"We're Here for You" - Amid COVID, AFP brings the promise to life for members

hands holding globe of world wearing "coronavirus" maskIn nearly every email I’ve received, the message of “we’re here for you” is loud and clear. From banks to online shopping sources to academic and professional networks and businesses – gratefully, everyone seems to be ready to help and offer a boost of support.

There are A LOT of online resources out there for fundraisers today. Some explicitly dealing with our unprecedented challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, and others reminding us of the simple or steadfast techniques of the industry we already know. As we have gotten into the groove of what “safer-at-home” means in our personal and professional lives, if you are like me, you’ve probably participated in an unimaginable amount of webinars over the past month.

As the AFPSEWI VP of Membership & Diversity, you can imagine I drink the AFP kool-aid, so no surprise that last week as I was preparing for my committee meeting, I navigated into the AFP Global website for some updates. I was greeted with AFP’s offer of “thoughts, guidance, and resources” to help me. I clicked, and what I found was profound: a superb Coronavirus/COVID-19 Resource Guide filled with links to resources for every fundraising professional. 

Why is this different? Well, it is set up in easy-to-navigate buckets (I like buckets). Whether I want to read about The CARES Act, donor or volunteer engagement, pivoting to digital events, leading my team through stressful times, or learning to work from home and take care of myself while I’m there, AFP has compiled the world’s top fundraising resources to help us navigate. I immediately shared the web link with our team, hoping they, too, would find huge benefits in this AFP tool-box.

So, in addition to all of the individual daily emails you receive, check out your AFP member benefit at https://afpglobal.org/covid19resourceguide. Take time out of your day and chalk it up to professional development and remember, we are in this together, please let us know what we can do for you.

Looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming AFP gathering. Until then, wishing you and your family health and happiness.

Lisa Breitsprecker, CFRE
AFPSEWI Vice President, Membership & Diversity