Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater New York Chapter's National Philanthropy Day in New York to honor some of the fundraising sector's best and brightest — including FundRaising Success' very own editor-in-chief, Margaret Battistelli.
The awards ceremony took place at the luxurious Plaza Hotel in the heart of New York City during a luncheon that featured AFP board member and co-founder of Projects Plus Inc. Penny Stoil, one of the founders of Fundraising Day in New York, receiving the inaugural Ralph E. Chamberlain Award, along with a Q&A interview of featured philanthropist Maria Cuomo Cole, chair of HELP USA, by New York Times Assistant Managing Editor Gerald Marzorati.
After the interview, in which Cole commented on everything from social media to the endless work that still needs to be done in the sector, numerous pillars of the fundraising community were honored. The honorees included James Leib and Michael Smaldone, honored by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research; Elizabeth Munves Sherman, honored by Breakthrough New York; Alfred A. Lagan, honored by Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Kate Doerge, honored by Hospital for Special Surgery; Motorola Mobility Foundation, honored by National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications; Michael Golden, honored by the New York Times; Anton Katz, honored by the Princess Grace Foundation-USA; Kevin N. Ainsworth, honored by Projects Plus Inc.; Jim Killoran of Habitat for Humanity of Westchester, honored by Quality Letter Service Inc.; Sabin Streeter, honored by Sponsors for Educational Opportunity; the Charles Mastronardi Foundation, honored by St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center; and Judith Moncrieff Baldwin, honored by the Salvation Army Great New York Division.
Afterward, the FundRaising Success staff had some great meetings with members of our 2012 editorial advisory board, as well as with some great innovators in the fundraising sector. It was an exciting day that helped us all recharge and re-energize with our December issue wrapping up its production cycle as we speak.