KnowledgeFundraising 2020: AFP Congress Session Roundup

We reached out to 94 AFP Congress session speakers  for thoughts- relevant to their sessions, they would like to share and received responses from 23, here's a round up of their thoughts for fundraising in 2020.
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"Aging baby boomers have a keen interest in leaving a legacy and rearranging their affairs to minimize estate taxes. This means that bequests will increase substantially in coming years.  Therefore, stewarding legacy donors, identifying existing bequests, and showing donors how to multiply their bequests by converting taxes to charitable donations is going to be more important than ever before" -- Tina Tehranchian, MA, CFP, CLU, CHFC. Planned Giving Consultant, The Donor Motivation Program.

"More and more funders are looking to be more aligned and engaged with recipients of their funds- make sure that your grant is clear how funders can achieve this!" -- Stachen Frederick. Executive Director, Frontlines.

"stronger support for employee mental health" -- Josh Bowman, Senior Development Officer for the Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo.

"With a strong digital program, new digital donors are far outstripping new donors from offline sources. Given that, we need to treat the acquisition of them like our charity's future hangs in the balance...because it does." -- Shoni Field, Chief Development Officer, BC SPCA.

" I think people are starting to think about things that are corollaries to fundraising. We're moving beyond tactics and strategy and thinking about underlying issues that affect fundraising. That's why my colleague and I, Lisa Watson, have spent the last year exploring Money Mindset and its impact on fundraising and leadership in the charitable sector. And in my work, I'm particularly interested how it impacts the social change sector. " --  Cathy Mann, MA, CFRE, President, Cathy Mann & Associates.

"It's more important than ever in raising more MAJOR gifts to be crystal clear on what the money DOES (and that ins't support your mission) that's molds kids for eternal life, restore forest land, provide nursing support in under served areas in your own state - what the money does.
As we are able to do more and more online and find powerful ways to influence  and even manipulate the beliefs and  actions of others, demonstrating we can be trusted, and coming from an authentic place, will continue to be important for repeated and larger major gifts." -- Marcy Heim, CSP, CFRE, PLCC
Founder and President, The Artful Asker.

"No matter your seniority, you are in charge of developing a more inclusive workplace. Take the time to learn how you can be more inclusive in your life and work. Consider how you recruit more diverse candidates, how you educate your teams, how you support employees in their career development, how you make space for all voices, and when you are silent you are contributing to the problem of a mono culture. " --  Nicole McVan, Director, Corporate Donor Relations, United Way Greater Toronto.

"A trend I want to see - and think we need to see - is greater focus on testing. Testing our assumptions. Testing our tactics. And even our overall strategies." -- Brady Josephson. Managing Director, NextAfter Institute

"Gift in kind donors are converting to monetary donors" --  Judy Noordermeer, Vice-President, Marketing & Communications, Arthritis Society.

"Digital is highly important for the future of fundraising. In the context of that, as organizations move towards embracing digital, there is an opportunity to stand out by using non-digital platforms like phone, mail, and in-person interactions, especially among younger supporters who are not used to receiving communications this way regularly, but do appreciate them. This would only be in certain contexts and more for stewardship than solicitation." -- Rickesh Lakhani, MBA, CFRE, Executive Director, Future Possibilities for Kids.

"This sign could use some more logos, said no sponsor ever / The goal of the first meeting...is the second meeting, not the sale! / When someone hands you a sponsorship proposal it's like they are saying...here, you throw this away" -- Chris Baylis, President & CEO, The Sponsorship Collective.

"When cultivating corporate prospects, speak the language of business." -- Andrew Reddin. Vice-President, NPower Canada.

"When asking for a major gift, it's the story and relationship that counts, not the paper with the story written on it." -- Sue McCoy, MA, CFRE. Director of Major Gifts, Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation.


"As donors experience grief, many will use philanthropy as part of their journey of healing. We, as fundraisers, are active participants in their healing and getting joy from their grief." -- Denise Fernandes, Director of Philanthropy, Plan International Canada.

"As more and more information becomes available online, development professionals will be expected to have the latest information at their fingertips. Gone are the days where only a handful of experts have access to the latest and best information. It's not just in fundraising, it's happening in every field. For example, in the past if you had chest pain, you would need to pick up the phone and call your doctor. Today, you consult Google to check your symptoms first. Likewise, in the past, you needed a lawyer for a simple will or contract. Today, there's LegalZoom. Similarly, all the tools and resources and support you need for a capital campaign are readily online and accessible." -- Amy Eisenstein, MPA, ACFRE. Consultant, Speaker, Author, Trainer.

"How have you modified your government relations strategy to effectively deal with our new minority federal government?" -- Puneet Luthra, MPA. Principal, P.S. Luthra Consulting.


"I think it's important to treat your donors like good friends -- and connect via several different mediums. How do you connect with your friends? For me, it's mostly via text. Are you sending texts to your donors yet? If not, why not?" -- Rachel Zant. Officer, Annual Giving
BC SPCA

"Research shows that Donors = Volunteers = Religiously engaged. Culturally and religiously appropriate engagement strategies will replace some of the fundraising practices" -- Ann Rosenfield; Irshad Osman; Lori Guenther Reesor.

"Embrace the messiness of money mindsets to transform fundraising!" -- Lisa Watson. Co-Founder & CEO, Openly.

"Deeply engage your trustees with your organization's mission to drive stronger governance and increased philanthropy." -- Erin Prendergast. Chief of Staff, Art Gallery of Ontario.