August 2019

A Message from the Chapter President, Wendy Glick

Ever feel like the “AFP Daily” that pops into your email inbox every day is a nuisance? Well, I do! Most days I automatically hit “delete”. I don’t have the time to read articles about our profession – I need to be spending my time on important things like raising money! But earlier this month the title of one of the articles caught my attention, “Philanthropy is Dying”. Upon seeing those three words my heart began to race and my mind began to whirl. If this is true, what is to become of my organization? How can we make this world a better place without people participating in philanthropy? I quickly clicked on the link and began to read . . .

The article is about Lisa Greer, a businesswoman and philanthropist in Los Angeles, who has some important things to say about philanthropy, especially about the behaviors of fundraisers. The Chronicle of Philanthropy spoke with Greer to get her thoughts on philanthropy from a donor’s perspective. Her words are insightful and reminded me that in our fast-paced world of fundraising we can’t just keep doing the same things over and over again. There have been major changes in philanthropy and in the “why” people give. We, as fundraising professionals, need to look inward and ask ourselves “Is philanthropy really dying or is it something I’m doing?” Click here to read the entire article and consider thinking twice before deleting the “AFP Daily”. I know I will!

National Philanthropy Day: Scholarships are offered to members or non-members to attend National Philanthropy Day. The event includes morning skill-building workshops as well as an awards luncheon.

My Best Take Away, MAC 2019: Hillary Steindler-Nolan

As a child, when people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I promise you, my answer was never nonprofit work. My future aspirations as a child were always the ideological answers adults expect from children, i.e. an astronaut, a doctor, a lawyer. Even though, my path lead me on a different (less financially secure) path, the heart of WHY I chose this field didn't waiver from why I gave the answers I did all those years ago. I wanted to make the world better than I left it, while feeling good about the work I was doing. I feel/know I am doing that every day on the job. BUT... because of a presentation at the MAC Conference, I realized not everyone sees nonprofits and development in this way. THIS WAS GROUND BREAKING TO ME! Even as a Marketer, I found myself caught completely off guard with the outlook proposed at the conference.

Looking at how development and nonprofits are portrayed in media forced me to see our profession without my rose colored glasses. The presentation proposed it didn't stop with the media, either. Sadly, nonprofits are creating negative connotations themselves, too! Putting goals, dollars, successes ahead of the mission. Ahead of their volunteers. Ahead of their donors. Ahead of the personal stories. The way a nonprofit chooses to "show off" leaves an impression on people and a community. This was the takeaway I needed to hear as a new fundraiser. Ever since, I have been extremely critical of how our local chapter pushes events, the words used to help drive fundraising efforts, what is the center focus of anything we're doing. Because, even with the best intentions and a great mission, if your community doesn't agree with how and what you're doing, your ability to make a difference is limited. Perception is everything in nonprofits. Community perception can determine your market share and ability to make change. Perception starts with US! If we want the media's messaging to change about nonprofits and fundraising, WE HAVE TO CHANGE FIRST. This was a life-altering realization, making me a better steward of the community and a better 501(c)(3) employee.

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