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Now Hiring: AFP Director of Annual Giving

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AFP Foundation for PhilanthropyOccasionally, folks send me job descriptions to seek assistance in finding an ideal candidate. A few days ago, Suzan Weihofen from the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy, sent the following listing for the AFP Director of Annual Giving. Considering this is a fundraising position associated with a fundraising member organization, this is guaranteed as a very unique opportunity.

To Apply:

Send cover letter, resume and salary requirements by e-mail to employment@afpnet.org with the job number of CL102 and job title of Director of Annual Giving in the email subject line (example: CL102 Director of Annual Giving). According to AFP, please do not contact the organization with questions about this position, because of the high volume of resumes received will make it impossible to respond to inquiries about the status of a resume or search. You may also find more information on the AFP Career Center – Job Search Website.

CFRE Updates Certification Requirements

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CFRE International sent me an E-mail yesterday announcing two revisions to the policies for initial and re-certification. I wasn’t able to locate this announcement on the CFRE website so here is the information for anybody considering to obtain this professional fundraising credential (I recommend you do, as do others).

CFRE1) Earning Continuing Education credits.
Applicants for initial certification and recertification DO NOT have to attain 50% of their continuing education credits from CFRE Approved Continuing Education Providers.
In January 2010, a new requirement was introduced that 50% of reported continuing education activities needed to be from CFRE Approved Continuing Education Providers.  However, many candidates indicated that meeting this threshold was difficult due to the educational offerings available in their region.  In response, the CFRE Board of Directors decided to defer the implementation of the 50% CFRE Approved Provider requirement, pending further evaluation.  Based on this evaluation and continued candidate feedback, the Board since decided to discontinue the 50% policy going forward, and retroactive to March 2010.

The CFRE Approved Continuing Education Provider program enables you to quickly identify those educational opportunities which have been reviewed and deemed eligible for credit by CFRE International.  Eligibility is based on content that is reflected in the CFRE Test Content Outline, which is the identified framework of professional fundraising practice.  We encourage you to seek out these opportunities as you are able.

It is important that our global certification and recertification applicants have ample access to required continuing education activities. To that end, CFRE will continue to work with our Participating Organizations and Approved Continuing Education Providers to enhance the availability of educational offerings while encouraging certificants and applicants to take full advantage of these valuable opportunities.
Click here to view the Continuing Education Credit Policy – Click here to view the CFRE Test Content Outline

2) CFRE now recognizes half-time employment to meet eligibility requirements.

In response to feedback from current and prospective CFRE’s, the CFREI Board of Directors has voted to allow part-time (half-time) employment to be documented in the Professional Practice category on the application for the purpose of initial certification and recertification. CFRE defines half time employment as ½ full time employment (FTE) or greater.
This change in policy was made in consideration of the changing employment landscape in many regions, and after conducting research on the employment requirements at several international certification programs.

CFRE International appreciates the diversity of the fundraising field and is dedicated to staying abreast of trends in the profession, while maintaining the highest standards established for certification programs.

Please feel free to contact CFRE International with your questions or to discuss how this new policy may impact your eligibility.

Click here to view the Policy on Eligibility for the CFRE Credential and Policy on Eligibility for Recertification of the CFRE.

Our hope is that these changes will encourage and assist you in seeking or maintaining your CFRE certification, for your benefit and that of the profession.

CFRE is YOUR certification.  Thank you for your continued support of the CFRE program.

Warm Regards,

Denny Smith, Ph.D.

President and CEO

Perspective on a Fundraiser’s Perspective

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I’m thankful to have Lilya Wagner as a mentor, colleague, and generous friend. She’s been an encouragement these past several weeks but has also been challenging me (in a good way) as we work together on a project. Recently Lilya forwarded me a link to an article relating to our project.

The article, Who are we to talk?, is written by Emily Cavan Lynch, a public health consultant and freelance writer. She poses the question, “would development aid be more effective if it was delivered by people whose life experiences are more similar to those of the supposed beneficiaries?” I find this question quite intriguing.

It has been several years since I took the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam but I vaguely recall one of the questions asking about the demographic profile of a board of trustees. This particular question related to the fact that one of the potential members under consideration to join the board represented, not wealth but, the perspectives of the non-profit’s beneficiaries (if memory serves me correctly, the potential board member represented a racial profile).

In my research of the culture of philanthropy in Ghana and my Ethiopian travels to work with an NGO located there I’ve learned that the best practices of the West don’t translate well to the circumstances of the cultures represented in these countries. I agree on the importance of making a priority to use cultural perspectives to inform the programmatic/strategic aspect of the NGO. The fundraising strategy is no exception to this and should also mirror the cultural characteristics of the native demographics… but how is this done?

Research can get you quite far, but it is no substitute for active listening and deep engagement with benefactors and beneficiaries that represent a different perspective. A fundraiser’s perspective would be greatly impacted if they let the experience and judgement of beneficiaries help guide their work.