AFP Canada

AFP Canada

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LEADERSHIP | AFP Canada: Embedding IDEA into our work

AFP Canada was created in 2017 in response to requests from AFP leaders for an entity that focuses specifically on Canadian government relations and communications, as well as priorities such as Truth and Reconciliation.

AFP Canada is one of the four pillars that supports AFP members in Canada, the other three being AFP Global, the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada and AFP chapters. The focus of each is summarized in the chart below.

Over the past seven years, one of the overarching priorities of AFP Canada has been to build a solid foundation for its inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) work.

At the beginning of her term in January 2023, chair Jennifer Johnstone told AFP Daily she wanted to build on the work that AFP Canada has done "... to embed IDEA and decolonize our work, our profession and our sector... I hope to further the work of building an inclusive board of directors where all our members share not only a sense of belonging but are deeply engaged in changing the way that we work together."

"Recruiting a diverse board is the responsibility of the nominating committee," Johnstone explained. "The nominating committee works diligently to ensure a diverse lived and learned experience amongst board members and considers demographic diversity—people of different ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, for example, and well as diversity in areas of practice, geographic location, and chapter size.

"In 2022, an independent external diversity and equity expert conducted a review of our nominations process offering recommendations to make it more accessible and improvements to the language on diversity and inclusion," said Johnstone. "The recommendations have since been implemented at AFP Canada and currently we have a group of board members with diverse lived and learned experience."

"In addition to ensuring we have a diverse group of board members, we focus intentionally on how we work together," said AFP Canada board secretary Tanya Rumble, MPNL, CFRE, CMP, MFA-P. An active AFP volunteer, Rumble is the executive director of development for Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also co-founder of Recast Philanthropy, an initiative to transform philanthropy and the nonprofit sector to be more equitable and anti-oppressive. "At the board level, our focus is on creating a welcoming board where all members belong and can fully participate," Rumble shared. "Our meeting agendas consistently include relationship building and learning together and we provide numerous opportunities for feedback and improvements."

A key pillar

Since AFP Canada began operations, IDEA has been a key pillar in its strategic plan. It guides workplans, volunteer recruitment and how AFP Canada works.

During the pandemic AFP Canada advocated for an equitable recovery for the charitable sector. We supported the proposed increase to the minimum disbursement quota and encouraged more funding be given to charities that have systemically been excluded in the past.

"AFP Canada has also focused a tremendous amount of its IDEA work on Truth and Reconciliation," said Johnstone. "It is a part of our anti-racist, anti-colonial practice and aspiration."

In 2021, as a joint initiative of AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada, an action identification working group on Truth and Reconciliation was created. Among its activities, it took stock of the work currently underway in the sector on Indigenous issues and consulted with

Indigenous leaders to identify meaningful actions that AFP could take on Truth and Reconciliation. In addition to publishing articles and sharing learnings from this work, AFP Canada developed a national territorial acknowledgement as an one of its actions.

In 2022, AFP Canada engaged an external expert to review the Narrative for Canadian Fundraising through a decolonizing and social justice lens which resulted in a revised edition being published. Since that time, AFP Canada has, and continues to offer training on the Narrative to AFP leaders sharing the learnings from this review.

In response to the anti-Black racism experienced by Nneka Allen, Mide Akerewusi and Múthoní Karíukí at the Greater Toronto chapter, the AFP Canada board immediately reviewed and responded to lessons learned and recommended changes embodied in Nneka Allen's lecture "Us and Them: What it Really Means to Belong" and the two-part podcast by AgentsC "Boards and Black Tokenism: What it Really Means to Belong."

These lessons prompted a number of actions at AFP Canada. Planning for the 2023 annual leadership retreat was significantly changed, including sourcing and offering a free online anti-racism awareness course, providing a dedicated, private space for BIPOC attendees, and adding a 75-minute IDEA session.

In the spring of 2023, the board passed a motion requiring new AFP Canada board members to take an online anti-racism awareness course, that came into effect in 2024. Further changes were made to build relationships and offer space for board members to share what they are learning and unlearning.

"We are committed to looking for opportunities to build on this work," said Rea Ganesh, chair-elect of AFP Canada. "New IDEA-related workplan priorities for 2024 include creating an IDEA media brief, reviewing the AFP Canada's IDEA policy, and determining a framework to embed IDEA into the overall governance of AFP Canada."

"We are excited to be supporting a new career-track training for Indigenous fundraisers which has already seen its first cohort of graduates," explained Ganesh. "This, along with our priority to research, compile and to share resources on Truth and Reconciliation will enable us to take additional meaningful actions."

The next major undertaking, which is currently underway, is an independent IDEA and anti-racism audit of AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada the outcome of which will be further recommendations for change. The results of this work will be shared in service to our commitments to transparency and accountability.

AFP Canada 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. "Through this important work on behalf of members in Canada, and in keeping with our commitment to being more constructive than performative, AFP Canada has undertaken policy development, numerous activities, and programs to enact our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access as well as anti-racism," shared Johnstone.

VOLUNTEERING | Thinking of Taking on a Volunteer Leadership Role? Do it!

AFP Global is a volunteer-based organization with 27,000 members in more than 200 chapters throughout the world. Each of the chapters has volunteer boards and committees as do AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada. There are hundreds of opportunities that exist for volunteers who feel the call to lead.

"If you are thinking you'd like to take on a leadership role at the local or national level, do it," says Jane Potentier, CFRE, immediate past chair of AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada and chair of the committee on directorship for the foundation's 2024 board.

"To learn more, you can reach out to current members of the board and, if you have not already done so, get involved with a committee," she says. "If you're not sure what's right for you we can give you a sense of the future trajectory of the foundation and where you can make a difference. Don't wait for the annual nominations cycle to reach out—we love to hear from interested volunteers all year round."

"Many people have some hesitancy when they first put their names forward for volunteer leadership roles. I know I did," says Ken Mayhew, immediate past chair of AFP Canada and chair of the AFP Canada nominating committee. "I encourage members who are considering a leadership role to think about what they're interested in. Some people decide to join a committee at the national level such as communications or government relations. Others are more interested in overall national issues, so they consider the AFP Canada board, which opens nominations in July every year."

One of the stated objectives in the AFP in Canada strategic plan is demonstrating that membership on the AFP in Canada national boards, committees and task forces reflects a diverse and inclusive community in the Canadian context. "We have a matrix of skill sets we're looking for on the board," says Potentier. "We want to ensure we reflect the diverse aspects of our profession which includes the types of fundraising and types of organizations we serve, the specific skill sets we need such has financial or governance experience as well as lived experience, geographic representation, and a range of demographic representation, as we strive towards a more diverse and inclusive volunteer board."

"In the past two years, the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada has been more intentional in its calls for nominations on recruiting new board members from equity seeking groups and diverse communities," says Potentier. "We still have work to do, and it is time to be bold and look at ways of accelerating our IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) work, considering new leadership models and ways of working."

"AFP Canada continues to imbed IDEA throughout its work, including board nominations," says Mayhew. "We strive to create a diverse board that reflects various forms of diversity. In addition, we focus on creating an inclusive board where all members can fully participate and share a sense of belonging."

Both Potentier and Mayhew began their fundraising careers decades ago in front-facing, high impact jobs. Potentier's first job in Canada - she arrived from the UK in 2001—was in Edmonton for her university's alumni advancement phone bank, and Mayhew as a part-time employee at the MS Society of Canada helping to organize their Read-a-Thon.

Potentier joined AFP because, being new to the country, she wanted to meet people and build a network."I started out on the communications committee of the local chapter in Edmonton in 2004. I went on to join the board of directors and eventually, after serving as the Every Member Campaign chair and secretary, became the chapter president in 2010. Subsequently, I became involved with Canada Council—the entity that pre-dated AFP Canada—and then put in a nomination to be on the board of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada in 2016, where I served as scholarships committee chair, and then board secretary before eventually becoming chair of the foundation."

Mayhew got involved in AFP because, he says, within the first year of working for MS, he became frustrated with the media coverage of the cost of fundraising. "I was hired as a part-time coordinator for the MS Read-a-Thon. My job was to give talks to school students about multiple sclerosis and fundraising," he says. "I became frustrated with the media coverage of the cost of fundraising because what I was experiencing was the opposite of what was being portrayed. People were working very hard for very little. I had lunch with someone who felt the same and they suggested joining AFP, so I did. I started helping with media issues about our profession in Canada and I still do today. I find work to change public perceptions extremely fulfilling."

Mayhew also got involved with the Canada Council, the precursor of AFP Canada, which he advocated for. "I wanted all of the elements of the AFP entity—AFP Global, Chapters and the Canada Council or AFP Canada—to leverage the efforts and strength of the other and felt we could be more effective in lifting up and advocating for issues in the Canadian context," he says now. When AFP Canada was formed in 2017, Mayhew joined as an inaugural board member. He served as the chair of AFP Canada's revenue generation task force, the communications committee, the board and now the nominating committee.

Both Potentier and Mayhew see four key ingredients that can make volunteers most successful:

1. "Have more questions than answers," says Mayhew, "Be an active listener."
2. "Be present, and available for meetings, and come prepared, so you can contribute effectively and engage in a meaningful dialogue," says Potentier.
3. "It's not just issue identification," adds Mayhew, "It's trying to find solutions."
4. "Engage members in their committees," adds Potentier, "and bring your ideas and forward thinking."

"I'm pleased with the amount of work being done by emerging leaders, especially to see what's happening at the chapter level," says Mayhew. "It blows me away. I also think we are making a measurable difference in critical discussions that affect the sector that were happening without us. These discussions are now happening with AFP Canada at the table."

After a nomination process that began in summer 2023, the 2024 boards of directors for AFP Canada and AFP Foundation for Philanthropy - Canada began serving their terms on January 1, 2024.