Dues Increase Effective July 1, 2019

To Our Members:

AFP has been able to accomplish so much over the last ten years without ever raising dues for you—our Professional and Associate members who represent about 60% of our membership.

How have we done it? Through steady growth in our non-dues revenue, a focus on financial stability, and constantly reviewing our programs to ensure what we provide is of the greatest value for you.

What kind of value has AFP provided? Below is a list of just some of our main accomplishments and benefits over the last couple of years. None of these programs and member benefits required any increase in dues.

• Tons of new educational offerings, including our recent micro-learning videos, free webinars, and a series of books, guides and online resources;
• Innovative research covering fundraising trends, donor retention, salaries and benefits, the gender salary gap and more;
• Increased advocacy and lobbying before government, leading to new giving incentives and more streamlined regulations for fundraisers and charities;
• The Women’s Impact Initiative and new programming on issues such as diversity and inclusion, building cultures of philanthropy, working with boards, and leadership development;
• A state-of-the-art website, chapter online platforms and a comprehensive database upgrade;
• Upcoming programs and benefits that focus on career development, negotiation training and increasing awareness of ethics;
• Greater access to the AFP community through AFP Connect, our online forums, mentoring programs and more.

There are also numerous intangible benefits, including the community and networking aspects of belonging to the largest organization of fundraising professionals in the world, and the only association with an enforceable code of ethics.

Your membership dues have helped create an extraordinary fundraising community that serves as the voice of the profession and helps members every day to create impact for their missions and causes. Together, we’ve accomplished some amazing things, from huge victories in public policy and ground-breaking research on trends, to significant increases in education and new initiatives on sexual harassment in the profession, gender equity, leadership development and more.

However, the needs of the profession are expanding rapidly and in different ways than in the past, and AFP must continue to evolve with them. We’re focusing on new skills, knowledge and trends that fundraisers need to know—some of them far different from even ten years ago. We’re both reaching out to younger and more diverse members to keep a strong pipeline of talent in our profession, as well as focusing on programs for mid- and senior-level members as growing numbers of fundraisers seek leadership positions in the sector.

As a result, AFP will be increasing its dues for Professional and Associate members—for the first time in 10 years—by $30 effective July 1, 2019. In an effort to avoid having ad hoc increases from time to time, we are following best practices and will be increasing dues every other year by 2% (rounded up or down to the nearest $5 increment) to continually keep up with inflation.

We do not take your membership for granted, nor do we take this dues increase lightly. But in order to continue to provide new and valued benefits to you and continue our leadership role in the profession, this is the prudent decision for AFP at this time.

Since 1960, our work has taken us from just offering fundraising training to looking at the entire experience of being a professional in the field—addressing work place issues, cultures of philanthropy, equity and inclusion, and leadership and management, to name just a few.

But our mission remains the same: to advance ethical and effective fundraising and to provide you with the best tools, education and skills—the best membership experience possible—to achieve fundraising success and change the world.

We are committed to serving as your mentor, guide, resource and colleague every step of your professional career. Thank you for being a member of AFP.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at mbrship@afpglobal.org.

Thank you,

Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA, President and CEO
Todd McLaughlin, Vice President of Membership and Marketing
Association of Fundraising Professionals