The AFP Utah Board of Directors recently held our annual retreat to discuss programming and strategy for 2020.  After several hours of good discussion, we took in some sunshine and tomfoolery for our group photo. Special thanks to Natural History Museum of Utah for hosting our retreat, and a big welcome to our new board members: Heather Brown with KUER, Chelsie Armstrong with University of Utah College of Engineering, Rachel Robertson with University of Utah, and Erin Hurtado with ACLU Utah.

Be on the lookout for our 2020 program schedule, and save the date for our Fundraising Day conference in April 2020.  If you are not already receiving our "Insider" email newsletter, sign up today to stay informed of AFP Utah updates.

The AFP Utah Chapter Board is happy to share our 2018 Annual Report with the world!  Click HERE or on the image below to check out all that we were able to accomplish last year, thanks to our amazing members and supporters.  There's even a list of our upcoming programs you won't want to miss!

Special thanks to AFP Utah scholarship recipient Brian Tonetti, of Seven Canyons Trust, for his desing work.

Scholarships

The application period is now closed for AFP Utah membership scholarships for the 2020 calendar year. Winners will be contacted in December 2019, with a public announcement in January 2020.

Please visit our Scholarships page for details on all of scholarship opportunities.

The latest Giving USA report on charitable giving reminds me of two people from the upper Midwest who take a winter vacation to San Diego.  During their first day in southern California, the day is partly sunny, with a temperature of 78 degrees.  The first person proclaims gratitude for a warm, comfortable day.  The other person is glad to have packed a sweatshirt since the weather is so chilly.

The same data point: partly sunny and 78 degrees.  Two different reactions.

Similar responses have been made in the wake of this year’s Giving USA report, which announced that charitable giving topped $427 billion in 2018.  On one hand, this amount is the second highest on record and $17 billion higher than the previous year.  On the other hand, charitable giving declined by 1.7 percent when adjusting for inflation.

READ FULL STORY

Every year, AFP Global recognizes outstanding stories of selfless, generous and inspiring individuals and organizations involved in fundraising and philanthropy through our awards program. These awards offer members and chapters great ways to recognize, honor and steward funders, donors and colleagues who are making a huge difference in their communities. 

You can learn all about the awards program and how to submit a nomination at our awards portal: http://awards.afpvote.org/. All nominations MUST be submitted online. 

Chapters are strongly encouraged to submit their local honorees for AFP Global's awards program. Members can also submit nominations as well, so long as they have the approval of their local chapter. 

Sept. 20, 2019 is the deadline for most of this year's awards, including these categories: 

AFP's Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award recognizes an individual's career work in five areas: fundraising experience and success; innovation and leadership; commitment to the professional and ethical fundraising; dedication to lifelong continuing education; and demonstration of personal philanthropy. 

The CARTER Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Awards (Group and Individual) honor service by an individual or group of young people ages 5 to 18 who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the community through direct financial support, development of charitable programs, volunteering and leadership in philanthropy. 

The Outstanding Corporation Award honors a corporation or its corporate foundation that demonstrates outstanding commitment through financial support and through encouragement and motivation of others to take leadership roles in philanthropy and community involvement. 

The Outstanding Foundation Award recognizes a foundation that demonstrates outstanding commitment through financial support, innovation, encouragement and motivation of others to take leadership roles in philanthropy and local, national, and/or international involvement. 

There are two awards focused on AFP chapters and leaders: the Charles R. Stephens Award for Excellence in Diversity, honoring chapters in each size category for their work in advancing inclusion, diversity, equity and access; and the Barbara Marion Award for Outstanding Leadership to AFP, a member service award. 

All of the above awards have a deadline of Sept. 20, 2019. 

In addition, AFP's Young Professionals Award has a different process and deadline. AFP will honor five up-and-coming fundraisers (must be under the age of 31 at the time of nomination) who have already demonstrated exemplary, creative and innovative work in their career, as well as a strong commitment to the profession, including engagement with AFP and community and volunteer work. Read the description online to understand how nominations for the Outstanding Young Professionals Award works. 

For more information about these awards, as well as to submit a nomination online, click here. 

If you have any questions, please contact Michael Nilsen, vice president for communications and public policy, at .

Learn More and Submit a Nomination Now

As you may have heard, AFP Global will be increasing its dues for Professional and Associate members by $30 annually effective July 1, 2019. This is the first time in 10 years that an increase has occurred to these categories, which accounts for about 60% of all memberships. This change is being made now to continue to develop and enhance benefits and services, as well as ensure adequate resources to meet future member needs.

AFP Utah is committed to our mission of enabling people and organizations to practice ethical and effective fundraising through exceptional programming, professsional development, and networking opportunities. Like AFP Global, our chapter has continually taken strides to meet and exceed the needs of our members. We recently started a scholarship program for young development professional to underwrite their membership dues, recently hosted our first Membership Appreciation Event, recognize the philanthropy leaders in our community through Utah Philanthropy Day, and listened to member feedback to enhance our educational opportunities like our Fundraising Day Conference and Fundamentals of Fundraising Conference.

Thanks to the support of our local members and generous sponsors, we will not be increasing our chapter dues at this time. AFP Utah is committed to serving our members and community fundraisers as Utah's only organization dedicated to the professional development of fundraisers in the state.

For more information on the AFP Global membership increase or if you have questions or comments, please email AFP Global or read more here. If you have a question or a comment about what AFP Utah provides, please send us an email at .

Thank you,

AFP - Utah Chapter Board of Directors