Posts Categorized: Fundraising Day

Celebrating our Chapter Volunteers: National Volunteer Week – April 19-25

Posted by & filed under Fundraising Day, Volunteers.

In celebration of #NationalVolunteerWeek, we want to say thank you to all of those who continue to give back in their personal and professional lives.

Volunteers from across the city have come together during this critical time to care for those in need and have truly proven to be the backbone of society when the most is at stake. This week, we thank and salute you along with our healthcare heroes and those working in essential services during this time.

Our Chapter would not be where it is today without the support of our members who have contributed countless volunteer hours and ideas to help us in delivering quality professional development opportunities and education to fundraising professionals and those in the non-profit sector. This week we want to take the time to recognize just a few of you…

 

Meet our Fundraising Day Committee (Cont’d…read part 1 & part 2)

We are excited to work with our Fundraising Day committee next year to see their ideas come to life & hope that you’ll save the date and join us for Fundraising Day on June 1, 2021.

 

Ochelle Baller – Education

 

Ochelle Baller grew up living on a mountain as a little girl in the Philippines, where every day she would walk for miles to fetch water and do her laundry by the river. Thirty-one years later, her humble beginnings led her to make a shift in her career from corporate real estate to non-profit. Her passion for making a difference in the community, coupled with her experience in administration, education, management and marketing, has equipped her in undertaking the creation of the Partner Development Lead position at Ghana Rural Integrated Development (GRID). As a mission-oriented individual, Ochelle enjoys working at GRID, whose mission is to enable poor communities in Northern Ghana meet their needs in a sustainable manner. After attending the 2019 Fundraising Day conference and gaining valuable insights, she is thrilled to give back and serve on the Fundraising Day Education Committee for the first time.

Do you have a favourite volunteer / Fundraising Day memory?

Being new to the sector, I never thought that I would be selected to be a part of the Fundraising Day Management Committee. I’m very grateful for the warm acceptance of the team and the AFP staff.

 

What words of advice would you give to someone who’s new to AFP and/or thinking about volunteering?

Be open-minded to many new ideas and people. Don’t let being new and inexperienced stop you from sharing your ideas and insights! Read more »

Celebrating our Chapter Volunteers: National Volunteer Week – April 19-25

Posted by & filed under Fundraising Day, Volunteers.

In celebration of #NationalVolunteerWeek, we want to say thank you to all of those who continue to give back in their personal and professional lives.

Volunteers from across the city have come together during this critical time to care for those in need and have truly proven to be the backbone of society when the most is at stake. This week, we thank and salute you along with our healthcare heroes and those working in essential services during this time.

Our Chapter would not be where it is today without the support of our members who have contributed countless volunteer hours and ideas to help us in delivering quality professional development opportunities and education to fundraising professionals and those in the non-profit sector. This week we want to take the time to recognize just a few of you…

 

Meet our Fundraising Day Committee (Cont’d…read part 1 here)

We are excited to work with our Fundraising Day committee next year to see their ideas come to life & hope that you’ll save the date and join us for Fundraising Day on June 1, 2021. Read more »

National Volunteer Week – April 19-25

Posted by & filed under Fundraising Day, Volunteers.

In celebration of #NationalVolunteerWeek, we want to say thank you to all of those who continue to give back in their personal and professional lives.

Volunteers from across the city have come together during this critical time to care for those in need and have truly proven to be the backbone of society when the most is at stake. This week, we thank and salute you along with our healthcare heroes and those working in essential services during this time.

Our Chapter would not be where it is today without the support of our members who have contributed countless volunteer hours and ideas to help us in delivering quality professional development opportunities and education to fundraising professionals and those in the non-profit sector. Together we have been able to successfully grow our membership and further develop our programming to be relevant to, and reflective of the communities we serve. We have been able to advance our mission, deliver on our Chapter Strategic Plan, and in doing so, at a macro-level, advance philanthropy.

Your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed and this week we want to take the time to recognize just a few of you…

 

Read more »

Call for Nominations | 2020 New Fundraising Professional Award

Posted by & filed under Career Development, Fundraising Day, Inspiration, Leadership/Management, Mentorship, Next Generation Philanthropy, Philanthropy Awards.

The AFP Greater Toronto Chapter is now accepting nominations for the 2020 New Fundraising Professional Award. Established in 2001, this award recognizes fundraisers who are making an outstanding contribution to the profession early on in their careers. During this difficult time for the sector it is important for us to acknowledge the hard work of fundraisers who are committed to causes that bring the community together and who inspire individuals to give. We want to acknowledge and celebrate the work of fundraisers who are starting out on this journey to promote and advance philanthropy.

We are welcoming submissions to nominate Chapter members with 2 to 5 years of full-time fundraising experience. Candidates must have demonstrated early fundraising success, articulated their short- and long-term career objectives, and have demonstrated a commitment to volunteering and service to the profession.

Please take a moment to consider nominating an AFP member whose work has provided a powerful inspiration to others, and who is driven in building a career in the non-profit sector. Self-nominations are welcome.

The deadline for nominations is Monday, April 20 at 5pm EST.

LEARN MORE & APPLY

Thank you in advance for your commitment to the fundraising profession, your interest and involvement with AFP.

If you have any questions about the award nomination or selection process, please don’t hesistate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Penny Connors, BA, BComm, CRM, CAE
Executive Director, AFP Greater Toronto Chapter

____________________________________________________________

Thank you to our 2020 New Fundraising Professional Award sponsor:

Fundraising Day 2019: Through the Eyes of a First-Timer

Posted by & filed under Fundraising Day, Networking, Next Generation Philanthropy, Opinion, Special Events.

By Emily Barrie

“Leave something behind, be curious, and surround yourself with good people”.

These are simply a few of the takeaways I left Fundraising Day 2019 with; and as a first-time attendee I can confidently say that as I boarded the Lakeshore West train I was heading back home with a number of new tools in my fundraising toolkit.

 

I am early on in my career as a professional fundraiser, and have been a member of the AFP for less than a year. Always eager to learn and improve my skill-set I decided that it was time for me dig deeper and dive into my fundraising education. So naturally I found myself on AFP Toronto’s Fundraising Day 2019 website, hovering over the “complete registration” button. At first I was a bit hesitant as not only would I not know anyone, this would be the first time I’ve attended an event like this. Of course, I could hear the little fundraiser voice in the back of my head saying “you won’t know unless you ask”, or in this case, attend. So after debating over which sessions I wanted to participate in I found myself looking at that same registration button, and clicked.

Read more »

The Fabric of Canada has Changed…Have you Embraced Diversity in Your Fundraising Strategy?

Posted by & filed under Diversity, Donor communications, Fundraising Day, Next Generation Philanthropy, Opinion.

By Loretta Lam

Understand Your Audience Before You Ask

 

May 30, 2019 – I was at a conference today filled with around 500 attendees from small to large not-for profit organizations. The conference, called Fundraising Day and appropriately themed “The Fabric of Fundraising” in celebration of its 25th year, was organized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter. I made remarks at one of the sessions at the conference about the importance for fundraisers to understand the changing fabric of Canada.

Canada now has over 40,000 immigrants every year and 7.1 million Canadians’ mother tongue is neither English nor French. By 2036, 34% of Canadians will be multicultural consumers. Charities and not-for-profit organizations have to understand that their current and future donations, sponsorships, volunteers and employees will come from these immigrants. Fundraisers need to adapt their fundraising and marketing strategies to the fast changing demographics. With that being said, I wonder how many of them have hit some roadblocks along the way before they realized they need a different approach to this unique audience segment.

The Chinese, for example, are known for their charitable giving and generosity, but they are not keen to give just because you have a good cause. With so many good causes, how can you push the right buttons to get results? Many organizations make the mistake of asking before the right relationships have been built. From my own personal history and experience, I have learned that doing business with the Chinese requires building positive relationships and trust. This same principle applies to fundraising in the Chinese community (and in the sector at large). While immigrant Chinese are trying to integrate into the Canadian culture, it is important to keep in mind that most were brought up with a very different set of values, which still shape how they think and behave.

So, how do we embrace these values and diversity in our fundraising?

 

 Here are 6 quick tips to get you started:

 

Read more »