AFP-RI Chapter Announce Annual Regional Fundraising Conference

Contact: Beth Watson, cell: 401-487-1777 AFP-RI Marketing Committee Chair, Director of Development, Caritas    Carol Newberry, 401-383-3301 AFP-RI Marketing Committee Member, Vice President, FundRI              ASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING PROFESSIONALS ANNOUNCE ANNUAL REGIONAL FUNDRAISING CONFERENCE “Powering Up” to meet fundraising challenges is this year’s theme PROVIDENCE, R.I. (May 6, 2009):  The Association of Fundraising Professionals-R.I. Chapter, will be hosting their annual regional fundraising conference for southeastern New England at Bryant University (Smithfield, R.I.) on May 19, 2009.  The event will allow professionals involved with fundraising the opportunity to meet and learn from some of the industry’s top fundraisers. This year’s conference is designed to address the needs of fundraisers with all levels of experience.  There will be a day-long session geared towards fundraising professionals, executive directors and non-profit board members.  Workshops will include fundraising fundamentals, new ideas and digital fundraising, advanced management, and integrated fundraising.  An evening session, which includes a light buffet supper, has been added geared towards smaller grassroots organizations and volunteers. The cost for the day-long session is $159 for members and $170 for non-members; the cost for the evening session is $35; and the cost for attending the luncheon only is $35. The morning plenary speaker will be Joan Abrams, assistant professor of Communications and director of the Master’s in Communication Management at Simmons College.  Ms. Abrams became the first woman sales representative for Xerox in the New England area and went on to lead a successful career in senior-level marketing at Honeywell, Inc., where she served as the director of marketing of the U.S. Computer Operations. She received her master’s in public administration from Harvard University, where she serves on the Leadership Council of the Kennedy School.  Prior to joining the Simmons College Communications faculty, she served as president of the Festival Ballet in Rhode Island; as president of Save the Bay, where she was chair of their $10 million capital campaign; and is a member of the board of directors for the Community Prep School (Providence, R.I.). The luncheon keynote speaker for the event will be Janet L. Hendrick, CFRE Senior Associate at the fundraising firm of Bentz Whaley Flessner, and the author of the newly-released book, “Effective Donor Relations” from the acclaimed AFP-Wiley “NonProfit Essentials” series. Her areas of expertise include planning implementation, and evaluation of annual, capital, and planned giving programs; assessment and enhancement of donor relations and stewardship programs; and training and motivating campaign volunteers and development staff. Each year the Rhode Island Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP-RI) selects and honors one fundraising executive for his/her outstanding contributions to the fundraising profession and the community. The Chapter will present the “Fundraising Professional of the Year” award during the luncheon. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) represents 26,000 members in 169 chapters throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, and works to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education, and certification programs. For more than 40 years, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has been the premier source for fundraising education and resources—providing information to thousands of fundraising professionals annually. The Rhode Island chapter, with 200 members, serves fundraising professionals from Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut. For more information on the conference and membership, contact AFP-RI at (401) 461-3863, or visit their Web site at www.afpri.org The AFP-RI is an association of professionals helping to advance philanthropy by enabling people and organizations to practice effective and ethical fundraising and promote and celebrate philanthropy.  AFP-RI fulfills this mission by providing non-profit organizations and their volunteers with education sessions on effective fundraising, an annual education conference and National Philanthropy Day.  Other activities through which ARP-RI fulfills this mission include training, mentoring, research, credentialing, and advocacy.  For membership information, call Amy Gravell at (401) 722-8840, x14.

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