Mike’s Monday Message: AFP ICON is Two Weeks Away
We are now officially less than two weeks away from the start of AFP ICON 2024 in Toronto! There’s so much to look forward to at this event, so I wanted to highlight some of the key elements you won’t want to miss. (And if you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late to join us!)
Keynote Presentations
This year’s keynotes are both amazing individuals with a clear commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and truth and reconciliation. Our opening keynote is Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project and staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. Our closing keynote is Phyllis Webstad, the founder of Orange Shirt Day and ambassador for the Orange Shirt Society, an organization dedicated to facilitating dialogue around the lasting impact of the Indian Residential School system.
Recognizing our Award Recipients
Every year at AFP ICON we recognize the recipients of our AFP Global Awards, which honor excellence in the field of fundraising.
During the opening general session on Sunday, April 7, we will be celebrating our Outstanding Fundraising Professional, Ken Phillips, and our 4 Outstanding Young Professionals, Dimetri O’Brien, Santana Febrey, Ryan Zapolski, and Madeleine Durante.
On April 9, during the closing general session, we will be honoring our Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy recipients, William Cabaniss and Hanson Yan. This award, which recognizes students under the age of 18 who are engaging philanthropically with their community, is always an inspiring one to watch. Each of these young people have founded nonprofits while still in high school and are providing valuable services to their community in the form of food bank donations and scholarships for underprivileged students.
Check out the announcements for each of our recipients to learn more about their extraordinary accomplishments and join us at the general sessions to celebrate their impact, together with our AFP community.
Pre-Conference Deep Dives
Pre-Conference Deep Dives are one and two-day sessions taking place before the conference officially kicks off. These long-form workshops are highly interactive and provide attendees the opportunity to take an in-depth look at topics like capital campaigns, the fundamentals of fundraising, donor retention, the CFRE exam, and more.
Executive Coaching Sessions
Executive coaching sessions are your opportunity to meet one-on-one with a nonprofit career coach who can help you identify what’s next for you professionally. We did brief, 5-minute interviews with each of this year’s 4 career coaches to give attendees a sneak peek at who they would be working with and what they could accomplish by registering for a session.
Networking Events
Join us April 6 at 5:15 p.m. for affinity group meetings. These are meetings of like-minded fundraisers who want to get to know others that share similar career verticals, identities, cultures, and lifestyles.
Then, at 6 p.m. the conference officially kicks off with the Welcome Reception, where all attendees can come to meet up with old friends and introduce themselves to new peers that you’ll be spending the next few days with.
On Sunday, at 8 a.m. before education sessions start, join us for speed networking – think speed dating but for professional contacts. This is a great opportunity to quickly meet some of your fellow attendees that you can follow up with later when you see them throughout the event. You can then close out the day with community group receptions, such as the PAC reception for U.S. attendees or the Red & White Reception for Canadian attendees. Be on the lookout for more information about these receptions coming soon!
Finally, on Monday, join us in the AFP Exchange at 5:15 p.m. for happy hour!
The AFP ICON App
To keep track of everything going on while we’re on site, make sure you download the AFP ICON app. The app goes live later this week. Be on the lookout for more information soon!
See you in Toronto very soon! Come say hi if you see me around! In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at Mike.Geiger@afpglobal.org or on X at @AFPMikeGeiger I’d love to hear from you.
Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA
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