight groups across the sector, including executive directors and nonprofit board members, who can help to create a more equitable nonprofit workplace.

The report’s recommendations aim to promote the retention and advancement of people of color in the fundraising profession. The report was funded by The New York Community Trust.  As the region’s community foundation, The Trust prioritizes strengthening and improving the nonprofit sector.

“The New York City chapter of AFP continues to elevate the important work of philanthropy professionals. Fundraising Day in New York, our flagship event, is the City’s single largest professional advancement program, serving almost 2,000 fundraisers, strengthening our overall community, our skills and our collective success. We are proud that Cause Effective presented their recent research at this year’s Fundraising Day on June 14,” stated Gary Laermer, President, AFP-NYC and VP of Development and Alumni Relations, Pace University.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals’ NYC chapter hosted an afternoon workshop, Advancing Fundraisers of Color and Fostering IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) in our Profession, where members heard about Cause Effective’s survey findings and AFP-NYC’s new efforts for involving members in its IDEA initiative. "This report comes at a critical moment in the fundraising profession’s self-examination on race, access, and equity," said Sunil Oommen, President of boutique fundraising consulting firm, Oommen Consulting LLC, and the Board Chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Committee of the New York City Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Read the full press release here.

By Pinky Vincent, Police Athletic League

As a member since July 2016, I learned that one of the ways to grow and quickly make a difference within AFP is to volunteer hands-on with my fundraising peers. Thanks to the support of fellow members, you make an impact by speaking up for diversity and inclusiveness within the profession, promoting the good work of our peers, as well as advocating for fundraisers working in smaller nonprofits.

But what if you can only commit an hour a month and still want to make an impact? How is it possible, you ask?

I spoke with Regina Cialone of Orr Group and Tad Shull, grant consultant, on mentoring – a little-known benefit of AFP membership. Regina and Tad took part in a formal mentoring relationship once a month from September 2018 to January this year – and they have continued to be in touch since then.

(In a New York minute – you don’t need to be an AFP member to serve as mentor. If you are or know of an experienced fundraising professional who can be a great mentor encourage them to sign up today!)

Pinky Vincent: Tad, you are an experienced grants professional, why did you seek out a mentor?

Tad Shull: I joined AFP last year to expand my skills and given an opportunity, I would rather learn from a person than a book. So I explored AFP’s website and it turns out one of my membership benefits is mentoring.

Pinky: I wish I had thought of signing up right away as well. Cathy J. Sharp, who co-chairs the AFP Mentoring Committee, is the matchmaker but potential mentors like you, Regina, get the final say on who will be their mentee. Regina, why did you choose Tad?

Regina Cialone: To tell you the truth, my rule is if someone asks me for career advice, I say yes.

Tad: I knew I was special!

Regina: You are! A mentee need not be someone right out of school. You can be someone like Tad who has a broad knowledge in one area but wants to learn more in other fundraising areas. Tad was reflective and smart about mentoring. He gave questions in advance as preparation. Tad would illustrate the problem with real world examples. There was an interesting lens given his expertise in grant writing.

Tad: It was good to open a dialogue on the problems with Regina. The questions I asked were pressure points for me, real-life issues my clients and I were struggling with.

Pinky: Regina, you have been mentoring nonprofit professionals for the past nine years. Tad is your second mentee at AFP. I mentor because it is my way to build a professional legacy and it’s my way to give back to my mentors. What drives you?

Regina: A great question – there is definitely giving back and broadening my comfort zone. It also builds your leadership skills.

Tad: That’s a great selling point for mentoring.

Regina: And let’s not underestimate the potential for networking.

Tad: Yes, one-on-one mentoring has the potential to build trust even more deeply. If you are looking to hire someone, you are building a referral system based on trust.

Regina: It’s a reciprocal relationship for both parties. If someone is looking for a grant writer, I am OK with being Tad’s reference. And I work for a consulting firm – if an organization that Tad works with is looking for a campaign consultant, Tad can refer us.

Tad: I would be thrilled! It’s a satisfying way to give back.

Pinky: Regina, you continue to mentor despite a busy work schedule. We all appear to be starved for time but mentors like you, Regina, find the time to make a difference.

Regina: Mentoring is like a muscle you exercise – the more you do it, the better you get at it. You can get a lot done within an hour – the impact you make in an hour is a lifelong investment.

Pinky: What advice do you have for first-time mentors?

Regina: If you are not sure about mentoring, dip your toes at Fundraising Day New York – that’s a great way to explore mentoring for half an hour.

Pinky: You can still apply for mentoring for this year’s FRDNY. It will be a great time to learn, make connections and give back – all within a day! Tad, your final thoughts on your mentoring experience with Regina.

Tad: Regina’s attitude confirmed for me that there is a strong culture of sharing in the fundraising field. There are risks and uncertainties when you make career transitions. And to have someone with Regina’s experience see where you are going and say you can do it is a real boost emotionally. Thank you, Regina.

By Craig Shelley, CFRE, Chapter Treasurer & Managing Director, Orr Group

This week’s edition of New York City Fundraising Matters features a great interview my friend Pinky Vincent conducted about the chapter’s mentorship program.  It was thought provoking not least because the interviewed featured another friend, my colleague Regina Cialone, but because it allowed me to ruminate a bit on my own mentors.

I’ve never been part of a formal mentorship program, but like Regina suggests in the interview I’ve never refused to provide career advice when asked and have never hesitated to ask when needed.  Several years ago, I went through a large career transition leaving an organization I’d served for 16 years in various capacities and transitioning to Orr Group.  Throughout that process I was reminded just how many wonderful mentors I had in my career.  Their advice was plentiful and helpful just as it has been at various crossroads throughout my career.  Inadvertently I’d built a network of friends who cared about me, were invested in my success and each of whom I trusted and respected implicitly.

I’ve got a varied list of relatively pithy “career advice” I give people (“pick your job based on who you’ll work for and who you’ll work with”; “be curious”; “always be the hardest worker on the team”) but I think I might need to add, “build a network of mentors” to the list.  The advice, example and connections these mentors provide are valuable.  I’ve built some of my network by luck as I’ve had some terrific bosses invest in me through the years.  But I do think you can be deliberate in maintaining and nurturing those relationships.  My longest standing mentor, who I’d also consider one of my closest friends, was my boss when I was 18-years old.  Over the following more than 20-years we’ve worked together in various capacities across 4 different organizations.  Yes, I was lucky he was my first boss.  I didn’t pick him; I didn’t even know him before I started the job (though ironically the person who interviewed me also remains a friend and mentor).  But maintaining that relationship for 20 years, knowing when to seek and follow advice and understanding what examples of leadership of his to incorporate and ignore has been deliberate.  It takes time.  In those 20 years I’d doubt we’ve ever gone more than a few months without having a meal together and that includes long periods of time living across the country from each other.  You make the time to spend time with people who make you better.

Identify the people you respect and build that relationship.  It is unlikely you’ll build a deep friendship and working relationship that endures 20-years, but it’s certainly not impossible and I am certain you will learn and grow no matter how deep or long the relationship goes.  I’ve benefited from mentors of all shapes and sizes from CEOs of some of the largest companies in the world to mid-level managers I shared cubicles with early in my career.  It’s been time well spent not just for the lessons I’ve learned and networks they’ve allowed me to build, but because I’ve met interesting people and made great friends.  It starts by being open to building relationships, then identifying the best people to invest your time in and investing it.  You’ll benefit and so will they.  The chapter’s formal mentorship program is a great way to start to try and meet some of the right people and build the relationships that will make a difference in your future.

If you have ideas or suggestions for our AFP chapter please always feel free to contact me directly at cshelley@orrgroup.com.  If you’re interested in my thoughts on fundraising and news in the sector, sprinkled with the occasional picture of my kids, please follow me on Twitter @craigshelley.

Thank you for everything you do.

By Gary Laermer, AFP-NYC President

Getting Ready for Fundraising Day in New York

On Friday, June 14^th you’ll have the chance to gather with nearly 2,000 of your fellow fundraising professionals at the largest philanthropy conference in New York. This convening is a great day of learning, idea sharing, and fellowship amongst peers. In order to maximize the time I have to learn and network with other participants, I always try to take a few minutes to prepare for my participation in conferences. Here are the steps I follow to get the most of a day-long learning experience.

Review the agenda and pick the sessions that resonate with you and will provide the best learning opportunity.  Consider both the topic and presenter. Ask others in your office if they have been in a session with the presenter before. Avoid making last minute session choices. If your organization is covering the cost of your attendance, be sure to select sessions worthy of their investment. If others from your organization are attending, don’t all go to the same session. Splitting up for sessions will maximize how much you will be able to learn and bring back to your shop.

Attend with a goal in mind for the number of new contacts to make. Try for five and collect their business cards and emails.  Connect with others who can be resources, friends, or mentors. Don’t just lunch and stay with those individuals you already know – truly make the effort to build new connections.

Fundraising Day in New York has a dedicated hashtag #FRDNY2019. During the event, make sure you’re tagging your tweets and Instagram posts. You can also monitor the hashtag throughout the day to see what people are talking about. You could even pick up great LinkedIn contacts by staying abreast of what’s happening on social throughout the day.

This last tip might be the most difficult to implement in attending an all-day conference, but is critical. Try not to spend most of the day responding to emails. Help those who are trying to contact you understand you’re not just away from your office, but that you’re learning, expanding your skills, and connecting with others who will help you be an even better fundraiser. Be sure to set your out of office message. Don’t just say you’re out of the office with limited access to email, as most do. Try, “I’m out of the office today advancing my skills and will return Monday, June 17 even better prepared to achieve great success. I’ll be sure to respond to your email by the end-of-business on Monday. Thank you.”

Lastly, have fun. It should be a great day!! An extraordinary committee of volunteers has worked tirelessly to provide a meaningful experience. See you on June 14^th at the Marriott Marquis.