Ken Phillips Named AFP 2024 Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the Year

CONTACTS:
Natalie Paskoski, Manager of Content, (434) 236 – 5583, Natalie.Paskoski@afpglobal.org

(Arlington, Virginia) Ken Phillips, founder and consultant at NGO Futures, based in Boston, MA, has been named the 2024 Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Global (AFP).

The Outstanding Fundraising Professional award is the highest honor that AFP bestows, recognizing effective, creative, and inspiring fundraising, as well as the practice and promotion of ethical standards and best practices within the industry. Phillips will receive the award in Toronto on Sunday, April 7, at AFP ICON 2024, the largest conference of professional fundraisers in the world, with 3,000 members in attendance.

Upon learning of the award, Ken wrote: “I am thrilled and honored beyond belief to receive this award. I have been a committed fundraiser for 63 years and believe that fundraisers are cutting-edge change agents to make this a better world by bringing joy to both donors and beneficiaries. Thank you, AFP, for all you are doing.”

Ken Phillips got his start in fundraising in 1961, as a student raising funds to cover traineeships for foreign students and hosting a national conference. He quickly inspired his peers to join his efforts and was soon able to increase traineeship offers by 50%.

This passion for global access to education led to his position at the Institute of International Education where he raised the equivalent of $18 million in today’s currency on behalf of international study programs for American minorities and international students in the U.S.

Moving up through the ranks over the years, he served as the VP of fundraising at Save the Children US and executive director at Plan International USA. He revolutionized the approach to marketing and donor outreach at these organizations, implementing strategic plans that professionalized fundraising efforts, quadrupling public awareness and tripling revenue.

To broaden his impact, Ken started his consulting company, NGO Futures LLC in 1995. Over the last 30 years he has provided hundreds of training courses in 35 different countries, including many parts of the former Soviet Union, Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe.

He is also an accomplished author, creating resources, articles, and several books on leadership and fundraising, strategic planning, proven strategies for fundraising, ethics and evaluation, that are available in multiple languages.

“In selecting this year’s nominee, the awards committee was struck by the international impact Ken has had throughout his extensive career,” said AFP president and CEO, Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA. “His work sharing fundraising and nonprofit best practices around the world reflects AFP’s core values of education, community, and inclusivity, making him an ideal candidate for this honor. We can’t wait to recognize and celebrate his achievements at this year’s AFP ICON.”

For more information about this award and AFP ICON, please contact Natalie Paskoski at (434)-236-5583 or natalie.paskoski@afpglobal.org 

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Since 1960, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has been the standard-bearer for professionalism in fundraising. The association works to advance effective and ethical philanthropy by providing advocacy, research, education, mentoring, collaboration and technology opportunities for the world’s largest network of professional fundraisers. AFP’s more than 26,000 members in over 220 chapters raise over $100 billion annually for a wide variety of charitable organizations and causes across the globe. For more information, go to afpglobal.org. 

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