Mike’s Monday Message: Maximize Your ICON Experience

Whether you’ve attended ICON many times, or Toronto will be your first AFP ICON experience, navigating the extensive list of sessions and networking opportunities can be overwhelming (in a good way!). 

This year, for all of our non-Canadian members, in addition to planning your schedule, you’ll also need to make sure that you have a valid passport that is up to date. (New U.S. Passport Information | U.S. Passport Renewal Information)

Keeping in mind the processing time for passports (6-8 weeks) and with the advance rate (and it’s $120 discount) ending this Friday, January 19, now is the perfect time to register, make your travel plans, and start thinking about what sessions to attend. 

Luckily, our professional development department and the ICON Education Advisory Committee (comprised of AFP member volunteers – thank you!) have made it easy by labeling sessions with their education track and target audience. 

Here are some recommendations for what to attend, based on your career stage. 

Early Career
If you’re new to fundraising first of all, welcome and congratulations! We’re excited to have you as part of this community. 

If you’re able to join us in Toronto, AFP ICON is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in fundraising and maximize your education.

We have over 100 sessions this year, so a big part of maximizing your education will be selecting which ones you want to attend. For early career fundraisers, look for the “Introductory/Foundational” target audience label on the list of sessions on the AFP ICON website. These are tactical-level sessions that cover topics like engaging with various demographics of donors, strategies for effective donor communication, and developing campaigns for major giving and planned gifts.

The conference officially kicks off on April 7th, but we have programming on April 5th and 6th as well – just in case you’re in town early. If you have the budget and are able to arrive by April 5, I highly recommend adding the Fundamentals of Fundraising Pre-Conference Deep Dive to your registration. I’ve heard from people who have taken this course in the past, that this was a great way to learn the basics and get some exposure to the core fundraising principles. Most people don’t come into the profession with a formal fundraising education, so learning on the job is extremely common, but it can feel like drinking from a firehose trying to take in all this new information. This deep dive is a great opportunity to meet other up-and-coming fundraisers and learn the essentials of a career in development. 

Another way to meet people at ICON is by attending the affinity group meetings taking place on the evening of the 6th. Like the virtual affinity group meetings throughout the year, the affinity group meetings at AFP ICON are designed to help you meet fellow fundraisers who you have something in common with, whether that is an identity, such as race or sexual orientation, or where you work, such as faith-based organizations or educational institutions. The people you get to know here can be someone to eat lunch with throughout the conference or meet for happy hour or even dinner, and then hopefully a resource you can tap into long after you’ve returned home. 

Mid-Career
As Baby Boomers retire, there are a growing number of nonprofit leadership positions that need to be filled with qualified candidates. ICON is a great opportunity to develop the skills you need to take the next step in your career. It’s also a chance to see first-hand the paths that your peers have taken, and the career moves that make sense for you. 

If you’re not sure where to go next professionally, I’d recommend signing up for an executive coaching session. An executive coach will help you determine your professional goals and the skills you’ll need to accomplish them, giving you some direction and inspiration. 

When planning your session schedule, look for sessions with “Applied” as their target audience. These go a step further than the introductory/fundamental topics, and contain valuable, practical takeaways that you can use to improve the performance of your fundraising campaigns. 

Affinity groups are just as relevant for mid-career professionals as they are for new professionals, so I would recommend this networking opportunity for you as well! Plus, stick around after your sessions on Monday for a happy hour in the AFP Exchange. This is a good way to wind down, talk to your peers about what you’ve learned, and scope out vendors with solutions that could benefit your team. 

Advanced Career
If you’re at a later stage in your career you may be at AFP ICON to see old friends or participate in meetings, but there are still plenty of sessions designed for high-level fundraisers. “Strategic” sessions focus on industry trends, public policy impacting charities, getting involved in AFP leadership, consulting, engaging board members, and other key topics for nonprofit leaders. 

Other Thoughts
I’d also recommend taking time to meet with the exhibitors in the AFP Exchange while you’re attending ICON this year. Our exhibitors have valuable solutions that can help your team more effectively manage donor records, target effective donor communications, and plan cutting-edge fundraising events. 

Finally, draw some inspiration from the speakers at ICON and submit your proposal for a session at AFP LEAD, which will be taking place October 17-19 in Atlanta, GA. We’d love your leadership expertise at our other signature event of the year!
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Make sure to register for AFP ICON before Friday to take advantage of discounted registration pricing. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Toronto! (And don’t forget about your passport!)

In the meantime, if you have any questions, or there is anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at Mike.Geiger@afpglobal.org or on X at @AFPMikeGeiger. I’d love to hear from you. 

Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA