Mike’s Monday Message: The Homestretch

It’s been quite the fall, hasn’t it?  We’ve gone from Ethics Awareness Month in October to National Philanthropy Day in November, with Giving Tuesday still to be celebrated tomorrow—to say nothing of the elections in the U.S. and the continued pressure of working in a pandemic.

And now here we are—almost to December—typically the most important month of the year for fundraising. It’s the time where we demonstrate our professionalism, our dedication and the skills and knowledge we possess that will propel us to reaching our goals in 2020.

I’ll have a few more messages over the last few weeks of the year, but I wanted to say this right now as we begin to feel the full impact of the giving season: You’ve got this.

I hope that doesn’t sound cliched or pedestrian. But the truth is, you do. You’ve got this. We’ve all got this.

It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. In fact, it’s been rough at times.

Over the last nine months, I’ve been able to connect with so many of you. I’ve heard the agony in your voice of having to be alone and separated from family and friends for weeks at a time. I’ve read in our surveys about having to deal with your kids’ new online school schedules and having to serve as a de facto home teacher even as you fulfill your professional responsibilities. I’ve felt the anxieties and worries of so many of you as we work through this (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, and the stress and disillusionment as our society confronts long-standing issues related to racial and social justice that we absolutely must address.

But at the same time, we’ve learned. We’ve adapted. We’ve pivoted. And we’ve found success in different ways.

We’ve been reminded of the power of the human connection, no matter the form it takes. We’ve seen the incredible generosity of people around the world, many of whom have been affected by the pandemic and social unrest but still care enough to support charitable causes. And we’ve felt the confidence grow inside us as we’ve changed and transformed our work while dealing with all the pressures of our everyday lives.

There is so much to be optimistic about still. We are getting closer to having a vaccine ready for public distribution. We have seen an incredible surge in the number of people energized and activated to bring about social justice in a way we haven’t seen in decades. Despite an incredibly bitter, partisan election in the U.S., our democratic norms and traditions are working as intended.

And we should be optimistic about our fundraising here in December and into 2021. People still care and will respond if we connect with them in the right way. And that’s why AFP is here: to give you the skills, knowledge, tools and resources to make sure you connect with your people in the right way.

December and the giving season are the culmination of everything we’ve done throughout the year, getting you ready for this moment. Whether it’s our webinars, our online conferences such as AFP ICON Virtual, Summer Sessions and AFP LEAD, our new affinity groups, our Daily newsletters, or resources from your local chapter, AFP has you prepared for the giving season.

With AFP Global, your local chapter, and your friends and colleagues standing beside you, let me repeat: You’ve got this. This isn’t the year any of us envisioned, but we are not only going to get through it, we’re all going to find success. It’s probably a different kind of success than what you had in mind in January, but make no mistake, it will be success—both professional and personal.

2020 is the year we all learned an amazing amount about ourselves and what we can accomplish in challenging times. And you’ve got this!

Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA