April 2012

From the Executive Office—Martha Kirkland

Welcome to the new and improved monthly Foundation Development Chair Update! After a short hiatus, we’re back with an enhanced format to better serve you at the chapter level. Each section provides timely information on topics that are essential to your efforts. This new format allows us to share more of the improvements going on at the foundation to meet your needs and the requirements of your members.

You also will notice changes at the staff level. As the new executive vice president of the AFP foundation, my top priority is to streamline our processes and efforts to better serve our chapter members. We have heard your concerns and we are making chapter relations our No. 1 priority. We have hired a new director of development, a full-time administrator, a gift-processing contractor and an IT consultant to aid in our reporting efforts.

Finally, the dust is settling from the database conversion that took place earlier this year. I wish to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone for your patience and feedback during this process. Despite the early hiccups, this system will ultimately enhance our service to the chapters through improved reporting and record-keeping abilities. Through all of this, we are so appreciative of your efforts on behalf of the Every Member Campaign, despite not having the results immediately available. We still experience a few glitches but we are fixing them as fast as we can to provide an accurate report for you.

I look forward to working with all of you to strengthen our relationship as members of the AFP family. Please stay in touch.

Martha Kirkland, Executive Vice President
(800) 666-3863, ext. 480
mkirkland@afpnet.org

Development Update—Lisa Baranello

As the new director of development and newest member of the AFP foundation staff, I’m pleased to join you during this very crucial reorganization period. The end result will be a nimble and easy-to-understand process for interaction between the foundation and our chapters. As Martha mentioned, we are committed to an enhanced customer service experience for all of you, and we will continue to strive for the level of excellence we all expect.

In addition to enhancing chapter relations, I will be working to secure external funding for AFP’s strategic initiatives: knowledge, ethics, advocacy and diversity. I also will be tracking the Chapter Grant Report information to see if there are any opportunities for future funding partnerships.

2012 EMC Calling Program

• The EMC Calling Program will begin in late May and will continue through the end of October 2012. New members of AFP will be added to the calling pool and will be called in November. Thank you for participating in the calling program and encouraging your members to give to the 2012 EMC.

Donor Recognition

• Have you recognized your 2012 Every Member Campaign donors? The foundation offers donor ribbons and pins free of charge to recognize your chapter’s donors. To order the ribbons and pins, download the 2012 Order Supply Form here.

100 Percent Chapter Board Participation

• The deadline to make 100 Percent Chapter Board Participation in 2012 is swiftly approaching—the deadline is April 30! Be recognized as a leader in the profession and as a shining example to your chapter members! If you have achieved 100 percent chapter board participation, please let the foundation know by the deadline date.

Chapter Treasury Campaign

• The following chapters have made a commitment to the 2012 Chapter Treasury Campaign as of April 18, 2012.
  

Thank you for your leadership!

Lisa Baranello, Director of Development
(800) 666-3863, ext. 446
lbaranello@afpnet.org

Chapter News—Brent Cantley

In response to your inquiries, please note the following procedures for accessing chapter tally reports and other chapter forms:

• To access chapter tally reports only:

Open www.afpnet.org.
Click on Login.
User name/password are both XXXFDC. This is case sensitive. (The precise code is provided to the foundation development chairs.)
Click on My AFP Profile at the top of the screen.
Click on Foundation Development Chairs (scroll down to see it).
Click on Chapter Tally Reports.
Click on Continue.

• To access forms to be filed by your chapter:

Open www.afpnet.org.
Click on Login.
Username: your member ID; password: your personal password.
Click on Chapters (found just below the login indicator).
Click on All Chapters Materials & Resources.
Click on Foundation Development Chairs.
Scroll down to find the desired form.

If you have any questions or if I may be of any assistance, please let me know.

Brent Cantley, Administrator
(800) 666-3863, ext. 470
bcantley@afpnet.org

Quick Response Q & A—Suzan Weihofen

Q. How are the Alpha Society payments processed?

A. With the conversion to our new software system, the Alpha Society monthly giving program (through credit card payments) is now processed in-house at the foundation. Each Alpha Society pledge is entered into the system along with a monthly payment schedule. The new system automatically does the rest—simply charging the proper amount each month to the credit card provided. Please note that the process for payments made through a donor’s checking account is being finalized and will be moved in-house later this spring.

Q. What is the turnaround time for online gifts to be reflected in the chapter tally reports?

A. Most online gifts are processed the evening they are received or the next day, and should be reflected in the chapter tally within 24 hours of being posted. However, gifts received through the EMC Calling Program may take a few days to process, and online gifts during the December holiday season may be delayed by a day or two due to volume.

Suzan Weihofen, Gift Processing
(800) 666-3863, ext. 448
sweihofen@afpnet.org