AFP ICON 2023 Reflections from Chapter Members

AFP Greater Madison had a strong showing at the national AFP ICON conference, held in New Orleans back in April. Three chapter members shared their experience and resources all chapter members can put to use.

Annie Louis, Associate Development Director, American Players Theatre

Overall experience:
I had never been to an ICON before and I really enjoyed the experience overall. It was an incredible chance to fill up on ideas and resources surrounded by the friendliest people on the planet.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to go to ICON, to learn from experienced professionals in the field, to make connections around the country, and bring back new skills and fresh energy to my work with American Players Theatre.

Session highlights:
Each session I attended had some wonderful takeaways.

“Fundraising Alchemy” with Brock Warner, CFRE & Holly H. Paulin, CFRE, where we learned that Direct Mail is not dead and an integrated campaign is most successful.

“Stewarding Planned Givers” with Matt Connell, where we learned that while 67% of the population pass without a will set up, it is important to steward those who do.

“Donor Acquisition vs. Donor Retention” with Kirk Schmidt, where we learned when it is appropriate to focus more on donor acquisition over retention (and vice versa) and that there are objective ways to look at when each is more favorable.

“Cognitive Impairment in Donors – Are You Prepared?” with Anthony Pomonis and Tara Adams where we learned the signs and symptoms of Cognitive Impairment and best practices to keep fundraising ethical. I recommend this seminar to everyone in our field.  

I have been able to immediately apply the information and strategies I gathered from each of these to my work at American Players Theatre.

Resources gained:

I brought home a couple of books that I look forward to reading soon.

Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love — Anti-Black Racism in the Charitable Sector shares stories from diverse voices in our field.

Creative Deviations: how you can infuse your storytelling, fundraising and direct response with more creativity gives many examples of writing for fundraising

Claudine Manor, Development Director, HealthNet of Rock County

Overall experience:
I attended AFP Icon in New Orleans this past April and it was my first AFP Icon event. My overall experience was great, I hope to go to Toronto next year. I would strongly suggest people go to ICON, if not only for the sessions, but the comradery and networking.

Session highlights:
I really enjoyed all of the sessions I attended and took away bits of information from each of them that can be applied to my job. I thought the event was extremely well organized and the keynote speakers were fantastic. I have gone back on several occasions to look through the slides that were provided by the speakers and they have been helpful.

Top tips:
I would suggest, for people like me, to have a paper option. I found it difficult to look over all the programs on my phone and probably would have chosen a few different ones had I been able to see a booklet describing each of the sessions.

Anna January, Director of Individual & Legacy Giving, PBS Wisconsin; AFP Greater Madison President

Overall Experience:
This was my second time attending ICON. I thought it was an outstanding experience this year and they took the previous year’s feedback to heart. It was also energizing to be at a large-scale conference again. I had a lot of fun and truly enjoyed connecting with AFP members and fundraisers across the world.

Session highlights:
“Understanding Donor-Advised Fund Giving Patterns and How to Customize Your Solicitation Strategy” by Dan Heist, CFRE, Ph.D., was so interesting. He presented research on national DAF giving trends and data on donor motivations. This type of national research is hard to find on a local level and is a real benefit of attending large conferences like ICON.

I also attended one of the AFP Affinity Group sessions for fundraisers with disabilities. To be honest, it was the first time I had been surrounded by fundraising professionals with a similar lived experience to mine. I encourage our members to seek out the AFP Affinity groups either at ICON or virtually. Finding a community of peers is important and I’m grateful that AFP is making Affinity Groups a priority. More information on affinity groups.

Resources gained:

During the Chapter President’s Council meeting, AFP Global announced a new resource: The Accessible Fundraising Toolkit. This toolkit can be used as a place to start making your fundraising more inclusive to people with disabilities.