Winter 2007

Welcome to our first electronic newsletter.    Since this is our first issue, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of the other people who helped me bring this project to fruition.    First, thank you to Adele Alderman for supporting the vision and enthusiasm of everyone else on the board - you are definitely not afraid of change! Thank you to Chrissy Bell, Laura Goss and Terry Horton for contributing to this issue.  Your expertise is much appreciated. 

Cheers,  Bobi

 

Did you know that planned giving is an essential component of any sustainable fund development plan? Do you think you don't have the time? The Alaska Planned Giving Council is working with AFP, the Alaska Community Foundation, The Foraker Group and others to raise awareness about this important service we can be providing our donors. If you're not talking to your donors about gifts of appreciated stock, bequests, and beneficiary designations, your organization and your donors are missing out! E-mail Terry Horton at thorton@forakergroup.org or Patti Saunders at psaunders@arc-anchorage.org for more information about Planned Giving Council events in the months to come.

Take the time this spring to get more information about how to talk about planned giving with your CEO, your Board, and your donors! On April 23, The Foraker Group will be offering a four-hour course on Planned Giving. Click here to check it out!

 

Did you know that being a member of AFP means more than just receiving a four-dollar discount on the monthly luncheons and being able to attend the national audio conference trainings at no cost?   AFP membership benefits include: information and research (for example, a subscription to Advancing Philanthropy magazine), access to online membership and resource directories, and member discounts at the online AFP Bookstore and on other items like car rentals and overnight deliveries. 

The most valued AFP membership benefit stated by Alaska Chapter members is professional development opportunities through the local chapter luncheon/trainings, free audio-conference trainings, local chapter social events, and the annual Philanthropy Day luncheon and conference.  National professional development opportunities include the AFP's Annual International Conference and discounts on the CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) certification program.  AFP events aren't taking place only in Anchorage; you'll find AFP activities happening in Juneau and Fairbanks as well.

And if all this doesn't convince you that you should join AFP, that four dollars a month does add up to a $48.00 savings per year on the luncheon/trainings, and the $15 saved on audio conference trainings could save you up to $255 in 2007!  Annual AFP membership ranges from $150 to $270 annually - so attending AFP events regularly as a non-member can cost you $33+ more than if you'd joined!   Hmm...

To learn more or to become an AFP Alaska Chapter member, please click here.We look forward to seeing you at the next AFP Alaska chapter member activity!

Welcome to the first edition of the AFP Alaska Chapter's 2007 Newsletter.  I hope that you will find the information included in this newsletter to be helpful as you go about the serious, fun, important, thrilling, difficult, and thought-provoking work you get to do each day. 

I would like to tell you about some of the goals that your Board of Directors has set to accomplish this year.  Much of our work is to be of good service to you, the AFP members, around the state.  This includes a pertinent offering of programs and audio-conferences, opportunities to spend time with colleagues, and ways to develop a sense of community in our field of work. 

We are working on a number of exciting projects that are at various levels of completion.  In this issue, I will talk about projects concerning communication.  One of our primary goals is to improve our outreach to members, as well as non-members.  To that end, we have already accomplished several items: (1) We upgraded our electronic messaging regarding monthly programming, telling you what's coming up, who's speaking, and the location and time; (2) The local AFP Chapter website is now up and running!  Please click here to take a look.  Also, (3) we have established this electronic newsletter. 

If you have any suggestions on how we might be able to improve any of these outreach efforts, please do not hesitate to contact me or Bobi Rinehart at bobi@akvoice.org.

Thank you for all that you do to make our communities better places to live, work and play.