The Impact of AFP in Canada

FRANÇAIS

Highlights From 2022

Together, AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada:

• Led and shared our learnings from the important work of identifying meaningful actions that AFP in Canada can take in response to Truth and Reconciliation.
• In addition to convening AFP leaders from Canada at both AFP ICON and AFP LEAD, we co-hosted an extremely successful Canadian Leadership Retreat in Montreal with amazing support from the Quebec chapter. We offered AFP members the opportunity to join virtually for Dr. Beth Breeze’s presentation “In Defence of Philanthropy”. The recording is available on the AFP Canada website. 
• Successfully launched the Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering  website as part of a multi-year partnership involving both AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada as well as Volunteer Canada, Imagine Canada, Ajah and Volunteer Management Professionals Canada to promote Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating.
• Implemented changes recommended by an external diversity expert review of the board of directors nominations for both AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada.

AFP Canada Highlights: 

Government Relations – advocating for an environment that strengthens effective and ethical fundraising to encourage more giving and greater impact

• On behalf of AFP members in Canada, sent letters congratulating Members of Parliament on being elected or re-elected along with an informative backgrounder about the charitable sectors and AFP. 
• Led a successful advocacy outreach campaign requesting a designated federal secretariat for the charitable sector resulting in personal outreach to 70 government officials and 29 meetings. AFP leaders heard overwhelming support for this request.  
• Submitted AFP Canada’s 2023 pre-budget consultation to the Standing Committee on Finance and distributed it as part of the GR advocacy campaign mentioned above. 
• Offered support for Bill C-240, an Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (donations involving private corporation shares or real estate).
• Published a number of resources for members including:  
  • A full suite of tools and templates along with training for the outreach campaign;
  • Government Relations - Getting Started which is a quick and easy-to-use resource for AFP members and chapters;
  • Federal Budget Includes Two Important Initiatives to support the Nonprofit Sector; and
  • Policy papers on a home in government and other on increasing the disbursement quota.
• Represented AFP and the fundraising profession at various government tables including the CRA Technical Issues Working Group and the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector. 
   

Communications – promoting the value of the fundraising profession and AFP

• Since publishing the Narrative for Canadian Fundraising in 2019, AFP Canada has successfully delivered 13 specialized training for 478 attendees. In 2022, four sessions were offered. 
• Reviewed the Narrative through a decolonizing and social justice lens and published version 2.8 of the Narrative with the understanding that this work is iterative and will continue. As part of this process, we developed a national territorial acknowledgement which was approved by both national AFP boards in Canada.
• Revised and published version 2.0 of Fundraising Is Awesome!  
• AFP Canada launched the AFP Canada Media Spokesperson Program with the goal of increasing media relations across the country through seven trained leaders serving the following regions: Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Prairies, and BC. 
• Five videos were recorded featuring media spokespeople using the key messages from the media briefs. Additionally in 2022, the National Philanthropy Day® media brief was revised to reflect the latest data on our sector and to incorporate Narrative messaging.
• AFP Canada issued a response to an article about charity rankings published by MoneySense.
• AFP and the Globe and Mail partnership resulted in three supplements on June 24, November 11, and November 29. 
• Published 26 Canadian articles, including a three-part series On the Road to Truth and Reconciliation.
• Approved an IDEA policy for AFP Canada which is available in English and French on the AFP Canada website. 
• Provided travel stipends to assist 36 leaders to attend AFP ICON and LEAD and the Canadian Leadership Retreat. 

AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada – Highlights:

• Provided funding to create new Canadian-based research on “Assessing the Role of Foundation Grants in Achieving Sustainable Fundraising by Canadian Charities.”
• Provided scholarships to 27 fundraisers totaling $18,000 to fundraising professionals across Canada to attend educational programs.
• The Barbara McInnes Fund was created in her memory for a mentoring program at both the AFP Ottawa chapter and the AFP Newfoundland & Labrador chapter. A portion of the funds has been placed in an endowment for ongoing support in Ottawa. This is a wonderful way to recognize someone who has made significant contributions to our profession while providing executive mentoring to leaders.
• Other endowments held at the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada in honour of Cynthia Quigley, Marnie Spears and Don Hardy provided scholarships to Toronto Congress and grants to chapters for mentoring programs.
• Renewed in-kind partnerships with A.K.A. New Media to provide the online donation system for the Foundation and Strategic Communications for a tele-funding program for the Every Member Campaign.
• The Foundation funded translation of the newly revised “Fundraising Is Awesome!” document.
• Almost $20,000 in grants to AFP chapters was provided to extend the reach of the Foundation in their local communities through educational programs, scholarships and National Philanthropy Day®.

Plans for 2023

Together, AFP Canada and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada plan to:

• Implement actions identified by the working group on Truth and Reconciliation leading the way for AFP to continue taking meaningful steps on this important journey.  
• In collaboration with the partners involved in the Canadian Knowledge Hub for Giving and Volunteering offer an education session to AFP leaders about the benefits for fundraising of the General Social Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating.
• Support and inspire AFP leaders by offering a relevant, engaging and thoughtful 2023 Canadian Leadership Retreat with the support of the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter on July 20-22.

AFP Canada plans to:

• Promote the great resources developed by AFP Canada so they can be used by Canadian  AFP members and chapters. (These can be found on the AFP Canada website.) 
• Share the learnings from the work of decolonizing the Narrative for Canadian Fundraising by offering virtual training session, an AFP ICON education session and taking advantage of other opportunities.
• Raise the profile of our profession and AFP Canada through a proactive media relations effort about the impact of our sector.
• Revise existing and develop new media briefs to support AFP members with media relations. 
• Advance our priority of the creation of a dedicated secretariat for our sector by offering our members opportunities to advocate on our behalf, identifying and meeting with key government officials, and reaching out to sector allies.
• Respond to opportunities to raise the profile of our sector while positioning AFP as an influential thought leader and voice for the philanthropic and charitable sector. 
• Actively seek strategic opportunities to collaborate with AFP Global while highlighting the Canadian perspective. 
• Identify meaningful ways for AFP Canada to measure the change it is making with respect to our IDEA work.

AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada’s plans to: 

• Offer scholarships to support education in fundraising to Canadians through the National Scholarship Program with deadlines of March 15 and September 15, 2023.
• Fund important Canadian-focused research on fundraising or philanthropy through a transparent call for research process.  
• Raise funds through the Every Member Campaign and major gifts in order to provide important benefits and resources for the fundraising profession in Canada like the National Scholarship Program, IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) related initiatives and research including the next iteration of “What Canadian Donors Want”.
• Translate important resources into French for the francophone community.
• Offer a training or a webinar on an IDEA priority topic.
• Raise funds for the Fellowship in Inclusion and Philanthropy program and evaluate the program structure for future cohorts seeking ways to include more Indigenous fundraisers in this program.  
• Join the Circle on Philanthropy and learn from our Indigenous colleagues and the resources provided. 

About AFP Canada: 

AFP Canada, a nonprofit formed in 2017, was created to bring a Canadian perspective to AFP’s government relations and communications. AFP Canada represents more than 3,200 fundraising leaders across the country working to support causes and missions that help Canadians from coast to coast to coast. The organization serves as the voice of the fundraising profession in Canada and is part of the larger AFP Global network, the largest community of professional fundraisers in the world. For more information, go to www.afpcanada.org.  

About the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada: 

The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada, a registered charity, was created in 1999. As the philanthropic arm of AFP, the Foundation raises funds for its National Scholarship Program, the Fellowship in Inclusion and Philanthropy Program, research, ethics education, and leadership development. For more information, go to https://afpglobal.org/afp-foundation-philanthropy-canada. 

A special thanks to the Canadian chapters that support our work in 2022

Calgary & Area
Canada South
Cape Breton
Edmonton & Area
Golden Horseshoe
Greater Toronto
Greater Vancouver
Interior BC
London & Area
Manitoba
Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Ottawa
Quebec
Saskatoon
South Eastern Ontario
South Saskatchewan
Vancouver Island