As we head into our 2020-2021 cycle at the AFP Greater Toronto Chapter and continue to adjust to the unprecedented challenges we face as a society and sector, we want to reiterate our commitment to Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) principles.

Within our Chapter, we know that we must continue to have often uncomfortable conversations at the Board and leadership level as well as with our membership and with those within our sector in order to move the dial on issues to ensure we are living up to our commitment to IDEA.

We want to thank our colleagues at AFP Global for hosting an important town hall as a first-step of ongoing conversations and IDEA initiatives to address the issues of anti-Black racism and oppression within the fundraising sector. We were happy to see many of our fellow Chapter and Canadian members tune in to learn more about the different ways we can come together to take action to combat systemic racism.
Following this town hall, at the Chapter level we have had ongoing discussions with our colleagues at AFP Global and AFP Canada about how we can continue these conversations to take further action and continue to develop important AFP IDEA programs and initiatives.

One of our first actionable steps is to have our Chapter Board and staff participate in formal, ongoing unconscious bias, anti-Black racism and anti-oppression training to ensure we address these issues at a governance level. It is the responsibility of the Board to build the trust of the membership by demonstrating our personal commitment to greater awareness of different experiences and perspectives and our role in speaking out and fighting against systemic racism.

Further to that, we have also committed to ensuring our educational programming going forward – starting at this year’s virtual Congress – will include sessions specifically focused on unconscious bias, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism to help raise awareness to stamp out systemic racism within our sector. We look forward to working with our Congress management committee, Chapter volunteers and the larger AFP membership to attract the best representatives of this important field of study to lead these discussions.

As a Chapter we want to take a leadership role in ensuring that our members are equipped to work in the sector and organizations in our sector embrace an inclusive workforce and cultivate an inclusive donor community.  To help with this, we will also continue to support AFP Global on evolving AFP IDEA best practices and initiatives and provide regular updates to our members on our collective efforts.

We will continue our efforts to create an environment and opportunities within our Chapter that support open communication and dialogue to allow our membership to speak candidly about the barriers that exist that prevent them from advancing within our profession. In doing this work we are committed to unlearning outdated systems and practices that no longer serve us and are ready and willing to listen, gather and respond to your feedback.

We recognize that these commitments are not the complete solution, however we believe they are important concrete steps towards achieving a Chapter that is responsive to the needs of our members and sector. We encourage you to reach out to us via Penny Connors, AFP Greater Toronto Chapter Executive Director, should you have any questions, feedback or ideas on how we can work together to combat systemic anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism and oppression within our Chapter and sector.

Thank you in advance for your patience and support as we continue to have these important conversations and work towards the best approaches for sector-wide change. We look forward to building a better, stronger more inclusive and diverse AFP Greater Toronto Chapter and cultivating meaningful change toward ending anti-Black and anti-Indigenous systemic racism within our sector.

Sincerely,

Penny Connors
Executive Director, AFP Greater Toronto Chapter

AFP Greater Toronto Chapter Board of Directors:

Amy Pawluk, CFRE                                                                                                    Jennifer Bernard, CFRE
President                                                                                                                     President-Elect

Caroline Riseboro                                                                                                        Seanna Millar
Immediate Past-President                                                                                           VP, Finance & Audit

Sandra Sualim, CFRE                                                                                                 Michelle Vinokurov, CFRE
VP, Governance & Directorship                                                                                   VP, Professional Development

Sasha Manes                                                                                                               Cindy Ball, CFRE
VP, Membership & Marketing                                                                                       VP, Public Affairs

Ken Aucoin, CFRE                                                                                                       Brady Hambleton, CM
Chair, Human Resources                                                                                             Chair, Sponsorship

Paula Attfield                                                                                                                Danielle Mandell, CHRL
Member at Large                                                                                                          Member at Large

Roselyn Sagar-Lal, CFRE                                                                                            Simone Hicken
Member at Large                                                                                                          Member at Large

Mary-Lynne Stewart                                                                                                     Sara Ly
Member at Large                                                                                                          Member at Large

Teresa Vasilopoulos, CFRE, MBA                                                                                Cheryl Denomy
Member at Large                                                                                                          Member at Large

Dane Shumak, CFRE                                                                                                   Pamela Ross, CFRE
Member at Large                                                                                                          Member at Large

Stacey Silverberg Carcao, CFRE, BCL, LLB                                                               Aki Temiseva
Member at Large                                                                                                         Member at Large