AFP Webinar — Join the Conversation: Considerations for Platforms Enabling Charitable Donations

12:00-1:00 PM Eastern | Presenters: Art Taylor, Roger Ali, MBA, C.Dir., CFRE, Shannon McCracken, Woodrow Rosenbaum, Elvia Castro, Bennett Weiner

AFP President & CEO Art Taylor invites you to join a timely and important conversation on the evolving role of platforms that enable charitable donations.

In recent months, the fundraising sector has been engaged in a complex debate around transparency, nonprofit consent, data use, and platform accountability. In response, Art is sharing a set of proposed considerations—grounded in AFP’s Code of Ethical Standards—to help guide how these platforms can operate responsibly while continuing to support billions of dollars in charitable giving.

Art will be joined by panelists Roger D. Ali, AFP Global Board Chair, Shannon McCracken, CEO of The Nonprofit Alliance, Woodrow Rosenbaum, Chief Data Officer at GivingTuesday, Bennett Weiner, President & CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and Elvia Castro, Chief Program and Strategy Officer at BBB’s Give.org, who have been active voices in this dialogue across the sector. Together, they will explore the opportunities and challenges facing digital-giving infrastructure today.

Join us to hear more about the proposed framework and to share your perspective. Your feedback will help shape a path forward that balances innovation with integrity and ensures trust remains at the center of our work.

Presenters:

Art Taylor: Herman "Art" Taylor is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). AFP is the professional association of fundraising professionals that advances philanthropy through advocacy, research, and education. The association fosters development and growth of fundraising professionals and promotes high ethical standards in the fundraising profession.

Previously, Mr. Taylor served as President and CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (2001-2024), where he significantly expanded the organization's impact by increasing charity reports from 250 to over 1,400 nationally soliciting organizations. Under his leadership, the Alliance introduced the Accredited Charity Seal, which has garnered more than 1 billion impressions in the public domain, providing donors with a clear indicator of trustworthy organizations. He also launched innovative initiatives including givesafely.io, the first charity donation platform built on blockchain technology, and The Heart of Giving Podcast, ranked first nationwide in the nonprofit genre.

Mr. Taylor is a respected voice in the nonprofit sector on charity accountability, transparency, governance, and strategy. He is a co-author of "The Overhead Myth" letters and collaborated with GuideStar and Independent Sector to create ChartingImpact. His "Advancing Collaboration" initiative, which included a partnership with Stanford Social Innovation Review, received the 2018 ASAE Foundation's Innovation Award.

As an educator, he has been a Lecturer at Columbia University School of Professional Studies and an Adjunct Faculty Member in the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. He has been a featured guest lecturer at Georgetown McDonough School of Business and George Washington University.

Prior to his work at BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Mr. Taylor headed the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America (1990-1999), where he grew the employment and training programs to serve more than two million disadvantaged Americans.

Mr. Taylor has been named four times to the Non-Profit Times list of Power and Influence Top 50 and is a member of its Hall of Fame. He serves on numerous boards including Franklin & Marshall College (Senior Vice Chair), Convergence Policy (Chair Elect), and Mobile Giving Foundation (Chair).

He holds a BA in Business Administration from Franklin and Marshall College (1980), a JD from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Roger Ali, MBA, C.Dir., CFRE: With more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Roger D. Ali is a seasoned professional with deep and broad experience as a fundraising executive, administrator, and consultant, committed to the industry and the discipline, as exemplified by his appointment as the Chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global.

Roger is a major gifts strategist with a proven track record of leading teams and comprehensive fundraising and marketing programs to raise $200 million+, including several capital and endowment campaigns. Some of his previous experience has included: President & CEO, Niagara Health Foundation, Vice President, Development, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation and Executive Director, Bishop Strachan School Foundation.

He is an independent consultant specializing in governance, major gifts, campaign fundraising strategy, and staff coaching, and also serves as a Senior Associate with S. Sutton & Associates Inc. His work with nonprofit organizations across Canada and the United States has helped build robust fundraising programs that have generated millions of dollars. He has designed and supported both small-scale and complex fundraising campaigns, providing strategic guidance that strengthens organizational capacity and long-term philanthropic success.

Roger holds a Chartered Director (C. Dir) designation in Governance from the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University; an MBA from Athabasca University; a Post Graduate Certificate in Administration and Management and is a Certified Fundraising Executive since 2000. He has continued executive level education at Harvard and Stanford Universities.

He serves on the board of directors of Imagine Canada and is the Secretary and Chair of the Governance and HR Committee. He currently also serves on the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global board. He is a Past Chair of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada; past President of the AFP Golden Horseshoe Chapter, where he was awarded the Recipient of Outstanding Leadership Award in 2017, and past Board Member and past Congress Chair of the AFP Toronto Chapter.

Shannon McCracken: Shannon McCracken is the founding President & CEO of The Nonprofit Alliance (TNPA) and has been recognized on The NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50 for the past four years. Shannon served as Charity Navigator’s Chief Development Officer and later joined its board of directors. She spent 17 years at Special Olympics International, most recently as Vice President of Donor Development. She serves on the Fundraising.AI Advisory Council, is the Government Relations Chair on the Fundraising Effectiveness Project Steering Committee, and co-chairs the Public Policy & Advocacy Subcommittee of the Generosity Committee. Shannon holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit and Association Management.

Woodrow Rosenbaum: As Chief Data Officer for GivingTuesday, Woodrow has been instrumental in shaping the global generosity movement and has led ground-breaking research and analysis of individual giving behaviors. He leads the GivingTuesday Data Commons, bringing together a coalition of more than 2,000 collaborators coordinated through eight working groups as well as data teams around the world to understand the drivers and impacts of generosity to inspire more giving of all types. Woodrow brings expertise in moving markets and transforming audiences from passive participants to active and vocal ambassadors. Woodrow is also the founder of With Intent Strategies, an international agency specializing in brand reimagination.

Woodrow was a member of the Generosity Commission Research Task Force, is a past Co-Chair for Global Impact Canada’s Board of Directors where he now serves as strategic advisor, and was previously a Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.

Elvia Castro: Elvia Castro is the Chief Program and Strategy Officer at BBB’s Give.org, where she leads the organization’s outreach and research initiatives to strengthen public trust in the charitable sector. She oversees the Wise Giving Wednesday posts, the Wise Giving Guide magazine, episodic giving tips, Donor Trust Reports, and other strategic communication programs. She also plays a key role in shaping and evaluating BBB WGA’s strategic direction, helping develop mission-aligned programs, prepare upcoming strategic plans, and measure organizational effectiveness.

Through BBB Give.org’s Donor Trust Surveys, Elvia directs efforts to track public confidence in charities and explore donor perspectives on issues such as charity impact, Artificial Intelligence, privacy and security, and donor participation.

Before joining Give.org, Elvia worked with two environmental nonprofits, Wildlife Habitat Council and EarthShare, where she managed grant programs promoting cross-sector collaboration and strengthened corporate partnerships. She also serves as Secretary General of Charity Monitoring Worldwide, helping advance charity transparency and accountability worldwide.

Elvia holds a BA in Economics from Yale University, an MBA from Loyola University New Orleans, and an MA in Global Environmental Politics from American University’s School of International Service. Originally from El Salvador, Elvia is a proud mother of two, a former member of her country’s national swimming team, and someone who enjoys travel and intercultural exchange.

Bennett Weiner: Bennett Weiner serves as President & CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org). In this capacity, he manages all aspects of the organization that monitors and reports on charitable organizations that solicit nationally.  Mr. Weiner has been engaged in BBB charity evaluation activities for over thirty years. He oversees the publication of the Wise Giving Guide magazine, written reports on national charities, and provides guidance to local charity evaluation activities carried out by Better Business Bureaus. Over the years, he has been interviewed or quoted in numerous print and broadcast media. Mr. Weiner has testified before U.S. Congressional Committees on charity accountability issues. He is a past recipient of the BBB Meritorious Service Award – an annual award given to individuals in the Better Business Bureau system. Mr. Weiner has participated in a variety of advisory committees addressing charity accountability matters. He previously served for six years on the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.