Alan began his active involvement in the National Society of Fundraising Executives (NSFRE) in 1992. He has been a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) since 2002 and a member of the AFP Orange County chapter since 2009. He has also been a member of Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP). In 2011, he founded Accelerating Philanthropy, (AcceleratingPhilanthropy.com) a fundraising consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for development and training nonprofit staff and board members in the art of fundraising, primarily through a two-day course he created.
He has been actively involved in the AFPOC chapter since 2009, where he has served on numerous sub-committees including chairing or co-chairing a number of those committees. He served as a member of the board of directors 2013-2019 and served the chapter as president in 2016. He is an AFP Ten Star Member and a member of the AFP Alpha Society. In 2018, Alan was selected as the chapter's Outstanding Fundraising Professional. In 2019, he represented the chapter at the AFP International's Leadership Development Summit Washington, D.C.
Alan has a passion for learning and honing his fundraising skills. He has attended seven AFP international conferences, completed dozens of advanced fundraising courses at national and regional conferences offered by AFP, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and Philanthropy Journal. He also completed the Principles & Techniques of Fund Raising course at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Fund Raising School. Alan achieved his CFRE credential in 2006.
Alan also has a passion for sharing what he’s learned with others. He has been a frequent presenter on a wide array of fundraising topics including strategic planning, Fundraising 101, annual fund giving, ethics, policies and procedures, and major gift fundraising. He was also a speaker at the 9th annual ADRP International conference in Chicago in 2012, where he presented his course entitled The Board’s Role in Fundraising.
Alan continually seizes opportunities to mentor others in fundraising. He has been a member of the ADRP Experts Bureau, as well as a coach in the ADRP Presenter Coaching Program. He has served AFP International as mentor in the Online Mentoring Program. At the AFPOC chapter level, he has served as a mentor in the Mentor Program every year since 2009, including 2016, when he also served as chapter president. In years when mentees outnumbered mentors, Alan worked with two mentees. He served the committee as chair or co-chair 2011-14 and 2018.
Under his leadership since 2014, Blue Letter Bible has an average annual increase in gifting of 30%. Giving has increase from 200k in 2014 to 3.2m and over 20k individual donors in 2023.