by Jenn Moore
VP of Advancement, Good + Foundation
AFP-NYC Chapter President

As this issue of Fundraising Matters reaches your inbox, many of us will be gathering for Fundraising Day New York, AFP-NYC's flagship conference and one of the largest gatherings of fundraising professionals in the country.

Fundraising Day always reminds me of something we often overlook: the importance of our professional community.

In a profession built on relationships, it's easy to focus all of our energy outward—on our donors, volunteers, board members, and supporters. Yet some of the most valuable relationships we build are with one another.

That is what makes Fundraising Day so special.

For one day, more than 1,100 fundraising professionals come together to learn, share ideas, challenge one another, and strengthen the connections that help sustain us throughout the year.

My sincere thanks to Conference Chair Erica Joy West, the Fundraising Day Steering Committee, our volunteers, sponsors, speakers, and the many others who have spent countless hours bringing this year's event to life. Their dedication creates the space for these connections, conversations, and moments of learning to happen.

I'm also excited to welcome our keynote speaker, Barron Segar, President and CEO of World Food Program USA. Throughout his career, Barron has led organizations tackling some of the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges while driving extraordinary fundraising growth. At a time when many nonprofit leaders are navigating uncertainty and rapid change, I look forward to hearing his perspective on leadership, innovation, and impact.

As I prepared for this year's conference, I found myself thinking back to my first Fundraising Day.

I remember walking into a room full of fundraisers and feeling two things at exactly the same time: completely overwhelmed and incredibly hopeful.

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of people, ideas, sessions, and possibilities. Hopeful because, for the first time, I was surrounded by people who cared deeply about making the world a better place.

And perhaps more importantly, people who understood what I did for a living.

As fundraisers, we spend a surprising amount of time explaining our work. We explain that fundraising is not simply asking for money. We explain that it is relationship building, strategic planning, stewardship, storytelling, volunteer engagement, and often a healthy amount of diplomacy.

Yet when fundraisers gather together, none of those explanations are necessary.

Everyone understands.

There is something uniquely powerful about being in a room with people who immediately understand the excitement of a transformational gift, the challenge of a difficult board conversation, the pressure of an ambitious campaign goal, or the satisfaction of seeing a mission advance because of a donor's generosity.

That sense of shared understanding is one of the reasons AFP has remained such an important part of my professional journey.

And perhaps that sense of community matters even more today than it has in a long time.

Across our sector, organizations are navigating significant uncertainty. Many are facing shifting funding landscapes, changing donor expectations, staffing challenges, and growing demand for services. Leaders are being asked to make difficult decisions while continuing to advance their missions. Fundraisers are helping organizations navigate change in real time, often without a clear roadmap for what comes next.

In moments like these, it can be tempting to focus solely on the work directly in front of us. There is always another proposal to submit, donor meeting to schedule, campaign to launch, or report to complete.

But one of the lessons I have learned throughout my career is that professional community is not a luxury. It is an essential part of our effectiveness and our resilience.

The strongest fundraisers I know rarely work in isolation. They seek out colleagues who can challenge their thinking, share ideas, offer perspective, and provide encouragement when things become difficult. They understand that some of the most valuable solutions emerge not from a webinar or a textbook, but from a conversation with another fundraiser who has faced a similar challenge.

Earlier this year, at AFP-NYC's Annual Meeting, I shared one of my favorite mottos: "The only way out is through."

The more I reflect on that phrase, the more I believe it captures the spirit of our profession.

Fundraisers do not wait for perfect conditions.

We build relationships through uncertainty.

We inspire generosity through uncertainty.

We move missions forward through uncertainty.

And we do so because we believe deeply in the organizations and communities we serve.

Most importantly, we do not navigate those challenges alone.

Whether you attended Fundraising Day this year or not, my hope is that you continue to invest in your professional community. Introduce yourself to someone new. Share a challenge. Offer a perspective. Be generous with your experience.

Because while strategies, technologies, and trends will continue to evolve, one thing remains constant: our profession is strongest when we learn from one another and support one another.

In uncertain times, community is not a luxury. It is one of our greatest strengths.

I look forward to seeing many of you at future AFP-NYC programs and events throughout the year ahead.

Jenn Moore is the VP of Advancement at the Good+Foundation where she leads the strategy and implementation of all development, marketing and public relations activities. With deep experience in fundraising and nonprofit leadership, she held previous development leadership roles at Scratch Foundation, DoSomething.org, the SIFMA Foundation and Young Audiences New York. Jenn is the incoming President for the Association of Fundraising Professionals-NYC Chapter where she has been an active board member since 2017. Jenn received an MS in Nonprofit Leadership from Fordham University and a BFA with Distinction from The Ohio State University.