Florida Fundraiser Amy Towery, MNA, CFRE, ACFRE Earns Highest Professional Credential from AFP

(Arlington, VA) – The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest community of professional fundraisers in the world, has awarded its highest professional certification, the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE), to Amy Towery of Sarasota, Florida.

Available only to senior-level fundraisers who have worked in the profession for 10 or more years, the ACFRE is a distinguished achievement earned by only 115 professionals since the inception of the program in 1992.

Amy Towery is currently the vice president of development for Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, working to provide nutrition and caring, supportive services to residents in Manatee County, Florida. A fundraising professional for over fifteen years, Towery has raised millions in philanthropic support to advance the missions of many worthwhile organizations.

“This profession is my life’s work. I am grateful to play a role in connecting donors to the critical work happening in the nonprofit sector, especially related to the accessibility of vital nutrition for individuals and families,” Towery stated. “Seeing the ACFRE certification process through to completion has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I am thankful for it all – to God be the glory.”

The ACFRE program is the most rigorous certification process available to professional fundraisers. The process includes a comprehensive application, detailing achievements in practice, education, publishing, teaching, and service to the profession; a written examination that measures a candidate’s knowledge of fundraising as well as the philosophical, ethical, and social aspects of philanthropy; a portfolio representing the candidate’s body of professional work; and an oral peer review in which the candidate must articulate a mastery of advanced-level knowledge in fundraising management, leadership and ethics.

The ACFRE Certification Board of AFP, chaired by Scott Staub, ACFRE, oversees the ACFRE candidate review process.