Many Voices

By Sandra Renner, CFRE, principal, Renner Consulting, Germantown, Md.

Before I became a fundraiser, I worked as a medical product representative. I remember being seated for my flight next to a manager from a very prominent healthcare company when we began talking about our jobs. He told me that he had been forced to hire women as sales representatives, even though he didn’t believe they would be as good as his male staff. He didn’t feel comfortable with them and thought it would just be too difficult. He told me he resisted until he was given the ultimatum of hiring women or else losing his job. To his surprise, the women were now his best salespeople. He believed their success was because of their ability to relate to their customers. He became an advocate for hiring women because they brought a different and useful perspective to the sales process.

Now, years later, when we wonder whether AFP still needs to be concerned about diversity or even why a professional fundraising organization should care about it, I’m reminded of that discussion. In the new economy, we can’t be successful at fundraising unless we can build a relationship with our donors. Yet how can we build that relationship if we have only one perspective? Diversity and inclusion are about creating an environment where many perspectives and experiences are heard and valued. Our members should represent the many types of donors we are going to encounter. By having a rich variety of cultures, races, experiences, ages, orientations, etc., we open ourselves to learning about one another from one another. This can translate into only better relationships with our donors.

At a meeting the other day someone said all this talk about minorities won’t mean anything because in 100 or 200 years we’ll all be brown. I don’t know if that’s the right prediction, but we all know the world is changing. As the demographics of countries continue to shift we must know how to relate to all potential donors—not just the ones like us.

I became involved with AFP’s diversity efforts by attending one of the first workshops on diversity and then having an after-session discussion with people like Charles Stephens, Maria Gitin and Alphonce Brown about why diversity was so important, how few people of color were members and what could we ask AFP to do about increasing diversity. Since then, AFP has instituted programs to increase diversity in the association, thereby enriching our profession and our skills as fundraisers. I now chair the Diversity Committee, which is in the process of changing its name to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee to better reflect the desire to represent many voices. Sometimes hearing those voices is uncomfortable, sometimes it is sad and sometimes it is deeply enriching, but it is always important. And, I believe, it’s the right thing to do.

I encourage you to look at the Diversity in Fundraising page on the AFP website. There are a variety of resources and programs that can open up new ideas for your chapter or provide you, the fundraiser, with a new perspective on your donors. Successful fundraisers don’t share the same values, experiences, age, orientation or culture that all their donors do, but they do appreciate and respect them. AFP has many opportunities for you to learn from and about others. At the International Conference on Fundraising, attend the diversity workshop, visit the Diversity Art Showcase, participate in sessions that offer different perspectives and mingle with the wealth of ideas and experiences that AFP has to offer. Seek out opportunities at your local chapter events and conferences to learn from those who aren’t like you. Read articles about diversity on the AFP website or participate in an online community. Encourage your chapter to expand its horizons. The September/October issue of Advancing Philanthropy described the AFP NY, Long Island Chapter’s efforts to reach out to different organizations to bring new perspectives with some ideas for chapters that you might want to try.

In addition to our activities at the annual conference, the diversity committee has updated the online chapter diversity resource guide and raised funds for the first conference scholarships for members from diverse communities. We have selected seven individuals to receive these scholarships to attend the 2012 conference in Vancouver. The committee working on the conference art showcase and workshop is happy to accept new members, as is the diversity committee. You also can donate to the Diversity Scholarship Fund, join a community or form a new Listserv by visiting the AFP website.

In 2002 the AFP board resolved that AFP is committed to diversity as an ongoing proactive process in its governance, chapters, committees, membership, programs and activities. Today, commit yourself to diversity and inclusion as a continuous part of your professional development.

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