Association of Fundraising Professionals

You may be fortunate enough to have an experienced grant writer on staff, especially if your organization has a developed and long-standing grants program. But for many nonprofits that is not so, and it might make sense to hire a grant professional or consultant, at least for a limited time.

We went to just such a consultant, Jake Seliger of Seliger Associates. We asked him what he thinks the pros and cons are of hiring a grant writer on a contractual basis.

Faces in Philanthropy May/June 2014: People on the move in the nonprofit fundraising world.

I suggest you establish a mentoring program where you could mentor a young professional year-round whose desire is to make a career in the nonprofit world. What have you done to promote the concept and spirit of philanthropy with the next generation?

More than 100 somewhat anxious nonprofit fundraisers gathered at The Association of Fundraising Professionals Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter conference to discuss what to do about the $1 billion fundraising challenge from Nike’s Phil Knight to Oregon Health and Science University.

Event organizer Kevin Johnson noted that the anxiety had to do with the conference’s midday agenda: “The Knight Challenge & the OHSU Campaign: What does it mean for philanthropy?”

Focus group respondents revealed a need for leaders to better configure the shared values, style, structure, systems, staffing and strategy within their organizations. The study’s findings were used to construct seven corrective action steps for nonprofit leaders managing the daily activities of charitable fundraisers.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals has awarded the AFP/Skystone Partners Prize for Research to Dr. Noah Drezner, assistant professor of higher education at the University of Maryland, College Park, for his outstanding work on identity-based donors, "Expanding the Donor Base in Higher Education: Engaging Non-Traditional Donors," published by Routledge.

Drezner’s book, deemed “excellent” by the AFP Research Council that awards the prize, adds new data and ideas to the relatively scarce literature on identity-based donors and how culture influences philanthropy.

The future of fundraising belongs to those organizations that refuse to stagnate, that opt for evolution over revolution, and are willing to embrace the shift. A shift in the fundraising paradigm that fine-tunes your efforts and your attitudes.

If you are eager to build on your Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference on Fundraising experience, or if you were unable to attend and travel to Philadelphia in two weeks is viable, let me encourage you to take advantage of another learning opportunity. FundRaising Success' Engage Conference is April 10. This is a small, interactive, case-study approach to fundraising with a direct-response focus. Last year's inaugural event was one of the best I have ever attended — check it out today!

Tweets from the 51st Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference on Fundraising (#afpicon).

During their session at the Association of Fundraising Professionals 51st International Conference on Fundraising in San Antonio, "How to Hang on to Your Donors: Successful Donor-Retention Strategies," Amnesty International Canada's Rosemary Oliver and Harvey McKinnon, president of Harvey McKinnon Associates, said the very best way to keep donors is to sign them up for monthly giving.