This is our soapbox

This is our soapbox on philanthropy, fundraising, the charitable sector, and the world. For more information, visit GoalBusters.net or call 888.883.2690.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

100 Days of Gratitude, Day 8: Investing in Our Profession

Past and present AFP Vice Chairs of Membership (l to r):
Alice Ferris, Joyce Mitchell-Antoine, Joseph Goepfrich,
Susan Earl Hosbach, Ann Hale, and Vice President Lori Gusdorf.
Not pictured:
Bill Hallett, Phil Schumacher, Jay Frey
People who know me know that I have invested a lot of time volunteering for the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In spite of the challenges of the time, travel and financial contributions, it is still one of my most fulfilling volunteer jobs.

But how did this come to be?

Like a lot of things in life, when I started this adventure, I wasn't expecting much. I was serving my first year (of eventually four years) as president of the small but mighty AFP Northern Arizona Chapter. I got some letter (yes, letter) inviting me to serve on an international committee, and I blindly signed up. It was the Chapter Support Subcommittee, chaired by Susan Earl Hosbach, CFRE.

I had no idea what I was getting into, but before long, I volunteered to do something. I don't even remember what it was, but Susan immediately identified me as a "good volunteer." And someone with leadership potential, apparently, because when she moved up in the volunteer structure, so did I.

Phil Schumacher, CFRE, ACFRE, got into the mix as well, encouraging me in other volunteer and leadership areas in the membership division of AFP. Others in the division leadership also supported my involvement, including Roderick Reinhart, CFRE, Jay Frey, CFRE, Ann Hale, CFRE, Joyce Mitchell-Antoine, CFRE and Vice President of Member and Chapter Services, Lori Gusdorf, CAE. (Not a complete list, for sure!) Eventually, I served as Vice Chair of Membership in 2009-2010, which was one of my most challenging and most rewarding volunteer commitments to date.

So what did all these people do to encourage my volunteer service?
  1. Provided genuine appreciation for my work. I never felt like someone was just giving me lip service. They provided timely, personal and specific thanks for my efforts.
  2. Followed through on promises. If they said they were going to do something, they did it. Or, if it became unrealistic to follow through, they provided logical reasons why and alternate solutions.
  3. Challenged me to stretch. I naturally gravitate, as most people do, toward things I'm good at. They often recognized before I did where I would excel.
  4. Brought me into the bigger vision. I never felt like I was only privy to a small part of the picture. These leaders led and shared the big picture and made sure that budding leaders knew the direction we were headed.
  5. Encouraged me to develop leadership that would come after me. Leadership in the membership division is not just about your current term, it's about who will serve next. It's easier to think big picture when you know there will be skilled leadership after you.
I am still involved in AFP, now not only in the membership division, but also in external relations, professional advancement and in resource development through the Canadian Foundation. I'm in the process of writing to many people who have invested their volunteer time in advancing philanthropy through our professional association, most of whom have also become my good friends in the process. In the meantime, thank you for your work and for influencing my philanthropic life.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

Alice Ferris (99) Jim Anderson (72) AFP (41) ACFRE (39) goalbusters (33) GoalBusters Consulting (31) CFRE (30) fundraising (30) Training (23) nonprofit (23) 100 days of gratitude (21) Association of Fundraising Professionals (18) Presentations (18) 100 days (17) 2009 (15) 2014 (15) AFP Conference (15) gratitude (15) AFPNAZ (14) Social Media (14) 2010 (13) 2013 (13) philanthropy (13) 2012 (11) Workshop (11) travel (11) 2011 (10) Flagstaff (9) How To (9) KAWC (8) Volunteer (8) arizona (8) thank you (8) 2008 (7) Facebook (7) Marketing (7) YouTube (7) 2017 (6) FAQ (6) Food (6) Public Radio (6) Storytelling (6) Tips (6) Video (6) LinkedIn (5) Lowell Observatory (5) Making the Ask (5) NFCB (5) Planning (5) Social Networking (5) Webinar (5) restaurants (5) rural fundraising (5) 2016 (4) Air Travel (4) Chinese New Year (4) Christmas (4) Donor (4) Hopi (4) KGHR (4) KUYI (4) Major Gifts (4) Native American (4) PBS (4) Planned Giving (4) Pledge Drive (4) Public Broadcasting (4) Public Television (4) SlideShare (4) Special Events (4) Stevenson (4) Video Production (4) board development (4) ethics (4) stewardship (4) 2015 (3) Arizona PBS (3) Brand (3) Canada (3) Capital Campaign (3) Chinese (3) Community (3) Development Staff (3) Donor Acquisition (3) Economy (3) Elf (3) Elves (3) Goals (3) HEEF (3) Haiku Deck (3) Health Care (3) Holiday (3) Jimisms (3) KAWC Colorado River Public Media (3) Manifesto (3) Mission (3) North Country HealthCare (3) Passion (3) Photography (3) Promotion (3) Research (3) Small Shops (3) Wisconsin (3) Year-End Giving (3) customer service (3) diversity (3) phoenix (3) prescott (3) resolutions (3) yuma (3) 2007 (2) 2020 (2) AFP TechKnow (2) Accreditation (2) Advancing Philanthropy (2) Alice's Restaurants (2) Baltimore (2) Books (2) Business Strategy (2) CFRE International (2) Chronicle of Philanthropy (2) Coaches (2) Commentary (2) Communication (2) Conference (2) Congress (2) Dancing (2) Dr. John H. Caskey III (2) Elta Foster (2) Foodspotting (2) Fundraising Campaign (2) Funny (2) Guiding Principles (2) Honor (2) Hopi Education Endowment Fund (2) House of Philanthropy (2) Humor (2) Immigrant (2) Jib Jab (2) KAET (2) NAU (2) Navajo (2) New Orleans (2) Partners (2) Plan (2) Press Release (2) Profile (2) Prospecting (2) Relationships (2) Respect (2) Resume (2) Reviews (2) Sanders (2) Schultz Fire (2) Singing (2) Strategic Planning (2) TechKnow (2) Toronto (2) Trust (2) Twitter (2) VIP (2) Values (2) Velvet Rope (2) Visionary (2) Vora Finacial (2) accountability (2) anniversary (2) appreciation (2) award (2) career satisfaction (2) change (2) checklist (2) code of ethics (2) crisis (2) crisis communication (2) cultivation (2) culture of philanthropy (2) development (2) development cycle (2) diverse communities (2) education (2) goal setting (2) habits (2) introspection (2) jobs (2) lapsed donors (2) las vegas (2) lessons (2) new year (2) personal (2) san diego (2) tripit (2) washington DC (2) 2019 (1) 30 day plan (1) 60 minutes (1) AFP Foundation Canada (1) AFP Meeting (1) AFPeeps (1) ALD (1) AWC (1) African American (1) Alexis de Tocqueville (1) Alpha Lambda Delta (1) Andrew Philips (1) Angry (1) Animoto (1) Anna LaBenz (1) Annagreta Jacobson (1) Apps (1) Arizona Daily Sun (1) Arizona University (1) Arizona Western College (1) Ask the Experts (1) Bequests (1) Bill Ferris (1) Blink (1) Bloomerang (1) Boot Camp (1) Boudros (1) Branding (1) Broadway (1) CAN-SPAM (1) CEO (1) CN Tower EdgeWalk (1) COVID (1) COVID-19 (1) CPB (1) Career Change (1) Case (1) Center on Philanthropy (1) Certified Fund Raising Executive (1) Charity Channel (1) Charlatans (1) Cheerleaders (1) Children (1) Chris Adams (1) Church (1) City Council (1) Cleveland (1) Cold Call (1) Colorado (1) Commission (1) Community Service (1) Compensation (1) Cook (1) Corporate Giving (1) Credential (1) Credentialing (1) Dan Coughlin (1) Data (1) Dating Game (1) Dave Tinker (1) Desert (1) Dharmesh Vora (1) Discovery Channel Telescope (1) Domestic Violence Shelter (1) Donald Sutherland (1) Donation (1) Douglas Adams (1) Downton Abbey (1) Dr. Carl Myers (1) Dr. William J. Rugg (1) EAA (1) Ed Renzi (1) Efficiency (1) Elevator Speech (1) Entrepreneur Magazine (1) Extraordinary Donor Journey (1) FM (1) FTC (1) Family (1) Fan Pages (1) Farm (1) Fast Food Nation (1) Feasibility Study (1) Feedback (1) Fight Club (1) Flagstaff Community Partnership (1) Flagstaff Shelter Services (1) Flood (1) Flowers (1) Food Bank (1) Foundations (1) Founders Medallion (1) Frances McAllister (1) Free (1) Fundraising Effectiveness Project (1) Gallup Q12 (1) Ginny Z. Berson (1) Girl Scouts (1) Giving USA (1) Global Philanthropic (1) Goldilocks Proposals (1) Granite Mountain Hotshots (1) Grant Writing (1) Grants (1) Grants Step by Step (1) Halifax (1) Hash House A Go Go (1) Hawaii (1) Healthcare (1) Hey Eleanor (1) Hiring (1) Hispanic (1) Homeless (1) Hopi Foundation (1) Hospital (1) Houston (1) IAIA (1) ICON (1) Identity (1) Ignorant (1) Immigration (1) In Kind (1) Indiana University (1) JC Patrick (1) JLB Project (1) January (1) Jetpack America (1) Jim Collins (1) Jimmy LaRose (1) KUAT (1) Kaleidoscope (1) Karla Williams (1) Ken Lain (1) KonMari (1) Kristin Taliaferro (1) KristinCoach (1) Latino (1) Lawrence Welk (1) Le Pavillon (1) Legacy (1) Living Social (1) Lodging (1) Los Angeles (1) Lotus of Siam (1) MIP (1) Mabel's on Main (1) Madison (1) Makeover Series (1) Malcolm Brett (1) Malcolm Gladwell (1) Margo Hudson (1) Marshall Rosenberg (1) Mary W. Black (1) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1) McDonalds (1) Meeting Facilitation (1) Methodist (1) Mexican (1) Michael Nilsen (1) Middle East (1) Mike Geiger (1) Montessori in the Park (1) Mr Rogers (1) MySpace (1) NAFB (1) NANOE (1) NPR (1) NSU (1) NaNope (1) Nan Bain (1) Nepal (1) New York (1) News (1) Nietzche (1) Nonviolent Communication (1) Northern Arizona University (1) Organizational Readiness (1) Orlando (1) Oshkosh (1) Ottawa (1) PMDMC (1) PRPD (1) Pacifica (1) Pandemic (1) Parade (1) Partners in Recognition (1) Paul Helford (1) Philanthropist (1) Pittsburgh (1) Plenary Speaker (1) Politics (1) Porgy and Bess (1) Prezi (1) Proposal (1) Publications (1) Quentin Lee (1) Questions (1) Racial Profiling (1) Raku (1) Review (1) Rick Swanson (1) River City Grill (1) Riverwalk (1) Robbe Healey (1) Robert Kiyosaki (1) Ronald McDonald House (1) Rose Marie Ferris (1) SB1070 (1) SEO (1) SWOT (1) San Antonio (1) Saskatoon (1) Scottsdale (1) Service (1) Serving Your Community (1) Shared History (1) Soroptimists (1) Speaker (1) Sponsors (1) Sponsorship (1) Spring (1) Stephen Hawking (1) Stereotypes (1) Strategic Thinking (1) Super Size me (1) Suze Orman (1) Sweets Raku (1) Taco Trucks (1) Target Marketing (1) Team (1) Teamwork (1) Television (1) Teri Sanders (1) Texas (1) Thanksgiving (1) Tim Burcham (1) Timothy Sandoval (1) Toolkit (1) Tough (1) Tough Economy (1) Train (1) Tucson (1) Tweets (1) United President's Club (1) Vernon Kahe (1) WBAI (1) Watters Garden Center (1) Whitney Anderson (1) WikiHow (1) Wills (1) Winnipeg (1) Wisconsin Public Television (1) Women's March on Washington (1) Woodford Reserve (1) Yarnell (1) Yarnell Fire (1) Year in review (1) Year of the Sheep (1) Yellow Pages (1) accidental fundraiser (1) administration (1) adventures (1) assessment (1) astronomy (1) beliefs (1) birthday (1) board of governors (1) board service (1) breaking up (1) brochures (1) budget cuts (1) business practices (1) career (1) career development (1) cats (1) cliques (1) community radio (1) conversations (1) difficult people (1) dinner parties (1) donor focused (1) donor pyramid (1) election 2016 (1) end of relationship (1) essay (1) executive director (1) federal funding (1) firefighters (1) for profit (1) high school (1) hotels (1) ikigai (1) inspiration (1) jetpack (1) job seeking (1) keynote (1) leadership (1) lemons (1) loss (1) mentoring (1) millennials (1) monthly giving (1) motivation (1) multicultural (1) nomination (1) oklahoma city (1) organizational culture (1) outstanding professional (1) peoria (1) personal growth (1) potlucks (1) productivity (1) receptions (1) recognition (1) red flags (1) remembrance (1) sales (1) san francisco (1) scholarships (1) science (1) setbacks (1) star thrower (1) starfish (1) sustaining members (1) tempe (1) thirtysomething (1) three cups of tea (1) to do (1) transformational (1) vlog (1) volunteers (1) wildland fire (1) winslow (1)