Chapter Blogs

Intersection of IDEA & Ethics

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 11-27-2022
Angie Hatcher Sledge and Jeremy Writt led participants in a lively conversation about the intersection of IDEA and ethics. The PowerPoint presentation available below served as a roadmap for this honest and brave discussion. Special thanks to the Impact Alliance for some of the source material. View the PowerPoint file here.

Photos from National Philanthropy Day 2022

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 11-10-2022
Check out the great photos from National Philanthropy Day 2022! Congratulations to all of the awardees!

NPD 2022 Legacy Award for Jerry Askew

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 11-09-2022

2023 Great Smoky Mountain Chapter Board of Directors

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 11-09-2022
Mary Adkins Angela Bartlett Grace Bennett Therese Glance (formerly Therese Bradbury) Rhonda Clay Stephanie Eastman Vozar Mary Sue Greiner Jill Murphy Scott Niermann  Matthew Reynolds Dylan Slemp Joseph Stabb Teresa Underwood Jeremy Writt   Officers: Lacey Mellott - President Paul Bowman - Immediate Past President Ada Hernandez-Bell - President-Elect To Be Determined - Treasurer Angie Hatcher-Sledge - Secretary

Prospect Research 101: The Nuts and Bolts

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 09-22-2022
by Emily Marcason-Tolmie Thank you AFP Great Smoky Mountain Chapter for hosting me on September 22 and allowing me the opportunity to share my passion and knowledge of prospect research. As a quick reminder, it is through the research identification process that fundraising prospects are evaluated on personal backgrounds, giving histories, wealth indicators, and philanthropic motivations. Additionally, through prospect research comes prospect management, proactive and reactive research, analytical procedures, and trend forecasting, while successfully building robust prospect pipelines, predictive donor modeling, capacity giving scores, and key fundraising ...

Member Spotlight: Alex Phipps

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 08-01-2022
Alex Phipps is the new fundraising specialist at Remote Area Medical. Like many new fundraisers, she has been experiencing a lot of firsts. She is new to the profession, a new member of AFP, and somewhat newly returned to East Tennessee. However, these recent developments are the manifestations of a reality Ms. Phipps has known for quite some time.  “Before working in development at Remote Area Medical I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Phipps said. “I worked as a bartender/server throughout my school years, but I always knew that I loved helping others.” After bartending, Alex had a stint as a Research Support Specialist at a university in Buffalo before ...

Member Spotlight: Teresa Underwood

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 07-01-2022
Teresa Underwood’s colleagues are quick to give her praise. Resourceful. Boundless energy. Dedicated. Detail-oriented. Given how generous she is with her time, talent, and wisdom, it is no wonder that they shower praise on this Knoxville native. “I have a lot I can share, and often still offer to help other nonprofits with a few tips, whether it's about sponsorships, events and even low hanging fruit secrets,” said Underwood. The Monroe County Friends of Animals is the latest organization to benefit from Underwood’s deep well of experience. She has been a blessing to numerous East Tennessee nonprofits during her 22-year fundraising career. “ I began ...

Update: BE the CAUSE, Annual Campaign

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 07-01-2022
Most of you are familiar with our Annual Be the Cause campaign This is where we ask you to consider a gift to the foundation of AFP global which will be used to help further scholarship programs and other educational programming deemed essential by AFP.  We use these gifts to award scholarships for a chapter member to attend the AFP ICON conference for the first time. This year Jeremy Writt attended thanks to your gifts made to this campaign last year.  BE the CAUSE is the Foundation’s annual, unrestricted fund that supports all four pillars of our Case for Support. BE the CAUSE helps to fund local, national, and international programs including scholarships, ...

Ten Star Gold Party will promote Increasing Professionalism Within Fundraising and Philanthropy

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 06-27-2022
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER HONORED AS TEN STAR GOLD CHAPTER Ten Star Gold Party will promote Increasing Professionalism Within Fundraising and Philanthropy (6/27/2022 – Knoxville, Tenn.) – The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Great Smoky Mountain Chapter has been named a 2022 Ten Star GOLD Chapter and will host a celebration of nonprofit leadership on July 15, 2022, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Cumberland House Knoxville. Tickets for the celebration are $30 and available online at www.afpknox.org . Every year, AFP, the largest association of professional fundraisers in the world, honors chapters for achieving goals that align with ...

Seminar Recap: Pssst… how much are your events really making?

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 06-25-2022
Amiee Vance presented a wealth of event planning knowledge and best practices for the AFP Great Smoky Mountain Chapter on June 23, 2022. Some key points from the presentation included: If you will have an event, make sure that you evaluate whether or not events are "worth it" in the practical sense. Think about the actual cost of your event: cost in dollars, cost to volunteers, and cost to staff. Raising money should NEVER be the only or even primary reason for having an event. The following resources have been made available by the speaker: Download a PDF of the slides from the presentation. Click to visit the Bloomerang article citing ...

AFP - Lessons from ICON 2022

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 05-27-2022
The May 26, AFP chapter meeting provided an exciting overview of AFP ICON 2022. A total of 11 members from the Great Smoky Mountain Chapter attended the ICON conference in Las Vegas last month and today’s meeting highlighted a few key takeaways.  Jeremy Writt, Engagement Strategist with Grants Plus, kicked off the meeting with an outstanding and comprehensive video outlining the diverse subject matters covered at the worlds’ number one fundraising conference. As part of AFP’s ongoing emphasis to promote IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access) it was integrated into virtually every training session and more specialized and diverse topics were offered such ...

AFP Member Exclusive: $100 Credit for Online Learning Opportunities in 2022!

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 05-19-2022
AFP Professional, Young Professional and Small Nonprofit Organizational Members: All new for 2022,   we’re proud to offer you a $100 credit (available starting January 2022) good on webinars or conference recordings   through the AFP Blue Sky/Path Learning Management System (LMS). Whether you’re trying to find a solution for a particular problem, learn additional skills to open up new professional opportunities, or earn certification credits to ensure long-term career success, AFP is here to support YOU. AFP has expanded its vast suite of programs and services, all designed to help you grow as a fundraiser and as a leader, and we want you to take advantage. ...

Community Centric Fundraising - AFP Webinar Recap

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 05-13-2022
Thank you for attending the Association of Fundraising Professionals and United Way of Greater Knoxville’s education session on Community Centric Fundraising. We hope you were able to join us for the live presentation by Marisa DeSalles. Watch the recording below.

Nudges That Improve Legacy Marketing - AFP Webinar Recap

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 05-13-2022
Thank you for attending the AFP Webinar: Nudges to Improve Legacy Marketing. We hope you were able to join us for the live viewing and wanted to share the recording with you. This recording is full of great examples for language to use as you market your planned giving programs. Watch the webinar below.

Member Spotlight - Rhonda Clay

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 04-01-2022
After earning a degree in Radio/TV Production and Broadcast Journalism, Rhonda W. Clay successfully converted that training into employment as a radio and TV production professional in Chicago, the third largest market in the United States.  Two decades later, she was forced to make a difficult transition. “In 2004, I was downsized out of my Communication position,” Rhonda said. “I saw and answered an ad for part-time public speaking and event planning with the United Way of Metro Chicago.  I soon found out that the public speaking and events were for fundraising.  After 11 months, a position for a full time Sr. Development Manager opened up, and... A Star ...

AWARD OF 2022 IDEA CHAMPION DESIGNATION

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 03-30-2022
(Knoxville, Tenn.) – AFP Great Smoky Mountain Chapter, located in Knoxville, Tenn., is recognized as a 2022 IDEA Champion. Only 98 chapters out of 230-plus met the requirements to achieve this designation. The IDEA Champion Designation recognizes those chapters who have accomplished many of the key objectives in our goal of advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA). This designation encourages chapters to perform specific activities designed to increase IDEA within fundraising and public awareness of the importance of philanthropy in all cultures. “The Great Smoky Mountain chapter of AFP deeply values diversity and inclusion in our profession,” ...

2022 TEN STAR GOLD CHAPTER STATUS AWARDED TO AFP GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 03-30-2022
(Knoxville, Tenn.) – AFP Great Smoky Mountain Chapter, located in Knoxville, Tenn., is recognized as a 2022 Ten Star Gold Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The Chapter Ten Star & Ten Star Gold award honors those chapters who have accomplished many of the key objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan.  Both Awards encourage chapters to perform specific activities designed to increase professionalism within fundraising and public awareness of the importance of philanthropy. “I am grateful for the hard work of our chapter leadership who put the Great Smoky Mountain chapter in this position.” said Paul Bowman, chapter president. ...

AFP Urges Senate Finance Committee to Enact Universal Charitable Deduction, Enhance IRA Charitable Rollover

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 03-27-2022
(Arlington, VA) The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest community of charitable fundraisers in the world, submitted   a statement   to the Senate Finance Committee today calling on Congress to approve new tax incentives to encourage giving in the wake of new challenges that charities are facing.  “Just as the pandemic is winding down and fundraisers were feeling more optimistic, charities and their donors are now faced with skyrocketing gas prices, rising inflation costs, geopolitical conflict and weak consumer confidence,” said   AFP President and CEO Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA,   in the comments to the Finance Committee. “This daunting ...

NLRB Is Looking to Review Independent Contractors And Who is Covered

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 03-19-2022
Republished in part from The National Law Review, March 17, 2022. Click here to view the original article . The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) recently indicated an openness to revisiting the independent contractor standard employed by the Board when assessing whether individuals are covered under the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”). Section 2(3) of the Act defines “Employee” and specifically excludes individuals having the status of an independent contractor from being an Employee within the meaning of the Act.  The practical effect of this is an employer who employs independent contractors rather than “Employees” does not fall ...

Member Spotlight - Paul Bowman

By TN, Great Smoky Mountain Admin posted 01-25-2022
Paul Bowman Organization: Holston Foundation Title: President Years working in the development field: 26 Professional How has your AFP involvement evolved during your career? I have seen the Association of Fundraising Professionals become more sophisticated over the years. It grew out of a US-only organization into Canada and eventually other countries, which has only added to the value and experience members enjoy. I remember one ICON where we celebrated two women who were attending from Egypt’s first AFP chapter. They were rockstars! What did the path to your current development position look like? After graduate school I began looking for ...