After more than 35 years with AFP, I will be retiring on February 15, 2025. One of the things I am most proud of is the growth of AFP in Canada and my small part in it. As I close my career at AFP and reflect on all that has been accomplished in Canada, I thought I should take the time to document this history of AFP in Canada.
One of my earliest memories is attending a January 1996 meeting in Calgary, where leaders from across the country gathered to develop a strategy for growth across the country. It was -20 C, I didn’t wear boots and had to walk a short distance from my hotel to the meeting location. Coming from Virginia, I don’t think I had ever been that cold before.
In 2015, AFP held a series of focus groups across the country to help inform the creation of what is now known as AFP Canada. We asked those groups “If you had to leave the room with one big idea that AFP and the fundraising sector needs to address, what would it be?”. The looming leadership gap was identified. That was the first time I’d heard that concern and it became the impetus for: reviewing external research, conducting AFP member research and implementing the leadership development program (including the AFP Leadership Institute, AFP Catalyst happening at AFP ICON 2025, and the strategy needed to make sure fundraisers have the skills they need to move into senior leadership positions at nonprofit organizations). It’s pretty cool to reflect and remember how that first conversation led to an entire program being developed.
For most of my NSFRE/AFP career, I was in charge of Membership and Chapter Services. There was a period where we had chapter directors and assigned chapters. All the chapters in Canada were under my portfolio. I am so fortunate to have traveled to all but one of them and to see how beautiful Canada is from coast to coast. Those visits involved strategic planning, chapter leadership training and getting to understand the needs of our members in Canada. To have twenty chapters and more than 3,000 members today is very rewarding.
There were lots of fun times along the way. Specifically at the AFP in Canada Leadership Retreats where an annual fundraising campaign took place for the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada. The first fundraising campaign took place in Ottawa with “spin the lemon”, and over the years included “kiss the cod”, getting Jason Lee, my former colleague, to dress up in a cow costume and wear a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey, and creating watermelon helmets in Saskatoon. A bunch of fundraisers, having fun, yet raising money for the profession.
IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) has been a priority for AFP in Canada for many years starting with a significant investment in 2012 with the Inclusive Giving Project —which became the Fellowship in Inclusion and Philanthropy Program. We have now added an extra “A” onto the acronym for Anti-Racism in response to the Black anti-racism that took place at the AFP Greater Toronto Chapter. Confronting a tough situation like this one challenges an organization to rise or fall and it is through leadership that we learn a path forward. That path was led by Birgit Smith Burton, the AFP Global Board Chair in 2023-2024. Her thoughtfulness, courage and devotion helped AFP take responsibility and determine a path to move the organization forward. The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada and AFP Canada as the two national entities are working with Power of Discourse an independent firm that are conducting an AFP in Canada IDEAA Audit. Those recommendations will be shared in full, used as a roadmap for both entities to become more inclusive, and incorporated into the joint strategic plan.
Being a part of the fundraising growth and outreach that has taken place in Canada since the 1990’s has taught me so much about having a vision, the difference in cultures, and what collaboration can do for the greater good. The best part is the lifelong friends that you meet as part of your AFP experience.
AFP Canada, formed in 2017, was created to bring a Canadian perspective to AFP’s government relations and communications as well as to focus on priorities such as Truth and Reconciliation. We represent over 3,000 fundraising professionals working to support causes and missions that help Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We serve as a part of the larger AFP Global network—the largest community of professional fundraisers in the world.
