AFP Member Spotlight: Lisa Chmiola, M.S., CFRE, CSPG
AFP Member Spotlights are a recurring series of interviews with AFP members, highlighting the unique individuals and career paths that exist within the fundraising profession. If you know an inspiring fundraising professional who deserves to be featured, please email afpmarcom@afpglobal.org.
In this member spotlight, we interviewed Lisa Chmiola, M.S., CFRE, CSPG, the newly elected vice chair, external relations for the AFP Global Board of Directors. She shared with us how she got her start in fundraising specializing in nonprofit events and grew as a local volunteer in Louisiana, eventually becoming an active advocate for AFP’s government relations work.
Q: How did you start your career in the fundraising profession and what led you there?
A: I started my fundraising career specializing in events.
While I was in college, I worked as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle. I was often assigned to festivals, parades, and other nonprofit events, which allowed me to experience up close the impact our sector makes on our communities.
I was introduced to fundraising as part of my duties running the communications department at the Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau. We had a partnership with the City of Lake Charles, and I had the honor of producing a downtown concert series and the city’s Independence Day festival. (Fun fact: my code name on the walkie talkies day of event was Lady Liberty.)
Q: When and why did you decide to become an AFP member and how did you become a volunteer?
A: I joined AFP shortly after beginning my role at the University of Houston as director of development for the College of Technology; it was my first role in individual giving. Many of my colleagues on campus were members and shared it was a great resource for expanding my knowledge.
I started volunteering with AFP a few months later; Iska Wire (my counterpart in the Libraries at the time) was beginning her term as president of the Greater Houston Chapter and encouraged me to join a committee. It really is true that sometimes, it just takes an ask to get a yes!
Q: Can you share with us a little bit about the path you took within AFP that led you to board service?
A: My AFP experience began in the Greater Houston Chapter, first as a member of various committees and then serving on the board as VP of professional development. Part of that role was chairing our local Ask the Experts Conference in 2012. I’ve also served on the boards of the Greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge chapters. In New Orleans, I co-chaired our virtual conference in 2021, and in Baton Rouge I served as government relations chair for 2 years.
Concurrently, I also served in several AFP Global roles. When social media was still new to many fundraisers, I was part of the AFPeeps movement to encourage colleagues to become comfortable with this new way of communicating with donors and volunteers. I’m thrilled to see how far we’ve come in 12 years, especially seeing how active our conference attendees are on the related apps! I was also part of a task force for the National Philanthropy Honors event in Washington D.C. in 2015, and have served on the Collegiate Chapter Support Subcommittee and LEAD Educational Advisory Committee.
I’ve had the honor of serving on the U.S. Government Relations Committee for 8 years. When I joined in 2017, I knew very little about advocacy and its importance in our day-to-day work. I’ve had the honor of chairing this committee the past two years during a particularly active time on the national public policy scene as we work to restore a universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers in the U.S. (If you are a U.S. member, please fill out the action alert on our policy site!)
I’ve had great mentors along the way encouraging me to explore new paths, and I’m especially grateful for guidance from Kevin Foyle, Martha Schumacher, David Schlakman, Ben Mohler, and Dave Tinker, to name a few.
Q: What is one skill you think is invaluable as a fundraising leader?
A: Empathy. It is important to realize our colleagues, volunteers, and donors have full lives outside our relationships and interactions with them. As Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” No matter how challenging our work gets, a little kindness and understanding can go a long way towards showing someone you see value in them.
Q: What is your favorite word? (only one word) How has this word influenced or inspired your career?
A: Hope. The word not only encapsulates the pieces of my leadership style (happiness, optimism, professionalism, empathy) but also the spirit of the work we do. We all hope to leave the world having made an impact. College football coach Bear Bryant was known for encouraging his players to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and that spirit inspires and guides my work in our sector.
Q: What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
A: Launching a consulting agency after experiencing an early-pandemic layoff is a top professional accomplishment for me. Creating Fablanthropy allowed me to share my extensive gift planning knowledge with several organizations and their fundraising professionals. I’m proud of the impact we helped these colleagues make through implementing legacy and non-cash asset giving strategies to ensure long-term sustainability for their organizations. It also gave me a chance to expand my knowledge in leadership and management. One of the most rewarding parts of the “back of the house” experience was seeing the growth of our employees and contractors and the joy they experienced in the practice of sharing fabulous philanthropy.
Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing the nonprofit fundraising profession today?
A: Burnout. Even when we love the work we do, if we don’t take time away from it, we are at the risk of harming ourselves—mentally and physically. It is important to recognize the work we do is important, but that we must care for ourselves outside of it or we are doing a disservice to those we are serving. On a regular basis, what are you doing to be sure you are eating well? Getting movement in? Are you exploring interests outside of work? What support networks are available to you to accomplish these goals? And when is the last time you used vacation time? We need to be asking ourselves and our colleagues these questions to ensure the future of our sector.
Q: What is one goal you have for your time on the AFP board?
A: Through my role on the board, my goal is to equip others to succeed and to lift colleagues up as they have done for me throughout my career. We all were that colleague at one point without experience, ready to learn and contribute. When we support each other through the journey, we leave our organizations, communities, and the world better than we found it.
Q: What advice do you have for other fundraising professionals?
A: Keep an open mind to new experiences. I never would have imagined in my early days in event philanthropy that I would become experienced in legacy giving. Take a chance to try something new; you never know where that journey will lead and how you will grow!
This spotlight is part of a series highlighting the new 2025 AFP board members. Be on the lookout for these profiles throughout the month of January.