President's Welcome

Dear AFP Colleagues and Friends,

It is a great honor and privilege to serve our beloved AFP Greater Baton Rouge Chapter as your President for 2026. As our mission alludes to, our work advances and inspires philanthropy by enabling people and organizations to practice ethical, effective fundraising through professional development, educational resources, networking, research and advocacy. I feel inspired by these words and will work each day to emulate this vision.

Our theme this year is AMPLIFY, IGNITE and THRIVE, which corresponds directly to the three Vision Areas of our new Chapter Strategic Vision:

1. Membership (Amplify): To create a process of attracting and retaining a diverse group of fundraising leaders, who will advance, promote and sustain the profession of Philanthropy.
2. Education and Professional Development (Ignite): To create a process of making educational resources more readily available, to connect more directly with members through mentorship and education and share our expertise with community organizations
3. Operations and Finance (Thrive): To create a process of chapter operational sustainability through the effective use of chapter resources and management.

I wish to extend my appreciation to all chapter members who participated in the creation of our new Chapter Strategic Vision, which will begin its implementation this year. In keeping with our new vision, as President, I have also three audacious goals for our chapter as we view our horizon:

• Goal #1: To provide the best member experience through hospitality, engagement and networking.
• Goal #2: To ensure that our members receive the highest quality and relevant professional development opportunities
• Goal #3: To lead the implementation of our new Chapter Strategic Vision, driving continuous improvement and strong governance.

Our vision also includes some new processes that seek to excite and advance our members and profession, like a new chapter mentoring program, collaboration with the AFP New Orleans Chapter, social events and wonderful educational opportunities. Together with our new Board of Directors and committees, I feel confident that we will see this vision come to life and continue to serve our members with a chapter that is vibrant and focused on continuous innovation.

Sincerely,