Happy New Year and Welcome to 2023!

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2023! 

We’ve made it through another year-end giving season! While some of those around us have been relaxing and celebrating the holidays, I know many of you have been heads-down, thanking donors, and working to make sure your 2022 fundraising goals are met.

I just want to take a moment to recognize all of your hard work and say “thank you”. Just as we thank our donors, it is important to recognize our own contributions this time of year and remember the impact our work is having.

With that said, I hope you can now take some time to relax, recharge, and check in with yourself about your all-important mental health. Stress and burnout are concerns in every profession, but as we’ve heard from our members in recent surveys and conversations, it is particularly top of mind for fundraisers. 

Our community is faced with constant pressures to meet (sometimes unrealistic) goals, often without the support and resources needed. The good news is, we’re seeing progress. Our 2022 annual Compensation and Benefits Study found that 75% of fundraisers expect to remain in their current jobs, 18% of employers added a new benefit, and average salaries rose by 1.5%. 

As we move into 2023, AFP is more committed than ever to ensuring that these industry gains are felt equally throughout our diverse profession. This year, we’re prioritizing leading by example when it comes to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA), ethics in fundraising, and advocating for both fundraising professionals and our donors. We hope others will follow our lead in adopting these key values, and I look forward to working together as a community to hold each other accountable.

Speaking of community, the world’s largest fundraising conference of the year, ICON, is just a few months away! I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of early bird pricing before it expires, January 20. 

I hope you can join us in New Orleans April 16 - 18, 2023 for over 100 education sessions, our keynote speaker, legendary chef, Emeril Lagasse, networking with your fellow members, and of course, fantastic jazz and Cajun cooking. 

As always, if you have any questions, or there is anything I can do to help as you kick off the new year, don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at Mike.Geiger@afpglobal.org or on Twitter at @AFPMikeGeiger. I’d love to hear from you.

Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA