Mix and Mingle Event a Swimming Success!

Big thank you to Judy Anderson, Mark Haney and staff at The Florida Aquarium, for helping the Membership Committee put together a fun free mixer event at The Florida Aquarium’s outdoor Cantina. Surrounded by more than thirty AFP Suncoast members and friends, networking was taken to a new level as various animals introduced themselves to guests – including a four-foot alligator, Hootie the great horned owl, and the majestic falcon!

In addition to friendly networking, the event had at least two prize drawings. One lucky winner received a Florida Aquarium gift basket full of souvenir goodies and tickets to the aquarium. Other lucky winners received free lunch vouchers for AFP Suncoast monthly lunch meetings.

If you have ideas for future member events, or just want to get on the most animal-friendly committee in our chapter, contact Tammy Leventis, AFP Suncoast Membership Committee Chair, at tammy@mailcofla.com or call 727-460-3149.

8 Reasons to love AFP!

by Kim Payne.

8 Good Reasons to Love your AFP Membership:

1. Professional Development
2. Involvement/Networking
3. Information/Research
4. Certification/Designation
5. Ethics
6. Employment Assistance
7. Scholarships
8. Advocacy/Public Service

Did you know that AFP represents over 30,000 individual fundraisers in more than 198 chapters throughout North America and the world? Your AFP Suncoast Chapter serves over 250 members in the Greater Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area – that includes Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Do you want to be a member of AFP Suncoast? First you must be a member of AFP International to be eligible for Chapter membership and its associated rights and privileges. AFP membership is on an individual basis and is not transferable. That means that if you change your employment, your AFP International membership transfers with you, NOT with the organization.

Membership in the Association of Fundraising Professionals offers many benefits including access to customized research; news, trends and expert advice; the ability to demonstrate to donors and colleagues your commitment to ethical and effective fundraising. It also provides access to the support and strategies needed to supply critical fundraising to your organization.

For more information about Membership, contact Tammy Leventis at tammy@mailcofla.com or 727-460-3149.

Tami Milner Scholarship Story

Tami Milner

At the February 15, 2011 AFP Suncoast chapter meeting, Tami Milner, Associate Director of Development at the Hillsborough Education Foundation shared how she used a scholarship to attend a local conference:

“I work for an organization that is very supportive of external training so when I heard about the chapter scholarships available to AFP members, I immediately did my research.  I found out that I was eligible to apply because  I was a supporter of the ‘Every Member’ Campaign and I volunteered on a committee. I decided to apply for a scholarship to defray expenses to attend the Plant Philanthropy conference in Boca Raton last summer.

The scholarship is available online and it’s very easy to fill out. The application took me about 20 minutes to complete, and after submitting it, I was notified that I would receive $500 toward my expenses for Planet Philanthropy.

I received a lot of useful information from this conference. The sessions I decided to attend focused on Engaging with Foundations, Grant Making, Board (committee) Development, and my favorite was how to win over an unhappy donor! I encourage you to get involved and apply for a scholarship!”

JoAnne Linkner Scholarship Story

JoAnne Linkner

At the January 18, 2011 meeting, JoAnne Linkner, Director of Annual Fund and Special Events at the Academy of the Holy Names, shared her experience using the AFP Suncoast scholarships to enhance her fundraising career. Here is some of what she shared:

When I moved to Florida in 1999 to take a fundraising position at Admiral Farragut Academy, I was completely clueless.  The position was not only new to me but also to Farragut.  The first bit of advice I received was to look into the AFP. As soon as I joined I applied for and received a scholarship to the international Conference in New Orleans.  The conference turned my world around.  I learned how to lay the foundation for a successful program, that there is a wealth of resources right at my fingertips, and most importantly, that I was not alone!  Hundreds of fundraisers just starting out, and hundreds more to learn from. 

Seven years later, I left Farragut and joined a team of Advancement Officers at Academy of the Holy Names for a more streamlined position.  I once again turned to AFP to help me with this transition and attended a conference in Rhode Island that showed me ways to be the most effective in my new role.  This conference was also funded by an AFP scholarship. 

And finally in September 2008, I went on maternity leave.  When I returned 3 months later, I felt disconnected as a result of being home for so long, not to mention, the face of fundraising had shifted as a result of the economy.  Naturally, I turned to AFP, and took advantage of a scholarship  to attend a CASE NAIS conference in NYC.  It gave me hope, a badly needed recharge, and some great ideas on how to survive this recession.

AFP has been a constant in building my career, and I am grateful for our chapter’s scholarship program. The application process is simple!

Members: Tracey D. Crocker & Marla D. Grant

(L-R) Tracey Crocker, Margaret Djekovic and Greg Williams

Last year, I invited Tracey Crocker to come to a meeting. She liked it so much she became a new member of AFP and the AFP Suncoast chapter. Her energy and enthusiasm for the fundraising field has made her exciting to be around. When she introduced two guests at lunch on January 18th I felt compelled to tell you the story.

Tracey is Director of the NCH Florida Project for the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County. She encouraged her colleague Margaret Djekovic to join AFP and they brought their colleague Greg Williams, who also works for the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County. I had the pleasure of talking with them about volunteer opportunities and that led me to introduce them to Marla Grant, who is the primary administrator of the AFP Suncoast page.

Marla D. Grant

Marla has been interested in starting a new initiative within the chapter to help people who are new to the fundraising field get acclimated. Already, Marla does a GREAT job of posting resources on the Facebook page. She filters through the massive amounts of information available online and posts only the resources she finds most valuable.

Getting involved in AFP is like turning a little snowball into a mighty army of snowpeople (forgive me but it is winter even if we don’t get snow in Florida!) What started with me inviting Tracey and working with Marla on Facebook is now likely to turn into a great sub-community for new fundraisers. See how easy that was? What an amazing chapter we have!

So share the love and invite people you know who would benefit from all that AFP Suncoast has to offer.

P.S. And if you want to talk with Marla about resources for new fundraisers, why not give her a post here:  http://www.facebook.com/AFPSuncoast

New Member Spotlight in July

Bob Krouse and Cheryl Hedrick

Your roving reporter tracked down three new AFP Suncoast members at the July meeting and gave them a BIG welcome! Now I’d like to introduce them to you so that you can do the same when you see them at the next event.

Cheryl Hedrick and Bob Krouse are both Associate Directors of Development at the Hillsborough Education Foundation.

Linda Jo McDonald is Grants Manager at the Suncoast Hospice Foundation.

Linda Jo McDonald

I had the privilege of interviewing Linda and am happy to share with you.

Why did you join AFP Suncoast?
Linda was previously a consultant helping nonprofits with strategic planning, grants and board development. When she stepped on board at the Suncoast Hospice Foundation she felt like it was time to rejoin AFP and her local chapter.

What was your favorite vacation ever?
One year Linda traveled to England just after Christmas with her son and daughter-in-law. They visited friends in a small village and celebrated the millennium!

What do you like best about your work?
Linda enjoys developing new programs – especially for worthy organizations like the Suncoast Hospice.

Suncoast Scholarships Help You- Ask Debbie!

Looking to expand your fundraising skill set without putting a strain on your organization’s budget? Check out the AFP Suncoast Chapter’s scholarship offerings and learn how easy it can be to obtain free financial assistance for conferences, seminars and other professional development opportunities. Last year 18 scholarships totaling more than $14,000 were awarded to Suncoast Chapter members.

Debbie Sokolov, Director of Development at FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer, is a first-time Suncoast Chapter scholarship recipient who will be attending the upcoming AFP International Conference in Baltimore. Debbie describes the scholarship application process as painless and simple  “I met most of the scholarship criteria right away – The only thing I had to do was join one of the Chapter’s committees for the coming year.”

Within a few weeks of submitting her application, Debbie received a call from the Chapter scholarship committee letting her know that she had been awarded a $1,000 Chamberlain Scholarship to help cover the cost of her conference registration, travel and hotel. “Without the scholarship, it would have been impossible for me to attend the conference,” Debbie said. “My organization is very grassroots and we have no funds in our budget for professional development.”

Debbie encourages Suncoast Chapter members to investigate AFP’s scholarship offerings when faced with financial limitations or hardship. “Definitely submit an application.  It’s such an incredible opportunity! I’m excited and can’t wait to attend my conference and learn new strategies.”

 

For more information about the AFP Suncoast Chapter and scholarship offerings, log on to www.afpsuncoast.org.

Written by AFP Suncoast member Todd Marrs.