Attend AFP ICON 2025 Like a Local

AFP ICON is coming to Seattle, WA, April 27-29, 2025! To help you plan your visit, we asked some of our local speakers to share with us a preview of their session, as well as their favorite Seattle hotspots you won’t want to miss while you’re in town. 

Here’s what they had to say: 

Session Title: Expanding Your Donor Base: Advocating for Disability Inclusion and Access
Speakers: Troy Coalman and Elizabeth Ralson

At AFP ICON 2025, I will be presenting with my dear friend, Elizabeth Ralston, on the subject of accessibility and fundraising. The subject matter is more than a personal passion; I am legally blind, so my lived experience comes through in everything I do, both personally and professionally. Everyone, without exception, should have equal access to opportunities, experiences, and information. Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be part of everything we do! As a fundraiser for close to 3 decades, I am hyper aware of the opportunity and the challenges that lie within our space. I am passionate about being an advocate and a presenter, to help break down barriers that will create new pathways for anyone with a disability. It is less about what “I” need; it is all about what “we” need! The foundation lies within the most basic principle, what is good for this community is good for us all! It is my hope that those who attend our presentation and ICON ‘25 will walk away invigorated and ready to help us create change.

I am passionate about this topic because I believe that there are lots of assumptions made in the fundraising profession about what people with disabilities can and cannot do. First, people with disabilities can be donors! So, it is important to get to know who they are and what their needs are. By ensuring your marketing/communications materials are accessible, you have a better chance of developing an authentic relationship with donors. Many donors are elderly folks who acquire disabilities just by virtue of the aging process. Second, fundraising often uses the charity model or “inspiration porn” to tug at people's heartstrings and create pity. They also have the unintended effect of "othering" people with disabilities. I believe with just a little education and storytelling, Troy and I can create change in people's attitudes and beliefs about people with disabilities.

Our Seattle Recommendations 
Welcome to our hometown! Seattle is a vibrant, creative, and very fun town! There are so many places to eat, drink, and indulge your every whim. For art, I highly recommend visiting my (Troy’s) home base of fundraising — the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, followed by a tour of the magnificent campus. You will want to also be sure to visit the Seattle Art Museum, Asian Art Museum, and the many galleries of Pioneer Square. 

For dining, you can eat every day for months and never eat at the same place twice. Some of my favorites include: 

• Filipino: Kilig in Chinatown
• Pizza: A must go is Rocco’s in Belltown
• Malaysian: Kedai Mekan in Belltown
• Burgers: McMenamins on Capital Hill or Queen Anne Hill
• Fish & Chips: I am a diehard for Ivars Fish Bar
• Cocktails: When it comes to great and fun cocktails, a few lesser-known places include the Fog Room near Pike Place and Damn the Weather in Pioneer Square.
• Best Treat: Lady Yum Macarons
• Ice Cream: Molly Moons

Of course, in Seattle you must have coffee, I prefer Hood Famous, Chinatown, and the very classic Café Allegro, University District. If you want some fun shopping, see my friends at Leolo Handmade Shoes & Leather Goods, Paris Madrid Grocery, and Eclipse Hat Shop & Haberdashery in Pike Place. I also highly recommend a fun visit to Uwajimaya in Chinatown, one of the largest Asian supermarkets on the West Coast. 

Session Title: Oops, I'm the CEO! How Fundraising Prepared Me to be an Ethical and Responsive Leader.
Speaker: Kirk W. Laughlin, CFRE

After getting to visit so many wonderful cities at AFP ICONs over the years, I can't wait to host colleagues from all over the world in 2025. Aside from well-known attractions that people should check out, like going up in the Space Needle and browsing through Pike Place Market, here are some things that may not be quite as obvious to visitors to Seattle.

If you can budget the time, I recommend taking a ferry ride from the Seattle Waterfront to Bainbridge Island and back – which you can do as a walk-on. It’s a refreshing couple of hours out and back on Puget Sound and really the best way to get a true skyline view of downtown Seattle. I also think people will have a great time checking out bars and restaurants in the Belltown District, which is along 1st and 2nd Ave. between downtown Seattle and Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is). I especially like Shorty’s (it has pinball machines for tables!), Rob Roy, and Marrakesh. And just south of the Space Needle is the piece de resistance of Seattle late-night bars – the 5 Point.

I’m really excited about my AFP ICON session – “Oops, I'm the CEO! How Fundraising Prepared Me to be an Ethical and Responsive Leader.” I know that’s a cheeky title, but I am seriously interested in exploring where the best practices of guiding and supporting donors intersect with empowering employees and team members. My experience has been that in small and mid-sized nonprofit organizations, there can be a lack of investment in management and leadership training. As a result, people that are good at one role eventually have leadership “thrust upon them” without enough preparation. I am looking forward to talking about periods when I was called upon to lead aspects of an organization that were new to me – and how my experience as a fundraiser and advocate for charitable missions informed that work.

I can't wait to see so many colleagues in 2025! Register for AFP ICON to join us in Seattle!