Association of Fundraising Professionals

Today's Twitter Picks
June 30, 2014

Tweets from the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Fundraising Day in New York (#FRDNY).

30 Ideas to Enhance Fundraising Direct-Response Creative, Part 1
June 30, 2014

At the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Fundraising Day in New York last Friday, three fundraising professionals, along with moderator Amy Tripi, president of Tripi Consulting, shared 30 ideas to enhance fundraising direct-response creative. Here are the first 10 ideas from the session "30 Ides in 60 Minutes: Your Hour of Creative Power."

Should We Hire a Professional Grant Writer?
May 9, 2014

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.

Give the Next Generations of Fundraising a Seat at the Table
April 11, 2014

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?

Will Knight Challenge Hurt or Help Nonprofit Fundraisers?
April 11, 2014

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?”

7 Steps to Retain Your Fundraisers
April 9, 2014

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.

College Park Professor Awarded Prestigious Fundraising Research Prize
April 8, 2014

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.

Embracing the Shift
April 1, 2014

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.