Association of Fundraising Professionals

On May 19, FundRaising Success will host its second annual virtual conference and expo: Engaging, Enlightening, Empowering Donors. Did we mention it's FREE? Each week until then, we'll be publishing bios of our featured speakers. Today, Sandy Rees and Pamela Grow.

The Arts & Science Council knew it wouldn’t be easy to pull off its 25-year cultural master plan to build new museums and a performing arts center. That wasn’t even counting the worst thing that eventually did go wrong: the recession and banking crisis that struck just two years into the council’s $83-million fundraising campaign, imploding its biggest corporate supporter and freezing philanthropists’ checkbooks.

Yet today Charlotte’s business district boasts three new art museums, a performing-arts theater and a remodeled children’s science museum.

Safeway Inc. was recognized this week by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) with the organization’s 2011 Freeman Philanthropic Services Award for Outstanding Corporation.

The award honors companies that demonstrate outstanding commitment to important causes through financial support and encouragement, as well as the company’s ability to motivate others to take on leadership roles in their communities.

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger went to the Legislature to press for a law that would enable the state to punish charities with paltry giving. Senate Bill 40 would strip the tax-deductible status from donations to charities that spend less than 30 percent of their annual budget on services. The charities would have to tell potential donors that their giving would not be tax-deductible — or face fines.

A majority of charities surveyed saw their fundraising revenue remain stable or increase last year, according to the 2010 Year-End Survey of the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC), a coalition of six fundraising and philanthropic organizations. The survey also showed that strong fundraising results were more likely when organizations invested resources in fundraising staff and infrastructure, including volunteer management.

Fewer charities reported declines in fundraising last year compared with 2009. But a larger percentage of organizations reported bringing in about the same amount of revenue both years, says the report by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, a coalition of six organizations that focus on philanthropy.

Just over half (52%) said they met fundraising goals, about the same (53%) as in a similar 2009 survey conducted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, a member of the collaborative.

Grizzard Communications Group and Convio Inc. announced that they have partnered on a new solution for nonprofit organizations that integrates Convio’s online marketing and fundraising platform and best practices model, known as Convio Go!™, with Grizzard’s direct response strategies and capabilities for implementing integrated campaigns. The new offering, Go! Forward, gives nonprofit professionals access to Convio’s online marketing tools and Grizzard’s direct marketing resources.

Blackbaud has entered into a Strategic Partnership agreement with the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest community of fundraising professionals in the world. As a strategic partner, Blackbaud will continue its work with AFP supporting educational opportunities for fundraising professionals.

ARLINGTON, VA (March 19, 2011) — The Association of Fundraising Professionals, the largest community of fundraising professionals in the world, has announced a new strategic relationship with Convio Inc., the leading provider of on-demand constituent engagement solutions that enable nonprofit organizations to more effectively raise funds, advocate for change and cultivate relationships with donors, activists, volunteers, alumni and other constituents.

The holiday season provides ample opportunity to proposition potential donors and renew supporters' contributions. According to Michael Nilsen, senior director of public affairs for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), approximately half of all charities get between 30 percent and 60 percent of their contributions during the last quarter of the year. Roughly 20 percent of AFP member organizations noted that in December alone, they received 50 percent of their annual contributions noted Nilsen.