Mike’s Monday Message Takeover: Introducing AFP’s New Podcast

We are taking over Mike’s Monday Message today with some exciting news! AFP has launched a new podcast — Rising Voices of Fundraising: The AFP Emerging Leaders Podcast.

For awhile now, the AFP Emerging Leaders Committee has been talking about how a podcast would be a great free resource for emerging leaders (defined as those who have been in the profession 10 years or less). We know early career professionals can’t always afford to attend the large conferences like AFP LEAD or ICON, so the more cost-effective learning opportunities we can provide, the better, especially if that opportunity is a quick 15-20 minutes you could easily fit into your busy schedule, for example, as something to listen to on the way to a donor meeting. 

As the committee discussed the idea in more detail earlier this year, we decided to volunteer as the podcast’s co-hosts. On some episodes, you may hear us both, others it may just be one of us — we felt this co-hosting system would allow for continuity, while taking into consideration that this is a volunteer project for us, and something we will be fitting into our own busy schedules. That said, we do plan to release a new episode on the third Thursday of every month.

We’re proud to announce that our first episode, “Who Me? Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Fundraising”, was released last week. We enlisted as our first guests two successful women who are changemakers in the nonprofit space and leaders in social justice, Mojdeh Cox and Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE. 



Mojdeh presented a session on imposter syndrome at the recent AFP ICON conference in Toronto, so we knew she would bring some amazing insights. Michelle is a member of the AFP Global Board of Directors and caught our attention for this episode with a recent LinkedIn post where she describes how the term “emerging leader” may be sending the wrong message — that you aren’t yet a leader, when there are many people who have been in the profession less than ten years who are already excelling in leadership roles. We invited her to be on this episode to share with us how the terms we ourselves use may actually be contributing to imposter syndrome. 

As expected, our guests did not disappoint. We had some really meaningful conversations about how imposter syndrome disproportionately impacts the BIPOC community and how age bias can limit access to opportunities. Plus, listeners will come away with a simple acronym — A-R-C — that will help you acknowledge feelings of imposter syndrome, rationalize or reframe the situation, and claim your space. 

Though the podcast is intended as a resource for emerging leaders, we think you’ll find there is something in this episode for everyone, from all career stages — after all, imposter syndrome doesn’t just go away when you reach a specific milestone. 

Our next episode, coming out August 15, will also appeal to both emerging leaders and established professionals. We’re going to be talking about generational differences in giving and how to connect with donors of all ages. 

Make sure you subscribe to the podcast, so you get alerts when new episodes are released.  

If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, or you have ideas for topics, please feel free to reach out to afpmarcom@afpglobal.org and the AFP staff can put you in touch with us. 

Thanks for listening!