AFP Greater Toronto Chapter - Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Toronto Chapter

Posted October 29, 2020

Written by: Sue Lockett, CFRE

Preferred pronouns (she/her)

As a seasoned fundraiser who has spent most of her career in the healthcare landscape there was a time when I was more laser-focused in my professional development – sticking almost entirely to healthcare sessions. With so many conferences and webinars available, and often a tight budget (and little time!), I felt that hearing directly from my healthcare mentors would help me to stay atop of my field.

I still believe this is a terrific use of time and keeps one relevant and competitive. Passionate donors are shopping around, and they are talking with your peers at other health institutions. Sector-based development and the hopeful validation of one’s best practices adds confidence to your approach. This knowledge allows you to paint a picture for an investor using tools and language they recognize and already understand.

However, once in a while you need to shake things up a bit. To peer into a different realm and see what treasures you might be able to transport back into healthcare.

This is how I felt the first year I attended AFP Congress. There was so much to glean from both healthcare and non-healthcare peers. Innovative donor activities that were happening in social services, arts, education… that could be modified and applied to some of my healthcare donor interactions. I found the content and the presenters fresh and inspiring. There was also a focus on ‘moving forward faster’ through digital engagement and highly personalized stewardship – things that a smaller or younger non-profit can be more nimble with, but could definitely find a place in a healthcare foundation’s plans.

In it’s virtual and affordable format, this year’s NOT Congress is very accessible – even if you can only join in real time for a few sessions.

Most healthcare organizations have a loyal group of donors who have pledged a planned gift – a decision often driven by the family having an affinity with the hospital during their lifetime. But we seem to struggle with marketing this option to those who might not have a direct relationship as a grateful patient. In “How to Build a Branded Legacy Program that Raises Big Bucks: The Amnesty International Case Study” speakers Hala Al-Madi, Bryan Tenenhouse, Lisette Gelinas, and Donna Richardson will share their experience of building a branded program that inspires an emotive response. They will walk us through what it takes to bring our Legacy brand to life with story-telling, in a way that inspires more donors to consider the wise decision of leaving our organization a gift in their Will.

Like many sectors, healthcare is traditionally reliant on special events and sometimes has the advantage of having many attendees located in a fairly close radius of the hospital. The pandemic has made in-person events a sparse option and a great number of staff and volunteers are working remotely. Make-A-Wish has staff and volunteers across the country and they are already thinking innovatively and practically how to keep them engaged while driving donor revenue. In their session, Gemma Cowan and Patricia Dolla will speak to the virtual tools and techniques they use to engage staff remotely and offer advice (and a plan!) to host staff collaboration sessions in your organization with measurable outcomes.

And for those looking to maintain their laser focus on healthcare content, Tony Myers and Sue McCoy will deliver a session called “Major Gifts – Are you Ready?” Sue McCoy is Director of Major Gifts at Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, where she oversees a team securing $9 million a year in donations. Sue and Tony will pull from their 50 years of combined experience, as they share what they’ve learned about how to “Get to the Point” as you reach the solicitation phase with your prospects.

Ted Garrard, CEO, SickKids Foundation along with Greg Hagin will present an intriguing session titled “The Donor is Dead. Long Live the Donor” and enlist the shared knowledge of 3 additional panelists to explore and de-mystify the life and death of legacy giving in the age of digital transformation.

So whether you commit to broadening your learning with the allure of fresh ideas, or stay the course to seek emerging trends from health sector masters, register soon for AFP’s NOT Congress taking place Nov 23-25.

Posted August 13, 2020

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

Posted July 23, 2020

With the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police and the protests that have ensued, many are asking what we can do to end racism in America and across the world. On June 15, AFP Global hosted a town hall for a conversation about the actions AFP and fundraisers can take to bring about a more inclusive and just profession and society. Hosted by Michelle Edgerton and including presenters Kishshana Palmer, Simone Joyaux, Ken Miller and Marco Corona, this town hall conversation is the first of many ongoing discussions between AFP and its members to ensure inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) principles are acted on and upheld within the sector.

Learn more about each of the panelists here & watch the town hall below:

The AFP Greater Toronto Chapter staff and Board of Directors, reiterate our commitment to supporting initiatives that combat anti-black racism and oppression within our Chapter and sector. We know there is more work to be done and we are committed to continuing to working together with each of you, our members and sector partners, to eliminate systemic anti-black racism and oppression and stamping out the inequities faced by Black Indigenous and racialized individuals within our sector as we work towards a more positive and equal future.

Learn more about our Chapter & AFP Global’s IDEA work here.

Please stay tuned for further updates on this work to come. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to us at info@afptoronto.org should you have any questions or if you would like to get involved in this important work.