by Craig Shelley
CEO, Schultz & Williams

Post–Labor Day often feels like the starting gun has gone off for fundraisers and nonprofit leaders. In the last Chapter Leadership Briefs, my fellow board members CJ Orr and Gary Weinberg shared strategies on gearing up for a busy fall and making year-end efforts more successful. With September here, the season we’ve been preparing for is officially upon us. So, now what?

First, take a breath. It has been a tumultuous year across the nonprofit landscape. Just this week, a 20-year sector veteran described the past quarter to me as the most chaotic he’s ever seen. Change, disruption, and uncertainty may feel like the new normal, but that doesn’t mean progress has stopped.

Every day, money is being raised and impact is being made. A national nonprofit client working in educational equity just closed their fiscal year ahead of goal, exceeding projections by over $1 million, even as headlines suggest equity and education are losing traction. Last week, I visited a zoo in the Midwest, another client, that just finished one of its strongest membership campaigns ever despite the narrative that people “don’t join things anymore.” The lesson is clear: when we do the work well, success is still possible. It may not be easy (was it ever?), but it is achievable.

In my advice to fundraisers and nonprofit leaders right now, I emphasize one thing above all: connection. Connect with your donors and your teammates. Ask what’s on their minds, what matters most to them and be just as intentional about sharing what matters to you.

For donors, visibility is everything. In a crowded media landscape, recency bias is real. Stay present, stay relevant, and keep your mission top of mind. For teammates, clarity is key. Set expectations, communicate goals, and ensure alignment. Donors should never be surprised by an ask, and staff should never be surprised during a year-end review.

This season is fast-paced and demanding, but with focus, clarity, and connection, you can turn it into your organization’s strongest finish yet.

Craig collaborates with ambitious nonprofit leaders to accelerate their impact, bringing a creative yet practical approach to strategy, organizational development, fundraising, and board optimization. As CEO of Schultz & Williams, he leads one of the nation’s premier consulting firms specializing in fundraising strategy, direct response, strategic planning, and outsourced development. In partnership with Carey & Co—which provides complementary expertise in finance, HR, and executive leadership—Craig ensures clients receive integrated, mission-centered solutions that strengthen organizations and drive sustainable growth.

A Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Craig is a frequent speaker and author on leadership and philanthropy. He also serves as President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals - New York City Chapter and as a member of the board of directors of The Giving Institute.

by CJ Orr
Chief Executive Officer, Orr Group

This year has been hectic to say the least. The city’s energy never truly fades, but even New York eases its grip a bit in August. Colleagues take time off at the beach or a long weekend upstate. We may not close shop like Italy’s Ferragosto, but we should still claim August—intentionally—as the month to rest, reset, and ready ourselves for the sprint that begins on Tuesday, September 2, the day after Labor Day.

Why the urgency? Because the philanthropic engine roars back to life in early September—and then accelerates. UN General Assembly High‑Level Week brings global leaders to town September 22–30, amplifying traffic, convenings, and attention across New York; diaries fill quickly, and donor calendars do, too. And if you’re focused on year‑end results, the data is pretty concrete: nonprofits see a large share of annual giving at the end of the year—roughly 30% of donations occur in December, with a notable spike in the final days. That reality makes our fall execution decisive.

Use August to Rest—And to Reset Three Things

1) Your calendar (and your board’s).
Block the first two weeks of September for donor and board touchpoints you control: stewardship breakfasts, site visits, and quick “welcome back” coffees. Pre‑schedule at least three anchor activities per week (e.g., one major‑gift visit, one stewarding touch, one institutional follow‑up). Draft the Q4 communications calendar now—pledge reminders, fall appeals, GivingTuesday pre‑work—so you’re executing in September, not planning.

2) Your pipeline (and your message).
Use a quiet Friday in August to triage the top 25 relationships: where each stands, what value you’ll bring in your next interaction, and the most credible pathway to a commitment by December 20. Refresh gift tables and proposal targets; align program, finance, and advancement on the case elements you’ll feature this fall—impact, urgency, and specific “first‑quarter” outcomes for 2026 planning.

3) Your tools (and your guardrails).
AI will remain the buzz of 2025–2026, but the opportunity is less the sizzle and more the systems. Many nonprofits are experimenting without a clear plan: in a 2025 benchmark report of 1,321 nonprofit professionals, 76% reported they do not have an AI strategy, 80% lacked an acceptable‑use policy, and only 7% said they had successfully adopted AI to tackle operational or mission challenges. If you’re in that majority, August is the moment to draft light‑touch guardrails (disclosure, data hygiene, human review) and spin up two or three discrete, high‑leverage use cases—briefing prep, meeting recaps, first‑draft grant language—that your team can pilot in September.

If you want practical perspective tailored to fundraising, AFP‑NYC has already begun curating it. See the recent chapter brief on using AI for better fundraising—an instructive reminder that technology should augment, not replace, our human connection with donors. NYC AFP

What’s Ahead at AFP‑NYC This Fall

AFP‑NYC programming resumes after Labor Day with education, networking, and community—the perfect complement to your fall plan. Specific event listings publish on the chapter calendar and member porta very soonl; check the Upcoming Events page and make sure you’re subscribed to the chapter eNews so you don’t miss registrations as they open. Expect the usual mix of professional‑advancement programs, Emerging Leaders networking, and fall skills workshops—plus the New York City National Philanthropy Day Celebration on November 18th, (NPD is observed on November 15 each year across AFP chapters).

A Final Word

Leaders set the team’s cadence. Taking time off in August isn’t indulgent; it’s strategic. Rest lets us return sharper—more present with donors, clearer with boards, and better prepared for the decisions that determine our Q4 outcomes. Put simply: protect August so you can perform in September. Circle September 2 on your calendar, come back ready to run, and let’s make the most of a season when donors are back in town, attention is high, and generosity surges toward year‑end.

CJ Orr, having served as a trusted partner to clients for over 10 years, has broad experience in fundraising and development, executive leadership, strategic planning, campaigns and event management. He has launched funds, designed and led strategic initiatives, and driven fundraising for large galas and campaigns ranging from $10M to $1B+ in revenue. As an expert project and relationship manager, he executes on the development of strategies and tactics to drive effective fundraising plans that meet or exceed targets. Internally, CJ is responsible for setting and driving achievement of Orr Group’s financial targets and overseeing efficient operations within the firm. Additionally, CJ supports the efforts of Orr Group’s Growth team to identify and cultivate new business opportunities and build relationships with nonprofit partners, ensuring that the services offered are best aligned with our partners’ needs.  CJ’s background in finance provides him with a strong foundation in analytics, metrics and ROI. Prior to working at Orr Group, CJ worked in Institutional Fixed Income Trading at Alliance Bernstein, where he was responsible for funds trading, account management, and reviewing analytical research. He also spent several years in municipal bonds sales and trading at Oppenheimer & Co.

by Gary Weinberg
President, DM Pros

AFP's Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) reported in July that while total dollars raised increased 3.6% in the first quarter, this growth was driven largely by larger donors. Donations from smaller donors are declining. However, there are proven strategies you can put to use now to make your year-end direct mail and direct response campaigns more successful.

The Foundation: Three Ways to Raise More Money

Years ago, one of my fundraising gurus shared a simple truth: "Gary, there are only three ways to raise more money from individual donors—(1) acquire new donors, (2) get existing donors to upgrade their gifts to larger amounts, and (3) get existing donors to give more often."

This leads us to the "leaky bucket" theory. Your current donors are the water inside, new donors and reactivated donors flow in from the top, lapsed donors drain out the bottom. The goal—stop the leakage while increasing the inflow.

Strategy 1: New Donor Acquisition for Year-End

If you're not acquiring new donors, your donor pool is shrinking. Start with people already familiar with your organization—volunteers, gala attendees, program participants, and other lists you may have. Send these prospects a letter expressing your appreciation for their involvement and asking for a special year-end gift.

For organizations ready to make a larger investment, formal acquisition programs offer greater long-term potential. This approach costs significantly more because you're renting multiple prospect lists and testing different packages and messages to find what works best, and the response rate will be relatively low.

While the initial metric is response rates and dollars raised, lifetime value is the bigger picture and long-term goal. Lifetime value is the total amount each donor gives over time. Example: You acquire 100 new donors at $25 each ($2,500 total). If acquisition costs $50 per donor, you won't see positive return until the third gift. By Year 5, perhaps only 20 donors remain but give $200 each ($4,000 total). Lifetime value also helps to plan your acquisition budget investment.

Acquisition Techniques:

• Direct mail campaigns: Test different formats, envelopes, and messaging
• List rental strategies: Test prospect lists and co-op databases matching your demographics
• Online lead generation: Use paid advertising to drive traffic, then add leads to email and direct mail

Strategy 2: Lapsed Donor Reactivation

Reactivating lapsed donors costs much less than finding completely new ones. These people already know your mission and have given before—they just need the right invitation to return.

Reactivation Strategies:

• Write personal reactivation appeals that acknowledge their history. For example, if Mary last donated $100 3-years ago: "Mary, thank you for your past support. Please consider renewing your support with a gift of $100 or $125. Even a gift of $50 would go a long way to help feed New Yorkers facing hunger."
• Include the impact of the last gift: "You made a difference in 2023—will you do it again this year?" or even more specific, "We miss you. Your past support helped feed 320 families—thank you."

Strategy 3: Upgrade Existing Donors

Your current donors are your most important supporters. Beyond keeping them, focus on growing their gifts. Show the impact to encourage larger gifts: "Mary, thank you for your continued support. This year-end, would you consider increasing your gift to help us reach more people in need?"

Strategy 4: Increase Gift Frequency

Turn annual donors into multiple-gift supporters. If Mary gave two gifts of $50 last year, and gives three gifts of $50 this year, you've raised more money.

Develop your monthly giving program and include the option on all donation response devices. Monthly giving creates more committed donors while providing steady income. Ask monthly donors for an extra gift at year-end (of course, after thanking them and acknowledging them as a monthly donor).

Additional Tactics:

• Strategic appeal calendar: Plan targeted appeals throughout the year for more giving opportunities
• Email campaigns: Increase your mix of informational emails and donation requests
• Urgent appeals: Respond to current events with extra emergency appeals

Donor Retention and Stewardship Strategies

Keeping current donors is cheaper than finding new ones. Stewardship is an investment to bond and retain donors:

• Prompt acknowledgment: Thank donors within 48 hours—show the impact of their gift
• Regular communication: Send newsletters and updates between appeals
• Personal touches: Select the top 100-200 donors in your fundraising appeal list and have your production firm return them to you assembled and stamped but unsealed, for you to write personal notes and mail from your office
• Recognition programs: Create giving circles based on higher giving levels
• Infographics: Use graphics to visualize your impacts

Additional Direct Response Strategies

Several other tactics can boost your year-end results:

• Matching gift opportunities: Announce challenge grants that double the donor's impact with a deadline for urgency
• Deadline urgency: Use December 31st deadline to encourage immediate action—donations received before the end of the year help you start the new year strong, ready to serve more people and expand your impact

The Critical Role of Impact Demonstration

I've used the word "impact" here many times. I can't overemphasize the value of demonstrating your impact at every opportunity.

City Harvest does an outstanding job showing gift impact on their website donation form: "$36 helps feed 11 NYC children for a week… $52 helps feed 1 NYC family for a month… $83 helps feed 8 NYC seniors for 3 weeks… $135 helps feed 10 New Yorkers for a month."

Conclusion

The decline in small-donor participation requires action. By focusing on new donor acquisition, lapsed reactivation, donor upgrades, and increased frequency—all supported by strong stewardship—your year-end campaign can be even more successful.

Fundraising is about building relationships. Every message you send should deepen donor connection to your mission. Start planning these strategies now for your year-end campaign and continue them into the new year. With careful testing, clear messaging, and strong stewardship, your efforts can deliver exceptional results.

Gary is a specialist in individual giving. He has been a leader in direct mail and direct response fundraising communications for over 35 years. He takes a holistic approach, focusing on the complete giving cycle from direct mail and digital solicitation, through acknowledgment and stewardship activities.

He currently serves on the AFPNYC Board of Directors, Chairs the Government Relations Committee providing advocacy for charitable giving issues in NYS and on The Hill in DC, and is active in the Professional Advancement Committee that organizes the Chapter’s regular seminars. In addition, serves as Vice Chair on the Board of the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx.

by Adam Glick and Lucretia Gilbert
FRDNY 2025 Program Committee Co-Chairs

Fundraising Day New York offers an opportunity for nonprofit professionals at all stages of their careers to come together, learn from colleagues longstanding and new and explore the most important issues facing our sector. The program for FRDNY 2025 – workshops, roundtables, flash coaching sessions, panel discussions, and more – was as dynamic as the day’s 1000+ attendees. Organized by a dedicated team of volunteers who plan for eight months leading up to the big day, FRDNY aims to build and scale in ways both quantitative and qualitative each year. After all, if the best fundraising is a balanced mix of art and science, FRDNY should reflect that!

We had the opportunity to serve as Co-Chairs of FRDNY’s 2025 Program Committee and invite leaders from across the sector to join the planning team. We were honored to have the collaboration of Kennedy Bennett, PK Drago, Lori Kranczer, Abril Peña, Caroline Ver Planck, Carmel Napolitano, Diana Rodriquez Susan Sharer, and Farra Trompeter in designing a robust and inspiring day. Any successful teamwork is predicated on mutual respect, trust, understanding, and open communication, and it was because of the work we all do and, moreover, how we work together, that joining forces to shape and organize the program for FRDNY 2025 was a natural fit. As the adage goes, “if you want something done, ask a busy person!”  With that, and since we knew each of us was just busy enough to say we could support the other, we set out to make FRDNY’s 2025 program the best one yet along with the help and innovative ideas of our stellar Program Committee members.

Throughout the course of reviewing and deliberating session submissions, thinking how to guide prospective participants, and ensuring FRDNY’s program made adequate space for in-house fundraisers, external consultants, senior leaders, vendors, coaches, and other nonprofit professionals, we learned that many people wanted to work even more closely with their current or new consulting partners and vendors. We also were particularly mindful to develop more intentionally a track for senior leaders to ensure their commitment to AFP and FRDNY was matched with programming from which they would benefit.

We repeatedly heard that maximizing consulting engagements to allow for in-the-weeds work while still offering fresh, objective perspectives was important to frontline fundraisers, CDOs, CEOs, and their team members. We were asked to consider sessions dedicated to working with consultants as part of one’s team more effectively and comprehensively; how the traditional consulting model had changed; and how making the case to CEOs and boards for partnering with consultants often proved as difficult as it was necessary, especially for those faced with hiring and full-time employee retention challenges. We also noted that the topic of how to get the most out of a consulting partnership touched on nearly all other aspects of FRDNY’s program: from data mining and AI to frontline fundraising support, HR, and attracting, retaining, and advancing top talent – the list continued.

For us, this also highlighted the ever-evolving nature of fundraising (and work culture generally), with many of us still operating remotely and not in a traditional office setting – a change celebrated by some and lamented by others since the great work-from-home shift coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. With traditional structures relaxing and alternatives to being in an office from 9 to 5 with “your” team five days a week increasingly acceptable, the question then became what additional value, insights, and perspectives could an organization gain from consultants and vendors since these advisors and augmentative team members often engage with their clients as remote full-time employees do.

Since no AFP article is complete without a checklist, below are a few recommendations for how to think about how you can get more out of your vendor relationships and consulting partnerships (and have fun doing it):

1. Remember that your vendors and consulting partners are your colleagues: whether it’s a short-term/project-specific engagement or a longer-term multi-layered partnership, they are there in support of your efforts and success, and their success is your success.

2. Clearly define and agree upon what elements of a vendor or consultant’s work are quantifiable and which are not. For example, if a consultant is supporting major donor prospects and pipeline development, determine what success looks like: how many donors, projected revenue probability, fundraising timeline, etc. Remain in regular conversation about progress and updating it as you work together to achieve your goals.   

3. As you think about how a vendor or consultant could potentially provide additional support and what, if anything, would need to be prioritized differently to achieve this, ask them! Stay in active conversation with your external partner to think of new and additional ways they can help drive your work and organization forward.

4. Maximize consulting and vendor relationships by leveraging their knowledge from working with a variety of nonprofits across the sector that will benefit your organization as you approach direct mail, CRM migration, year-end fundraising appeals, and more. Their perspectives on and understanding of how many organizations work can help shape and drive your own work faster and more effectively.

Of course, some of the most important parts of FRDNY are grounded in established and emerging leaders coming together to share knowledge, network, and learn best practices.  We look forward to seeing you at FRDNY 2026 next year on Friday, June 12, 2026, as we continue to build community and strengthen connections across the nonprofit sector -- for those of in and out of house!

Lucretia Gilbert is the Chief Philanthropy Officer of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Adam Glick is a Vice President at Orr Group.  Among their many common interests is a love of handwritten notes – sending and receiving.

Adam Glick is Vice President at Orr Group, where he develops and implements innovative strategies from strategic planning to securing major gifts across individual, institutional, corporate, and campaign-specific sources. Previously, Adam served as Director of Individual Giving and Special Projects at Hudson River Park Friends, the philanthropic partner of the Hudson River Park Trust, where he oversaw the growth of the Park’s annual fund, secured new and increased multi-year support from its major donors, and directed the organization’s capital and membership campaigns. He also served as the inaugural Curator of Mad. Sq. Art, the public art program of the Madison Square Park Conservancy. He has lectured at the Stern School of Business and Steinhardt School of Education (NYU), the Hite Art Institute (University of Louisville), and elsewhere. Adam has also participated in numerous panel discussion sessions hosted by the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Robb Report, and the New York Observer. Adam is the co-author of Object Impermanence: Ethics, Endowments, and Deaccessioning (MuseumsEtc., April 2021).

Lucretia Gilbert is the Chief Philanthropy Officer for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has launched a transformational $125 million campaign to redouble the global fight against AIDS. Lucretia is a seasoned development professional and innovative leader with over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She concomitantly serves as the Principal & Founder of The Philanthropy Advantage, a high-impact philanthropy consulting firm that provides strategy and implementation support for nonprofits, private foundations, individuals, and corporations. Previously, Lucretia was the Chief Philanthropy Officer for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), where she managed the development and events department, raising more than $500 million. Previously, she served as the Executive Director for The Pink Agenda, the Associate Director of Major Gifts at Gilda's Club Worldwide, and Director of Special Events at the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. Lucretia is a graduate of the Executive Education Exponential Fundraising Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School and holds a Master’s in Public Administration. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the New York City Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is serving as the Program Co-Chair for Fundraising Day in New York 2025.

by Amethyst A. Rodriguez
Institutional Giving Officer, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

“Charity is writing a check for a cause you care about. Justice asks more of us. It means investing your money, time, knowledge, and relationships to challenge — and change — the very systems that make charity necessary.”

I wrote those words while working on my Ph.D. dissertation, which examines how leaders of color in philanthropy push — or struggle to push — the sector toward justice. As a person who has experience on both sides of the table, as a fundraiser and a fund giver, and now a researcher, I see clearly how storytelling in fundraising doesn’t just describe the world. It shapes it.

Fundraising is never neutral. It can either uphold systems of inequity or help reimagine them. Yet too often, nonprofit campaigns rely on stories that comfort donors while flattening the experiences of the communities they claim to serve. These stories reduce people to victims and cast donors as heroes. They strip away complexity, erase context, and preserve power imbalances. They don’t just reflect bias—they reproduce it. Roseanne Mirabella (2024) argues that fundraising often operates within colonial logics that prioritize donor satisfaction over community agency. Fundraisers face real pressure to meet revenue goals, but that pressure can drown out their power to shape narratives that inspire donors to see the world differently and invest in justice, not charity.

In their recent chapter “Decolonizing Fundraising Narratives in International Nongovernmental Organizations,” scholars Abhishek Bhati and Angela Eikenberry argue that many NGOs still use colonial-era tropes. They show how campaigns lean on images of poor children and women of color to trigger pity, while keeping donors — often white and Western — in a role of rescuer. These narratives resemble 19th-century colonial propaganda more than justice-oriented storytelling.

But these patterns don’t stop at international borders. They show up here at home — in the U.S. — in local food bank appeals, education initiatives, criminal justice reform work, and community arts programming. I know because I’ve worked across these areas. I’ve seen how easily our sector defaults to stories that sell suffering rather than build solidarity.

From Congo (DRC) to Central Florida and Beyond…

I began my career far from the philanthropic institutions where I now work. At 18, I moved to East Africa with a one-way ticket, a camera, and a deep desire to serve. I eventually settled in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, where I spent more than a decade co-leading a grassroots nonprofit focused on education, child protection, and community-led development.

We built schools, organized trauma recovery groups, started small businesses, and invested in local leadership. But I quickly realized our biggest challenge wasn’t infrastructure, war or poverty. It was perception. International partners pressured us to frame our work through a deficit. Funders wanted transformation stories but rarely asked about history, power, or systems. We spent too much time translating the community’s truth into language that donors would accept.

That experience shaped me. It taught me to question the role of fundraising not just as a financial strategy, but as a narrative practice. It taught me to ask: Who controls the story? Whose voice do we center? What do we erase to make a story “donor-friendly”?

When I returned to the U.S., I brought those questions with me. I now serve as institutional giving officer for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando. I lead institutional fundraising efforts for our arts education, community engagement, and wellness programs. 

I also lead proposals for initiatives like our veterans’ wellness program, which includes drum circles, improv comedy, choir, and spoken word — all grounded in arts-based healing. I approached this project with the same principle I learned in Congo: tell the whole story. We frame veterans not as broken or dependent, but as resilient leaders stepping into healing and creative expression. That narrative honors dignity and inspires donors.

Fundraising Is Not Neutral

Many fundraisers still believe that emotional stories drive giving, and they do. But emotional storytelling doesn’t need to dehumanize. We don’t need to rely on images of starving children or single mothers crying to motivate generosity. When we do that, we train donors to expect pity and performance instead of justice and partnership.

Studies back this up. Bhati’s research (2020) found that people with higher implicit skin-tone bias gave smaller donations — even after controlling for income, education, religion and political identity. Stereotypical images didn’t inspire greater generosity. They reinforced racial bias and stunted long-term investment.

When I lead a fundraising strategy, I don’t start with problems. I start with people — their brilliance, their history, and their vision. I position funders not as saviors, but as partners walking alongside. This shift matters. It changes how donors relate to the work. It moves them from transaction to transformation. It stops asking for charity and starts asking for solidarity.

From Charity-Based to Rights-Based

Bhati and Eikenberry challenge fundraisers to move from a charity-based to a right-based model. In the charity model, fundraisers highlight need, evoke pity, and reinforce dependency. In the rights-based model we highlight equity, evoke dignity and invest in collective power [1] [2]

Rights-based fundraising does more than tell a better story. It disrupts harmful narratives and educates donors about systemic injustice. It focuses on root causes, not symptoms. It invites donors into a relationship, not saviorhood.

I carry this approach into my doctoral research at Binghamton University, where I study how leaders of color navigate power inside foundations. My work interrogates how people like me — a Puerto Rican woman raised in a working-class home — can shift philanthropic culture not just by leading, but by telling the truth.

We don’t decolonize philanthropy with buzzwords. We do it by shifting power, redistributing resources, and changing who gets to narrate the work.

What Fundraisers Can Do Now

You don’t need a Ph.D. to start decolonizing your fundraising. You just need courage and clarity. Here are five steps I recommend:

1. Audit your materials. Count how many times you show people of color in passive roles. How many images lack context? Which stories position donors as heroes?
   
   
2. Co-create stories. Don’t just ask for a quote or a photo. Build long-term relationships. Let people tell their stories in their own voice. Pay them for their time and emotional labor.
   
   
3. Focus on systems. Move beyond “we gave her a scholarship” or “he escaped violence.” Ask why the school lacked resources in the first place. Point to policy. Frame your work within a broader ecosystem.
   
   
4. Diversify your team. Build fundraising departments that reflect the communities you serve. Invest in black, brown, and indigenous fundraisers. Make sure they don’t just execute appeals — let them shape them.
   
   
5. Practice narrative humility. You don’t speak for the voiceless. People have voices. Your job is to listen, amplify, and step aside when needed.
   
   Decolonizing fundraising means embracing discomfort. It means risking some donor pushback in order to tell the truth. It means remembering that every image, every paragraph, and every pitch teaches donors how to see the world — and who matters within it.

​Decolonizing fundraising means embracing discomfort. It means risking some donor pushback in order to tell the truth. It means remembering that every image, every paragraph, and every pitch teaches donors how to see the world — and who matters within it.

The Power of Fundraisers

Fundraisers hold immense power. We decide how stories travel. We decide who appears worthy of investment. We stand at the intersection of money and meaning.

Let’s use that power with intention. Let’s tell stories that don’t just raise funds — let’s tell stories that build a more just, truthful, and liberated world.

Amethyst A. Rodriguez serves as institutional giving officer for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and is a Ph.D. candidate in Community Research and Action at Binghamton University. She has raised more than $10 million for nonprofits across the globe and lives in New York with her husband and son.

References:

Bhati, A. (2020). Does implicit color bias reduce giving? Learnings from fundraising survey using Implicit Association Test (IAT). VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 32(2), 340–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-020-00277-8

Mirabella, Roseanne M. "Decolonizing Fundraising." In The Handbook of Critical Philanthropy, Volume 2, edited by Toby Ford and Paloma Raggo, 2024, pp. 229–246

by Jason Ellinger, Founder
Beard & Bowler

We walked into the ballroom
at AFP Fundraising Day in NYC
with nothing but a plan, a camera
crew, & a deadline no one could pause.
Four hours later, 1,120 nonprofit leaders
would be watching a story they hadn’t
seen yet because we hadn’t filmed it.

As the ballroom filled at FRDNY 2025,
there was a name tag curling at the
edge of a table. A folder of ideas.
A seat filled by someone who rarely
gets to slow down. In a year when
teams are stretched thin, inboxes
are overloaded, & fundraising feels
like both a sprint & a marathon,
storytelling is not a side task.
It is one of the few things that
actually moves people.

FRDNY 2025 wasn’t just
another event for us. It was
a test of our team, our trust,
& our ability to show up under pressure.

We didn’t come to drop a sizzle reel.
We came to produce a same-day-edit
to remind the people in that room that
the work they do matters. We walked into
that ballroom with a plan, a small crew, & a
clock we could not stop. By noon, we had
to deliver a story we hadn’t even filmed yet.
Four hours. That was the window.

If you’ve ever had to prep an entire campaign
while answering emails from the board, send
last-minute reminders before an event, or
pivot mid-presentation to get the room back,
you already know what that pressure feels like.

We were simultaneously split across three
shoots that day. This was our Super Bowl.

We weren’t fully staffed. Kwami, one of
our best interviewers, was on National Guard duty.
Dani was just getting comfortable in these spaces,
but she stepped in to lead our presence on the floor.
I was leaving the next day for my first real vacation in months.

Still, we showed up. We knew who would be in the room.
Not just attendees. These were the quietly relentless.
The ones who keep showing up for something bigger than themselves.

Matt & I kicked off with an 8 AM lightning talk.
Christine was on the floor filming real-time reactions.
Jenna cut clips on the fly & backed up footage between
exports. AJ & Jono caught behind-the-scenes, the details,
the heartbeat. Richard conducted interviews remotely from Italy.
Dani became the face of the team that day. She was present,
grounded, & incredibly generous. Everyone knew their
role & every second mattered.

At 12:00, we were still exporting.
At 12:04, we handed the file to AV.
At 12:10, the audio collapsed.
My opening line only came
through in one ear.
For a moment, I froze.
Maybe we had missed our shot.
Maybe it would fall flat.
But Jenna knew what to do.
She rerouted the issue,
re-exported the file,
& got it back just in time.

At 12:15, the video played.
The room became silent.
Then came the laughs.
Then applause. People leaned in.
“Wait, this was filmed today?”
“That’s our table.”
“Is that me?”

We didn’t just deliver a video.
We helped people see themselves.
That is what I’ll carry from that day.
No one said, “Great edit.”Instead, they said,
“That’s what we’ve been missing.”
“We need help telling our story.”
“This reminded me why I started.”

What Nonprofits Can Do When the Pressure’s On
You don’t need a full production team or a perfect
plan to tell a great story. Here’s what we learned at
FRDNY that can help you the next time you are up
against the clock, the budget, or the blank page:

● Be brave, not perfect
The best stories are often the ones you feel nervous to tell.
The ones still unfolding. You don’t need perfect lighting or gear.
You need honesty. If you’re holding off on sharing your mission
until it’s tidy, you’re probably holding back your most powerful work.

● Keep roles crystal clear
Pressure breaks teams that don’t know their roles. At FRDNY,
we delivered under stress because everyone knew exactly
what to do. When your team has clarity & shared
ownership, you can handle just about anything.

● Lead with emotion, then inform
Start with a face, a moment, a real story.
Then bring in your data. People act when
they care, not when they’re just informed.
Make them feel it first, then
give them the numbers.

● Tell it before it’s tidy
You don’t need to wait
until your gala wraps or your
metrics are perfect. Share your story
while it’s still unfolding. That’s what
people remember. The messy middle
is often where the truth lives.

● Remember why you started
That’s what most of us came to FRDNY for.
Not just another panel or workshop, but
the reminder that this work is still worth it.
The people in your corner matter. Your story,
even now, is one worth telling.

That moment, on screen,
with 1,120 nonprofit leaders
leaning in, reminded me what matters most.
It is not about the lighting. It’s about the person
who steps into the frame & says, “This matters.”
It’s about the folder full of ideas & the name tag
curling at the edge. It’s about waking up & deciding
again to ask, to care, to build momentum from nothing.

To the AFP NYC community:
Thank you for making space
for that kind of storytelling.
Thank you for filling the room
with people who get it. The ones
who know what it means to stretch
a budget & move a heart, sometimes
before their second cup of coffee.

You reminded us that storytelling isn’t a final step.
It’s a force, a signal & a way to say: the mission still matters.
Not someday. Not when it’s perfect. Right now.
At Fundraising Day NYC, we gave away early access
to something we’ve been quietly building
a nonprofit storytelling mini masterclass.
Want in?
Sign up here!

First, & most importantly, I’m a husband of a beautiful wife & father to two amazing boys - a 5 year old & a 1 year old. Of secondary importance, I am the owner of Beard & Bowler Productions, a Commercial Filmmaking creative company that helps nonprofits raise funds & awareness through the power of storytelling via video.
I have worn all the hats, including an English bowler, in my time building this company & have been privileged to work with a long list of businesses, agencies, & organizations. There is genuine power to the art of storytelling and I’m proud to be part of a company that uses this power to make an impact in our world.
As with any good story there are numerous details I must not go into great detail over here. From my days as a hard news journalist to A.J. Video to Beard & Bowler I continue to learn & grow. Only greater things to come… just you wait.

by David Langton
President, Langton Creative Group

We see AI being employed everywhere. Yet, not all AI and tech upgrades are better for your donor base. Here’s expert advice from marketers, strategists, and practitioners in fundraising communications on how to effectively build your audience without alienating your key donors. So often, we lose track of our own expertise and use AI and technology to create barriers instead of building bridges. Howard Levy, president of Red Rooster Group, says, “AI can enhance your expertise if you know how to use it. You're not just writing emails or managing social media. You’re telling stories that connect people to a cause. You're raising dollars that change lives. That requires insight, empathy, and creativity. And AI — when used right — can help you do more of that, better and faster.”

QR codes for Girl Scout cookies could hurt sales.
When the neighborhood Girl Scouts come by and ring the bell selling their cookies, I usually buy a few boxes. I like supporting the neighborhood girls (and my wife loves Thin Mints.) But this year, the Girl Scouts came by and they didn’t ring the bell. The dog went crazy, and I knew someone was at the front door, but by the time I got there, there was only a flyer with a QR code. I could scan the flyer, go online, and purchase my cookies. No human contact needed. I tossed the flyer away. The only reasons I buy Thin Mints is to see the smiles on the kids’ faces and to give my wife a treat. The QR code de-personalizes the process; they are efficient, but overall, they lessen the experience of buying the cookies

Generic prompts get generic reactions.
This seems like good advice until you see the following line, “Use AI to get the right prompts.” AI may be a good tool for generating ideas and crafting responses; but does AI know your consumer needs better than you do? Lynsie Slachetka, chief juxtaposition officer at aJuxt, says, “My official AI motto has been, and remains, ‘Use the tool, don’t be a tool.’”

Maria Lilly, principal and founder of MJ Lilly Associates, adds, “Effective marketing and communication today requires authenticity — the sharing of personal stories and anecdotes that create relatability. AI can support efficiencies, but it is imitative, not creative. It cannot not produce the very real human touch of a fundraiser who can, with great empathy, discuss a successful campaign, the impact on the recipient organization, and the winning results for the ultimate beneficiaries.”

Common mistakes made when employing AI and new technologies in fundraising
Most people see AI as a replacement for human work. It’s cheaper, and it never complains. Yet, the best uses of AI and technology should support or enhance a service. Think about how you can use AI to augment or speed up a process rather than replace human intelligence. It’s like the old joke where a bear is chasing two men, and one says to the other, “You think you can outrun the bear?” and the other says, “I don’t need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun you.” You won't be able to outrun AI, but you could be the one who outruns those who don’t use AI properly.

When we employ AI, we need to remember to track and measure the results. Deborah Brozina, managing partner at Making Change, asks, “Have you been measuring the costs in time, money, and other resources to create that content? What results has it produced? Only then can you see where AI has made positive contributions. For some organizations, it can speed up aspects of the process. For others, it just creates bland results. Without a clear understanding of where you are starting, you can’t really deploy the technology effectively for your organization.”

 “The nuances of messaging, targeting, and frequency of contact all add up to an overall impression your donors have of the organization,” says Slachetka, “using the tools for the thoughtful deployment of fundraising campaigns is absolutely okay, as long as you remember to double-check all settings and messaging with human brains.”

“Fundraising is the connective tissue between humans: receiving funds from one party for the benefit of another,” says Lilly, “AI is a helpful tool for researching and identifying targets, it would be a mistake to eliminate or replace the human element in what is fundamentally the most human of endeavors.” 

How AI and technology can enhance fundraising and outreach
Knowing where and when to employ AI and technology in your fundraising is critical for success. “The best AI application is in identifying likely targets for fundraising. Market segmentation and behaviors can often be parsed better using this technology than others,” says Brozina.

Levy advocates using AI in fundraising to get to know your audience better. “With the right prompts, you can build donor personas, analyze sentiment, and tailor messages that actually land.”

“One use of AI and technology we have seen particularly effective for fundraising outreach is as a workhorse,” says Slachetka, “leveraging tech to maintain contact with donors between handshakes and VIP gala invites is a perfect way to help your organization stay top of mind and relevant with donors.” Website tools can automatically re-draft blogs from competitors and publish them, often tagging them for search with AI-generated images, sometimes even before a human has had a chance to review them. AI is good at collecting content for drip campaigns and for re-purposing content, but ultimately, it has to be checked by humans. Plagiarism is rampant. Your AI content should be labelled and disclosed. It comes back to authenticity. Brozina adds, “I’ve seen ‘Virtual Fundraising Officers’ who will send letters out under their own ‘name’. Without disclosing that, the organization is risking its reputation and can create negative impacts that far outweigh any benefit gained from the automation.” 

Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded itself as “KFC” in the hopes that people would stop saying “Fried.” And in a similar way, we forget that AI means Artificial Intelligence. “Artificial” is its first name. As fundraisers, we must be genuine and not lose sight of our greatest human strength: We are real.

David Langton - Branding your nonprofit organization and building the right website are more critical today in the age of AI. I believe in harnessing the power of design to promote, educate, entertain, and inform — especially in the nonprofit sector, where a clear need for effective communication exists. We’ve worked with leading advocacy and cause-related organizations, including Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Children's Aid, The International Rescue Committee, and The Legal Aid Society.  I am on the Board of the NYC AFP Chapter and spoke about understanding your audience and building a better communication program at the AFP ICON Global Conference in Toronto. I am the president of Langton Creative Group, a New York design and branding firm, and author of Visual Marketing (Wiley). For over 15 years, I have taught communication design and media studies courses at Hostos College/CUNY in the Bronx.

by Jennifer Mignarri
Customer Success Manager, RelPro

In today’s fundraising environment, stability feels increasingly elusive. Nonprofits are grappling with shrinking government support, rising operational costs, and a growing dependence on a small circle of individual donors. As economic headwinds persist, savvy development professionals are facing a critical question: How can we future-proof our fundraising strategy?

The answer may lie in a shift from relying solely on traditional channels to diversifying your funding base, especially by unlocking the potential of corporate partnerships. In 2024, corporations accounted for $44.4 billion in charitable giving, a 9.1% increase over the previous year. Additionally, a recent survey indicated 68% of companies are interested in evaluating new nonprofit partnerships. While there is an opportunity, and the idea is appealing, the execution can feel out of reach. That’s where a more strategic, data-driven approach comes in.

Beyond Wealth Screening: A Broader Lens on Fundraising Intelligence

Most fundraising teams are equipped with tools that help screen individual wealth and giving capacity. These platforms are useful, but have limited application in cultivating relationships outside your existing donor circle, especially in the corporate space.

The reality is that identifying new corporate donors or sponsors requires a different kind of intelligence. It’s not just about who has money. It’s about alignment, access, and intent.

This is where a comprehensive business intelligence platform can elevate your strategy.

Leveraging the right technology, a nonprofit can efficiently identify prospective corporate partners:

• Uncover companies ready to expand their giving by searching across industries and geographies for companies actively researching philanthropy with intent signals.
• Find the right contacts inside those organizations to reach decision-makers in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), marketing, HR, or leadership roles—complete with emails, phone numbers, and relationship indicators.
• Analyze company-level giving behavior and social responsibility themes to prioritize outreach based on the potential for shared values.
• Leverage your existing network—board members, donors, or corporate partners—to discover hidden connections and facilitate warm introductions.

Corporate Philanthropy: The Overlooked Growth Opportunity

Corporate support isn’t just about sponsorship logos on event signage. Today’s most successful nonprofit-corporate partnerships are rooted in shared impact. Whether it’s employee engagement programs, cause marketing, or CSR-aligned grantmaking, companies are seeking partners that match their values and can tell compelling impact stories.

However, many nonprofit teams lack visibility into which companies are actively pursuing philanthropic initiatives. Intent data signals the topics companies are searching for, such as community investment, ESG, or nonprofit collaboration. These indicators can help fundraisers prioritize outreach and invest time where there’s real potential.

From Cold Calls to Warm Connections

Once you’ve identified your potential corporate partners, you still need be able to identify and reach decision-makers. Getting in front of the right person at the right time is a consistent challenge for fundraisers. Generic corporate directories and outdated contact lists slow progress and waste effort without even delivering any additional information necessary to make a genuine connection.

A relationship intelligence solution such as RelPro can support nonprofits by:

• Providing up-to-date contact information for key decision-makers.
• Mapping executives’ affiliations and board memberships, which may include prior engagement with nonprofits.
• Highlighting shared connections—including within your own board, staff, or donor base.

This relationship intelligence transforms your outreach from cold to strategic, boosting both your confidence and your conversion rate.

Building a Modern Fundraising Prospecting Strategy

To stay resilient in the face of economic and philanthropic uncertainty, nonprofits need to treat corporate prospecting like a sales funnel: measurable, strategic, and proactive. Here's how to get started:

1. Define your ideal partner profile. Consider mission alignment, company size, philanthropic themes, and employee engagement goals.
2. Start in your backyard. Identify your ideal partner companies in your local area using a radius search to build directly within your community.
3. Map your existing network. Use tools to visualize connections between your board or donors and target companies.
4. Layer in contact intelligence. Prioritize outreach based on decision-maker roles, giving history categories, and recent engagement signals.
5. Track, measure, and refine. Monitor which segments yield the best responses and adjust your strategy accordingly

Platforms like RelPro don’t just provide you with data; they empower your team to think like fundraisers and act like business developers.

Fundraising Leaders as Strategic Connectors

The future of nonprofit growth belongs to teams that know how to build ecosystems of support, not just donor lists. That means developing a fundraising model that goes beyond asking and into aligning, finding the companies, leaders, and communities that believe in your mission and want to invest in your success.

By leveraging tools that connect the dots between corporate intelligence, relationship data, and philanthropic alignment, fundraisers can act not only as askers but as connectors, strategists, and advocates for long-term impact.

Summary

In today’s uncertain fundraising climate, nonprofits are challenged by dwindling government support and reliance on a narrow donor base. To build resilience, many are turning to corporate partnerships as a source of diversified funding. However, identifying and engaging corporate donors requires moving beyond traditional wealth screening to adopt data-driven strategies that highlight alignment, access, and intent. By leveraging business intelligence, fundraisers can spot companies signaling philanthropic interest, identify key decision-makers, and uncover warm connections through existing networks. This approach reframes fundraising as strategic relationship-building—rooted in shared values and measurable engagement—positioning development professionals as connectors and ecosystem builders rather than just askers.

RelPro is here to power this shift. Whether you’re exploring new corporate channels or looking to deepen current partnerships, we provide the data, connections, and insights to make your outreach more intentional and more effective.

If your fundraising team is ready to expand your reach and rethink what’s possible, the first step is smarter prospecting.

Jennifer Mignarri is a Customer Success Manager at RelPro, bringing experience in Sales, Marketing, and Relationship Management.

Prior to joining RelPro, Jennifer worked as a Salesforce Recruitment Consultant where she specialized in business development, and sourcing quality candidates for clients across several industries. Jennifer also consulted clients on best practices relating to Salesforce implementations and integrations. Prior to Jennifer working within the recruitment industry, she was involved in the marketing and production of large scale global conferences during her time working for Quality Event Management.

Jennifer received a Bachelor of the Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Rhode Island.

by Gregory Boroff
Chief External Relations Officer | External Relations, City Harvest

This article is adapted from Gregory Boroff 's acceptance speech for the Ralph E. Chamberlain Award presented at AFP NYC Annual Meeting in February.

Today is truly a full life circle moment for me.  I first came to NYC in 1986 to attend college at FIT, and I lived in the co-ed dorm just across the street. To be back on the FIT campus 39 years later, receiving this prestigious award is beyond mind-blowing and surreal.

I felt so many emotions when Margaret Holman called to tell me that I would be receiving this award from the chapter. I felt humbled knowing that my peers, so many of you who are here today and whose work I respect so much, selected me to receive this honor. I felt proud, not just of myself but of each and every person who has been part of my 30-year career. This recognition is not just a testament to my work, but a celebration of the collective efforts of everyone who has been part of my journey.  And mostly I felt grateful.

Grateful that I have had the opportunity to work in a profession that I genuinely love. Grateful that my work has helped so many people, most notably people who are experiencing food insecurity and people living with, or at risk for, HIV and AIDS. Grateful that I have worked for such incredible organizations alongside so many talented and passionate people. Many who have become my dear friends. And grateful to AFP for all that it has given back to me: purpose, professional growth, opportunities for advancement, and a network of the fiercest and most capable people who make New York City and the world a better place. 

I, like many of you, fell into fundraising by accident.
I moved to the city in 1986. It was a magical time to be young here, but it was also a scary time with so many people dying from AIDS. I started volunteering with Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) almost immediately after moving here.  After several exciting years working in the hospitality and events industries, I decided that I wanted my work to have more purpose, and I knew I wanted to work at GMHC. So, I scheduled time to meet with the head of HR for the organization and asked what I could do there.  Her immediate and enthusiastic response was “you would be great in development.”

I had no idea what that meant and it never occurred to me that raising money for an organization could be a paying job let alone an entire profession. But I said yes and became a Major Gifts Assistant at GMHC in the fall of 1995. 

My next opportunity for advancement three years later was to work at City Harvest. I grew up food insecure and I know firsthand what it’s like not to know where your next meal is coming from. So, raising money for a food rescue organization was, and is, extremely meaningful to me.  

The role of AFP in my success.
I had always been very active in AFP.  I joined every committee that would have me and volunteered at every opportunity that presented itself. I eventually became Co-Chair of National Philanthropy Day.  It was the exposure from the podium the day of that event in 2001 that made possible my meeting Lucy Cabrera then the CEO of Food For Survival.

Gregory Boroff and Susan Ulin at a fundraising event. 

As Craig Shelley, President of the Board at AFP NY, said in his remarks, we lost Susan Ulin this past year. She was a special friend and colleague, and I am blessed to have so many wonderful memories with her. 

After many conversations following that event, Lucy offered me the role of Vice President of External Relations at Food For Survival. Working together alongside the newly formed team I created, we rebranded the organization to what we all know today as Food Bank For New York City. 

Pursuing my dream job
I spent 7 fulfilling years at Food Bank and then something happened that I had long hoped for but did not necessarily expect. You see when I first started working at GMHC, practically day one, I told anyone who would listen that I was going to be the Vice President of Development at amfAR one day. And then one afternoon I received a call from a headhunter asking if I would be interested in interviewing for that position. I did not want to leave Food Bank, but Lucy insisted I go for the role since it was my dream. She put my best interests first before the organization, and I am forever grateful to her for that.

amfAR was a crazy, glamorous, fun and exciting four-year chapter of my life. amfAR’s CEO Kevin Frost and I traveled the globe together, and I learned so much from him. He is a strong leader, and he gave me the confidence to go after my next big professional goal which was to become an Executive Director.  

My next big professional milestone
I was fortunate enough to be hired as the Executive Director at Friends of Hudson River Park. I learned so much about myself during my three years there. Most importantly, I learned that I do not like being the head of an organization. The head of a large team, yes, but the head of an organization, no. 

After my contract ended at Hudson River Park, my friend, Sunil Oomen, told me that City Harvest was looking for a Chief External Relations Officer. I remember reaching out to City Harvest’s CEO, Jilly Stephens, and saying to her, “You’re either going to think this is a great idea or a bad idea.” Fortunately for me, Jilly thought it was a great idea, and I have been back at City Harvest for nine-plus incredibly rewarding years. 

I have been blessed to work at amazing organizations doing meaningful work in areas most important to me, HIV/AIDS and food insecurity. I have had the privilege and honor to work for the best of the best leaders and CEOs: Pat Pollok, Lucy Cabrera, Kevin Frost and Jilly Stephens. And I have been fortunate enough to meet so many colleagues and friends throughout my career. 

I have spent a total of 16 years on the Board of AFP-NYC. In addition to Co-Chairing National Philanthropy Day for three years, I have served as Chair of the chapter’s Professional Advancement Committee; a member of the chapter’s first DEI committee; a mentor in the chapter’s mentorship program, now starting my third term; Co-Chair of the chapter’s Annual Meeting for three years; a speaker, a track chair, a program chair, and ultimately THE Chair of Fundraising Day in New York, the only person to serve in this role for three years: twice spearheading virtual conferences during the Pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and then leading the organization back to an in-person conference in 2022. I have given a lot to this chapter, but I have gotten so much more in return. 

Before I conclude, I want to thank the person I am most grateful for. I did not meet him through my work as a fundraiser, but he has supported my career over all 30 years. He has given me advice, the room to grow, to travel the world and attend so many events that he couldn’t attend with me. He’s listened to me vent about every topic under the sun and celebrated each and every win with me. He even picked out my outfit for today’s meeting. Thomas, I love you very much.  I would never want anyone else to be my husband and I could not have asked for a better partner to go through life with.  

In closing, it struck me when I was writing this speech that fundraisers rarely receive awards for their work.  We honor donors, celebrities, politicians, fellow colleagues, and volunteers.  But we are rarely recognized publicly for the impact our work makes possible in the world. So, I accept the Ralph E. Chamberlain award on behalf of my fellow fundraisers, because we are all Rock Stars who deserve to be celebrated for all that we have done and for all the good that our future success will continue to do.

Today is truly a full life circle moment for me.  I first came to NYC in 1986 to attend college at FIT, and I lived in the co-ed dorm just across the street. To be back on the FIT campus 39 years later, receiving this prestigious award is beyond mind-blowing and surreal.

I felt so many emotions when Margaret Holman called to tell me that I would be receiving this award from the chapter. I felt humbled knowing that my peers, so many of you who are here today and whose work I respect so much, selected me to receive this honor. I felt proud, not just of myself but of each and every person who has been part of my 30-year career. This recognition is not just a testament to my work, but a celebration of the collective efforts of everyone who has been part of my journey.  And mostly I felt grateful.

Grateful that I have had the opportunity to work in a profession that I genuinely love. Grateful that my work has helped so many people, most notably people who are experiencing food insecurity and people living with, or at risk for, HIV and AIDS. Grateful that I have worked for such incredible organizations alongside so many talented and passionate people. Many who have become my dear friends. And grateful to AFP for all that it has given back to me: purpose, professional growth, opportunities for advancement, and a network of the fiercest and most capable people who make New York City and the world a better place.

Gregory Boroff oversees the fundraising, marketing, communications, volunteer services and special events initiatives at City Harvest. Gregory returned to City Harvest 17 years after having worked here earlier in his career. Over his 25+ year career working with nonprofits, Gregory has raised more than $900 million for organizations that include Friends of Hudson River Park, amfAR, Food Bank For New York City, and Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). BizBash Magazine named Gregory one of the most innovative people in the event industry. Gregory serves on the Board of EventFluence, as a member of the Steering Committee for Allies in Action, and as a mentor for AFP-NYC. He has previously served on the Board of the Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, as Chair of AFP’s Fundraising Day in New York, as a member of the BizBash Magazine Advisory Council, on the Board and as Program Dean of the CAE Career Enrichment Committee for the New York Society of Association Executives, and as a mentor for the Point Foundation. Gregory is a proud supporter of New Hope for Cambodian Children. In 2025, AFP recognized Gregory with the esteemed Ralph E. Chamberlain Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership, dedication, and impact. 

by Anton Lipkanou
President and Partner, Delve Deeper

A Tipping Point for Digital Fundraising
The nonprofit sector is quietly approaching a cliff. While fundraising headlines often focus on major gifts, high-profile campaigns, or new digital tools, a more foundational crisis is unfolding just below the surface: the gradual collapse of the donor pyramid. Individual giving, which has historically been the bedrock of nonprofit revenue, is weakening at its foundation.

The Donor Demographic Shift
The numbers are sobering. Mass donors, defined as those giving under $500 per year, make up 87% of all individual donors. Yet they generate just 7.6% of annual revenue. Historically, that imbalance wasn’t a concern because a small percentage of Mass donors eventually “graduated” to higher giving tiers. But most charities have no infrastructure to track that progression, let alone actively cultivate it.

Meanwhile, Baby Boomers still account for the majority of donor revenue, but their engagement is plateauing. Gen X is not filling the gap fast enough, and Gen Z and Millennials, despite being cause-oriented and digitally savvy, remain dramatically underrepresented in most donor files.

Why? Because the traditional models that worked for older donors simply don’t resonate with younger ones.

The Problem with Business as Usual
The report highlights a troubling pattern: media platforms, like Meta, Google, and programmatic display, tend to favor older audiences because those groups have historically given more. This creates a feedback loop: algorithms prioritize Boomers, nonprofits build creative around them, and younger donors remain invisible.

Worse still, most digital programs lack the ability to personalize content for different age groups or cause affinities. This is especially damaging when trying to connect with Millennials and Gen Z, who expect relevance, authenticity, and a clear emotional tie to the cause. Generic fundraising appeals won’t cut it.

Recurring Giving: The Overlooked Powerhouse
One of the most promising insights from the report is the transformative potential of recurring giving. Recurring donors are 7.5 times more valuable over their lifetime than one-time donors. And the data shows that Millennials are 2.4 times more likely than Boomers to become monthly givers, while Gen Z is starting to follow a similar path.

Despite this, many charities focus on acquisition volume rather than retention or upgrade strategies. The missed opportunity is massive. By focusing on monthly giving as a key conversion goal, not just a secondary ask, organizations can increase donor lifetime value, reduce churn, and build more predictable revenue pipelines.

The Creative Imperative
Another emerging trend: volume and variety of creative matter more than ever. Donors today interact with brands and causes across a fragmented digital ecosystem. That means a single, polished year-end video or general appeal email isn’t enough.

What works is high-frequency, emotionally resonant creative that reflects the values and motivations of different audience segments. Think raw video, mobile-first ads, A/B tested headlines, and localized storytelling, all personalized for specific demographics or interests. The report emphasizes the need to invest in creative velocity, not just creative quality, to break through in an attention-scarce environment.

Fixing the Internal Fractures
The most important takeaway: cross-functional team alignment is non-negotiable. Without it, even the best creative and media strategy will fall flat. When fundraising, digital, and comms operate in silos, it’s impossible to track donor journeys, align on goals, or build lasting strategies.

A Call to Rebuild the Base

This means:

• Shifting your media mix to favor younger, cause-first audiences.
• Prioritizing recurring giving as a core strategy, not a sidecar.
• Producing creative that speaks to micro-affinities and values, not just demographics.
• Breaking down silos between fundraising, digital, and brand to align goals and resources.

The road ahead won’t be easy. But the organizations that confront these structural realities head-on, and make bold, integrated changes, will be the ones that thrive.

Conclusion
The future of fundraising doesn’t lie in any one channel or platform. It lies in the ability of nonprofits to adapt to shifting donor behavior, embrace new models of engagement, and rebuild the base of their support systems.

Anton Lipkanou is President and Partner at a performance media agency, Delve Deeper, which focuses on driving exceptional value for non-profit and for-profit organizations with a lifetime value revenue model. Starting as a media trader and seeing the inefficiencies in the market, Anton developed a firm belief that strong media performance relies on the foundation of data and technology integration to close the donor data gaps from mass donors to major givers, sprinkled with a relentless obsession to test every dimension in media buying platforms.