Tips for AFP Chapters to Engage Young Professionals

As the fundraising profession evolves, it is important to  prepare future generations. Based on feedback from the membership, a list of opportunities and resources has been compiled to help you develop or build upon an already existing program within your chapter.

Whether it is utilizing AFP’s online resources or providing networking and training opportunities, some targeted efforts should provide long term results. While it is not an exhaustive list, we hope these tips will help you build a stronger and broader foundation for our profession and more specifically for your chapter in order to foster the development and engagement of young fundraising professionals. In addition, your chapter can benefit from their new ideas, enthusiastic perspectives and attitudes about trends in philanthropy, volunteerism and serving for the greater good.

Getting Started

• Include Young Professional retention and recruitment in your strategic plan and develop action items related to programming and leadership opportunities for Young Professional Members.
• Are there young professional groups and activities in your community? Work with them to develop collaborative opportunities.
• Know how many Young Professionals are in your chapter and who they are.
• Consider specific marketing for membership with chapter created incentives.
• Get the word out for opportunities to engage through social media.
• Purposefully connect with young professionals where they intersect with philanthropy.
• Contact the Chapter Engagement department.

Actively Engage With Young Professionals

• Create awareness of the young professional member price.
• Ask each board member of past board members to bring one Young Professional to an education session.
• Reach out via phone or email directly to each of your Young Professional members.
• Create a Young Professional Committee to develop programming and opportunities for Young
  Professionals.
• Develop education programming and leadership development sessions specifically for Young
  Professional members.
• Provide reduced rates for various chapter events.
• Add an Outstanding Young Professional award category to you NPD awards.
• Consider young professionals as speakers for education sessions and roundtable.
• Provide leadership opportunities for Young Professionals.

Educate – Knowledge is Power

• Create a career path for young professionals covering fundraising fundamentals, ethics, including the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice, the Donor Bill of Rights and otherlearning opportunities through your chapter and community.
• Learn more about Course Hosting and Licensing.
• Offer the Fundamentals of Fundraising Course.
• Offer CFRE Refresher Course.
• Create scholarship opportunities.
• Promote the Chamberlain Scholarship for ICON.
• Promote AFP360, AAUW Negotiation Workshop & Blackbaud University.
• Promote AFP complimentary webinars.

Mentorship

• Institute a Mentoring Program.
• Promote the AFP Virtual Mentor Program.
• Meet one-on-one with a young professional.
• Invite your membership to offer volunteer opportunities to young professionals.
• Build a core group of mentors who are available to young professionals.
• Develop a speed mentor program.
  • Sample Application

Walk the Talk –They ARE the future

• Ask for young fundraising professionals’ involvement – one on one.
• Respect young fundraising professionals as colleagues!
• Engage the younger generation – today’s young professionals are tomorrow’s chapter leaders.