A Letter From Our President
Greetings:
Happy 2023 AFP Greater Tri-State Chapter Members and Friends!!
Wow, can you believe another year has passed? It seems like yesterday I joined AFP and just met many of you. For those who are new members or those whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Karen Ann Tuecke and it is an honor to serve as your new Chapter President for the 2023 year.
A little bit about me… I am a proud mother of two beautiful girls and have been married to my husband since 2002. We have one dog, one cat, and one fish. I have been with the Sisters of the Presentation since 2014 and crazy enough, I have been an AFP, Greater Tri-State Chapter member since 2005!!
2022 was a fantastic year. We had excellent leadership for our chapter, quality educational opportunities, the development of a membership campaign, a celebration of National Philanthropy Day and so much more. These are all benefits offered to our members. I hope as a member, you are taking advantage of these opportunities.
As an incoming leader, it will be hard to fill the past president’s shoes, but I will try my best. Thank you Courtney for your leadership in the 2022 year. In addition, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to each of you that served on the board of directors in 2022. Thank you for your service. Also, we have members who celebrated 20 years, our founders, of the AFP Greater Tri-State Chapter. I would like to extend appreciation to each of you. Without your will, we would not be where we are at today. Moreover, to our members, our chapter would not exist if you were not a member. For this, I am grateful.
In 2023, I encourage you to utilize the programming opportunities, join in on the networking and use the professional resources available to you through your membership. The AFP Greater Tri-State Chapter Board of Directors is here to provide you with the best experience possible. There are opportunities to become actively involved as a member. The chapter has committees that could use volunteers, the need for speakers at the educational programming and other ways to become involved. I encourage you to look at the benefits available on our website, www.afpgts.org, and read our bi-monthly newsletter. You never know what you may find.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we would like to thank you for entrusting us with the leadership of the AFP Greater Tri-State Chapter this year. I truly appreciate each of you and encourage you to share any feedback or ideas you may have as we work together to grow our local chapter.
Gratefully yours,
Karen
Karen Ann Tuecke, MBA, CFRM, bCET
AFP, IA Greater Tri-State Chapter, President
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Educational Opportunities
Upcoming Chapter Programs:

The AFP-IA, Greater Tri-State Chapter, is proud to present a variety of Education/Programming Events in the next few months. Whether you are a new AFP member, a returning AFP member, or exploring networking and education, AFP-GTS has valuable events for you!
Mark your calendar for the following dates, plan for approximately one hour. ** Denotes member-only event
Coffee and Conversation
Wednesday, May 24—8:00 am – 9:15 am Wayfarer Coffee, 955 Washington St
Join AFP-GTS for Coffee and Conversation. This networking event is a gathering for nonprofit development professionals. Anyone with fundraising in their job description, or an interest in this niche, is welcome! The organic conversation will focus on spring appeals and giving events. Catch up, ask questions, or just listen to see what others are up to. Coffee and Conversation is free to attend. You do not need to register or be a member of AFP. Feel free to bring a friend.
8:00-8:15: Grab a coffee, a snack, and chat with others 8:15-9:00: Group meeting and discussion 9:00-9:15: Wrap up and networking
**ICON Conference Recap
Wednesday, June 14—11:30 am – 12:30 pm Jule Operations & Training Center, 949 Kerper Blvd
The AFP ICON conference, the world’s largest conference for professional fundraisers, is put on by The Association of Fundraising Professionals. Join Elena Dominguez, this year’s Chamberlain Scholar, to hear key takeaways from this year’s event.
Summer Social
Thursday, July 20—4:30 pm – 6:00 pm The Yardarm, 1201 Shiras Ave
Join fellow members for sun and fun at The Yardarm!
AFP-GTS Book Club
Wednesday, August 9—4:00 – 5:00 pm Gary Dolphin’s Iron Bar, 333 East 10th St
The Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Tri-State Chapter invites you to join a book club discussion featuring Jeremy Haselwood's The Digital Fundraising Blueprint: How to Raise More Money Online for Your Nonprofit. AFP member Courtney Chaffee will be leading the discussion.
Book Synopsis: The Digital Fundraising Blueprint provides a one-stop resource for nonprofits to use when it comes to raising more money online. The strategies and tactics contained in this book are the same ones used by the author, a digital fundraising consultant, who has helped raise over $100 million for nonprofits. This book goes into detail about raising money via website content, email, social media, social media ads, search engine marketing, online display ads, mobile, and more! In addition, this book is loaded with tips that you can immediately put into place to incrementally generate more money for your nonprofit.
Book: Free to members, $15 to non-members. Books will be available at in-person events preceding August. If you are unable to attend, please contact Tiffany, at stietzt@hospiceofdubuque.org to arrange pickup.
Recurring Gifts, Maximize Your Potential in Monthly Donors
Wednesday, September 27—8:30 – 10:00 am Jule Operations & Training Center, 949 Kerper Blvd
Are you missing out on vital recurring gift opportunities? Join Karen Tuecke, AFP President, to discuss recurring gifts for our September gathering. Recurring donors are the most commonly overlooked segment for many organizations. Recurring giving is when a donor elects to make a regular, ongoing donation to your organization instead of a one-time gift. There are some basic and simple principles a fundraiser can use in order to maximize the potential for recurring donors. Attend this session to learn more ways to address and talk to your benefactors about recurring giving.
Ethics in Fundraising Breakfast
Wednesday, October 4—8:30 am – 10:30 am Location TBD
October is Ethics Awareness Month. Join us to discuss various aspects of ethical fundraising in an open discussion. The discussion will cover ideas and examples to apply ethical decision-making to challenging and ever-changing issues in fundraising and the nonprofit sector. We will cover topics about real-world situations around accountability, public trust, and fundraising ethics.
National Philanthropy Day
Wednesday, November 15 Location TBD
National Philanthropy Day is a special day set aside to recognize the great contributions of philanthropy—and those people active in the philanthropic community—to the enrichment of our world. We look forward to seeing you at this annual event!
Annual Meeting/Holiday Social
Wednesday, December 6 Location TBD
Join us to spread holiday cheer and reconnect with fellow AFP Members. We will honor our AFP Board and members, celebrate achievements, and share ways to become involved.
We look forward to connecting again in 2023 as we navigate another year of philanthropy in the tri-state community. Check your email and Facebook for more information, events, and other opportunities provided. Special thanks to our committee members who have been hard at work to bring continued value to your membership. Thanks to Roberto Dominguez, Courtney Chaffee, and Wendy Sweeney.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at stietzt@hospiceofdubuque.org. I look forward to learning alongside you, networking with one another, and growing together
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AFP International Webinar Opportunities
AFP International is offering a wide curriculum of live and prerecorded webinars facilitated by industry experts. To learn more and register, visit https://www.pathlms.com/afp/events. Webinar participants are eligible for 1.0 CFRE education point upon completion of the session.
FREE Member-Only Webinar Opportunities AFP International offers many membership benefits at no additional cost. The following programs are FREE to AFP members from the comfort of your own home or office space. https://afpglobal.org/professional-development/webinars
To access these webinars, members will need an account with Blue Sky. Create an account here AFP (pathlms.com)
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AFP Job Openings:

Click the IMAGE ABOVE for the most recent local job announcements.
Job postings will go on the website and on the Facebook page as they are received. Also, a link to all current postings will be included in the monthly newsletter, which comes out the last Tuesday of the month. The postings will be removed during the first week of the following month if your organization does not reach out to the communications committee and reaffirm the position is still open. All current opportunities are listed at the link above.
If you would like to post a position, please use this link for your request: Request Form __________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you interested in being more active with the AFP – Greater Tri-State Chapter?
The Communications Committee is in need of more members. We invite you to be a part of our committee as a perfect way for you to become actively involved in AFP. We meet every other month to discuss the structure of our committee, new ideas, social conversations, and contributions to communicating the activities that take place in our chapter. This is a wonderful opportunity to network with other AFP members. Please contact Angie today at angie.herting@gmail.com or hertingan@uwplatt.edu.
Angie Herting - Communications Committee Chair angie.herting@gmail.com
Karen Tuecke Karen@dbqpbvms.org
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Membership Update Support Diversity and Inclusion in the Fundraising Community!
Complete Your AFP Member Demographic Information
AFP is committed to the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) in the fundraising profession. Join us in supporting those principles by providing demographic information in your AFP member profile. Your information will remain confidential and is used to benchmark progress, promote equity and create new programs.Update your information here: https://afp.personifycloud.com/PersonifyEbusiness/My-Account/Member-Demographic
Questions about your membership?
Contact Cassie Bird at c.bird@dbqarch.org __________________________________________________________________________________________ We have reached our high goal for the year! Thank you to everyone who has made a gift!__________________________________________________________________________________________ Get Social with us! Facebook Link below: __________________________________________________________________________________________
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