Showing Our (Professional Development) Appreciation to You

In my last message of 2021, I talked about appreciation. Fundraisers are in the appreciation business; it’s something you know well. As a way of thanking you for everything you did in 2021 to support your cause and the profession, AFP published a bonus fifth issue of Advancing Philanthropy. I hope you enjoyed that issue and hearing from your fellow members about different aspects of fundraising.  

Then, in my first message of this year, I asked you to consider four questions as you started 2022. One of them was: What are you doing to improve professionally over the next 12 months? Before you got lost in the rush of programming and events, I wanted you to take a step back and think about what sort of professional development you wanted to take this year. 

In this week’s message, I want to combine those two themes—appreciation and professional development—and let you know that in 2022 all Professional, Young Professional and Small Nonprofit Organization members will receive what we’re calling a $100 Appreciation Credit. 

The credit can be used for any professional development product in our learning management system BlueSky Path—all of our webinars, Deep Dives, e-courses and conference recordings—and can be used anytime during 2022. (To clarify, it doesn’t include registration for AFP ICON or AFP LEAD.)

I can’t say enough how important it is that we take the time to intentionally plan out our professional development goals. Otherwise, we risk losing these educational opportunities to the daily grind of our deadlines and responsibilities, and before you know it, the fourth quarter of 2022 will be here and there won’t be enough time.

In addition, engaging in professional development keeps us intellectually curious, stimulated and engaged in the profession, and also helps to prevent burnout and stress. Who knows what sorts of opportunities may present themselves if we take a class or course and learn something new about our profession? Maybe that learning leads us to a new job or promotion, or perhaps you meet someone and form a mentor/mentee relationship? 

I know that for so many of you, fundraising isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life, a calling. Let’s do it as effectively as we can. That means keeping up on the latest changes in our calling and learning new knowledge and skills that can help us better serve our organizations and our communities. It’s about creating greater impact, and we are, after all, the IMPACT profession.

Check out all of the professional development opportunities from AFP Global that you can use your $100 Appreciation Credit for and start learning those new skills that will enhance your career and calling.

And for the ultimate in professional development opportunities, attend AFP ICON 2022 in Las Vegas, May 2 – 4. You can still take advantage of our special Early Bird Rate now through Jan. 28! 

As always, if you have any questions about our $100 Appreciation Credit or anything else related to AFP Global, please drop me a line. You can email me at MikefromAFP@afpglobal.org or contact me on Twitter @AFPMikeGeiger.

For more details about the credit, visit afglobal.org/thankyou.