AFP

In the course of doing their jobs, the ethical challenge fundraisers most commonly face involves donors' intentions about how their contributions are to be used, a new survey says.

About 30 percent of respondents to a recent poll say the ethical dilemma they are most likely to face is "use of donated funds," says the Association of Fundraising Professionals, which conducted an online poll on its website during January.

About 16 percent of the 569 respondents say privacy and confidentiality are the top ethical challenge, while 15 percent cite "donor control over gifts."

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the world's leading association for individuals and organizations that support charitable institutions, today announced that it has named Andrew Watt as its president and chief executive officer, effective March 23. Watt, a veteran of two decades in the fundraising profession, was most recently AFP's chief program officer and before that was its vice president of international development. Prior to joining AFP in 2006, Watt worked for nearly 10 years at the Institute of Fundraising in the United Kingdom, ultimately serving as deputy chief executive.

There has been rising dissent from fundraisers about charity watchdog ratings, and it appears Charity Navigator is taking steps to address some of fundraisers' concerns.

AFP CEO Paulette Maehara shares her thoughts on Convio's positive 2010 Holiday Giving Survey findings.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals unveiled its new wise giving website, Change the World With a Giving-and Wise-Heart (http://www.afpnet.org/GivingHeart) designed to help donors think proactively about philanthropy and how they want to improve their communities through giving and volunteering.

The website contains a variety of information on how donors can make smart choices in their philanthropy. Donors can learn about different ways they can support charities and how to spot legitimate organizations.

The Toronto Community Foundation is the 2010 recipient of the Greater Toronto Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals' "Outstanding Foundation" award. The award is one of seven given out by AFP every year.

The fundraising technology "industry" is alive and well in 2010. Many of the most successful business enterprises that profit from the fundraising sector are in essence technology companies.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP) are involved in discussions aimed at developing an affiliation agreement and forming a united organization dedicated to advancing ethical fundraising and philanthropic planning practice.

AFP (which encompasses 30,000 fundraisers working in all aspects of the profession) and PPP (which represents over 8,000 individual and council members working in the area of philanthropic planning) are two of the largest fundraising organizations in the world. An affiliation between the two would help unify the fundraising profession and strengthen the holistic approach to serving donors and the charitable missions that they support. An affiliation would also provide greater educational opportunities; increased distribution and use of best standards and ethical practices; and a stronger voice on issues related to public policy, fundraising practice, and donor service.

What if we could extend this knowledge sharing beyond our own borders? What if we could learn how fundraisers in Bolivia deal with the lack of postal or banking systems? How did a Dutch organization generate more than 500,000 monthly donors? How are Italian organizations using digital media to drive results? How could we, wherever we are located, learn from our fundraising cousins on the other side of the planet?

In her presentation at the 47th AFP International Conference on Fundraising in Baltimore earlier this month titled How You Can Create Experiences That Foster True Loyalty, Bridget Brandt, senior marketing manager at Sage Nonprofit Solutions, discussed some keys to creating loyal donors through their experiences with your organization. Here are some key takeaways.