Welcome

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

This year, more than any other in recent memory, we are learning to do things differently. We are learning to work with less, we are learning to hustle more. And while times are challenging, they can also be reaffirming. We are forced back on our fundamental relationship skills, which are probably what drew us to this profession in the first place.

So, many of us are taking strength from our passion for our work. Our passion for the missions that we support. Our passion for relationships with colleagues and donors. Our passion for professionalism.

This is our overarching theme as we are preparing for the annual Conference on Philanthropy hosted by the Massachusetts chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. We know so many of us will have to juggle budget priorities in order to attend, and we are working diligently to provide the programming to enhance professional development for all of us. Right now, learning from our peers about new techniques and fundraising approaches is invaluable.

The most significant input from last year centered around providing more opportunities for peer-to-peer networking. We have revised our schedule to offer just that—a central gathering space for breakfast, for breaks, and for lunch that will allow all of us in attendance to eat, talk, and learn together. In fact, we are also building in some facilitated networking opportunities. We recognize that the best way to learn is from peers who can share ideas and best practices.

We will continue to host eleven educational tracks—from annual fund to major gifts, from small shops to donor relations. And we will better label sessions by experience level. At lunch we have opened up the roundtable discussions, adding affiliation tables to the usual topic-specific tables. And, of course, there is a resource area where exhibitors and sponsors will be available to discuss with us products and services that play a key role in helping us be more efficient in our work.

Of course, we can only provide the quality programming and networking of this conference because of the help of our generous sponsors. Please join us in thanking them for their commitment to this conference and this profession.

With warm regards,