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IN THIS ISSUE: Begin your climb to the Summit
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AHP Pacific Regional News
As you know, AHP Pacific is one of AHP’s largest regions, encompassing nine states and some 800 members, and includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. We had a banner year in 2007 and we are off to a great start in 2008. Scholarships and Awards We are looking for our 2008 honoree who will receive the AHP Pacific Region Award of Excellence at the AHP Pacific Regional Conference in Portland this June. This award was established to recognize extraordinary service and leadership in the field of health care philanthropic development, and is presented bi-annually to an individual AHP member in the AHP Pacific region who exemplifies vision, dedication, hard work, and has demonstrated both success and impact in the health care development field. It is not an award that is based on tenure in AHP or at a particular institution. Additional information and a nomination form can be found on the AHP Web site. If you have had a mentor in fundraising, now is a good time to think about recognizing that special person. Educational Opportunities
Also, I personally participated on behalf of AHP in an educational program in London, England for E.U. fundraisers. We provided an excellent and well-attended one-day session for more than 20 fundraisers. The focus was on sharing best practices in the U.S., E.U., and Australia, and it allowed us to promote AHP and to introduce fundraisers in the E.U. to AHP programs. Membership and Financial Report – 2007 Year-end Update Mary Anne Chern, FAHP, ACFRE
By Susan Blake, AHP Pacific Regional Conference Chair
Your AHP Pacific Regional Conference committee invites you to join your colleagues in Portland, June 22-24, as we explore new ways to take best practices in philanthropy to the highest level. From the opening keynote address by Andy Davidson, president of the Oregon Association for Hospitals and Health Systems, to the closing luncheon presentation by Kay Sohl, a highly respected faculty member of the Institute for Nonprofit Management at Portland State University, the conference will provide you with a wide array of valuable educational sessions, innovative speakers and roundtable discussions on timely topics. You will also have opportunities to network with your peers, reconnect with colleagues and make new friends in the fundraising profession. Click here to begin your climb to the summit. Please remember to make your reservation early at the conference hotel, the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, as AHP has reserved a limited number of rooms at the special conference rate. See the conference brochure for full details. We look forward to seeing you in Portland! Susan Blake
Extend the invitation of AHP membership By Gina Griesman, AHP Pacific Membership Chair Recruiting new members for AHP is a bit like prospecting for new donors—that is, it is always important to watch, look and listen. You never know when the opportunity will present itself to plant the seed of member benefits. Sharing the “perks” of membership, such as attending impressive conferences; networking to enhance career development; access to written, verbal and Internet resources; might just catch the attention of a prospective member at a time in their career path that would encourage them to learn more. A simple invite (or ask) is often all it takes to gain that new member. Retention, on the other hand, is much like stewardship of donor relations that many of us spend a lot of time and effort on. Keeping our colleagues engaged, informed and connected pays dividends for us all. The AHP Pacific region goal for membership is 861 and we are currently at 828—just a few short of our goal. Moving forward to bring in new members in an effort to reach the target is an attainable goal that can be impacted through the collective intentions of each and every one of us. Let’s watch, look and listen so we can extend the invitation of AHP membership to our fellow fundraisers so they too can enjoy the many benefits. Thank you. Gina Griesman
By Marite M. Butners, J.D. LLM-TAX, AHP Pacific Regional Government Affairs Chair There are a number of items that deserve our attention as we go into the second quarter of 2008.
Marite M. Butners, J.D. LLM-TAX
By Janet DeWolfe, CFRE, AHP Vice Chair, Membership and Communications The AHP Resource Information Center (RIC) continues to be one of AHP’s most highly rated member benefit. Have you ever had to update your policies, develop a gift club, prepare a budget or track trends? These are just a few of the topics that are frequently requested from the AHP RIC. The three key features of the AHP RIC include:
If you have ever been frustrated in searching a fundraising issue or topic, the RIC can reduce your stress and provide solutions. The RIC Library has a full-time librarian on staff who provides personalized service to assist you with a customized search. To Ask the Librarian, e-mail the RIC at ric@ahp.org or call 703.538.3149, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., ET. Response time is seven to 10 days. When you need to find an answer to your question fast, you can go online and access Ask AHP. This online service allows you to ask questions about annual giving, major gifts programs, capital campaigns, special events, direct mail, stewardship, donor recognition, personnel issues, foundation governance, and a host of other topics. This service is available 24 hours a day; seven days a week; and you will receive a personalized e-mail answer within 24 hours. To use Ask AHP, go to the AHP RIC online and type your question – it’s that easy! Sometimes your best source of information is from colleagues. The RIC Listserv is an online service driven by AHP members. You can ask questions, share knowledge, keep in contact with other members and search the archives for past questions and responses. To Ask a Colleague, you simply join the AHP Listserv and post your question. To join the Listserv, visit the RIC online. To keep the RIC Library’s information current, please consider sharing samples from your shop of newsletters, policies, job descriptions, campaign materials or anything that your colleagues would find helpful. Contributions to the library are always welcome. Send samples to AHP RIC Library, 313 Park Avenue, Suite 400, Falls Church, VA 22046, or by e-mail to ahp@ahp.org. Janet DeWolfe, CFRE
Life Balance: Annual Exam, Part II By Mark McCampbell, CFRE, AHP Pacific Regional RIC/Communications Chair Note: This is the second installment in a new series that looks at several components the health care philanthropy fundraising professional needs to review in 2008 to assure optimal success and achievement of goals. March: Already at the end of the first quarter, the year is speeding along. With your annual and long-term plans in place, monthly and quarterly goals established, it should be fairly visible to you at this point where you are in progress toward what you hope to achieve in 2008. Both professionally and personally, goals are important not only to give us something to reach for but also to measure accomplishment. Like the man throwing darts at a blank wall, not having a target makes it impossible to know if you’ve hit it. In Life Balance: Annual Exam, published in the January 2008 AHP Pacific regional newsletter, we looked at the first checkpoint in the annual exam: having the right experience level in your fundraising organization to enable you to hit your targets. If you assess your experience level and that of your staff and find you don’t have what you need, there are steps you can take to get more experience on your team. Another important checkpoint is professional growth. What are you doing today that will help you grow professionally? It’s hard to imagine becoming stale and complacent in an environment that is as dynamic and constantly changing as health care. Yet, while engaged in the drama of reduced reimbursements, physician flight, facility replacements and technology advancements, the fundraising professional may revert to the same plan that’s worked in the past. If it worked last year, why won’t it work this year? The February Board Campaign, the May Golf Tournament, the October Gala, the November Employee Campaign and the Year-End Tax Mailing may have worked well enough, but when it comes to raising the bar, producing extraordinary results requires a new approach. Similar to what some consider a definition of insanity – “Doing the same thing you’ve always done and expecting a different result” – following the same fundraising plan when faced with an increasingly demanding fundraising goal makes little sense. How do you engage in new thinking in order to achieve new results? Professional growth is the portal to new thinking. Professional growth sounds like it might involve hundreds of credit hours in an advanced degree program, or continuing education credits amassed through attending seminars and workshops. Growth can begin, however simply, by doing what you’re doing right this moment: reading professional literature. Through AHP, there are many resources at hand that can get you started. Articles authored by other fundraising professionals are seeds that are planted in your mind and lead to new ideas. Reading is growing. To follow is a book list that can get you thinking differently and help you grow professionally. These aren’t necessarily new publications. The proliferation of reading material is so vast it can be paralyzing. These are books that have proven to produce effective change in the lives of those who have read and applied the ideas and examples within their pages.
Some in the fundraising profession might look at this book list as not being “fundraisey” enough, especially the last title, which is about training for an Ironman competition. That’s just the point of professional growth, however. The ideas that will get us thinking in new ways, better ways, to approach our age-old profession in a different way and achieve different results, may come to us from outside our own profession. What ideas about effective time management could top those coming from an Ironman training plan that challenges you to add twenty hours a week of training to an already full professional life? How many people have read The Nordstrom Way to help improve their donor services philosophy? Truth is truth wherever you find it. Look outside the fundraising profession and apply new business ideas. You’ll be growing professionally and helping your organization reach new heights in fundraising success. However you achieve growth in your profession this year—whether you attend a conference, take higher education courses, expand your reading list or get involved in networking with fellow professionals—you’ll improve your overall fundraising health. Someone said, “If you’re not growing you’re declining.” Take on a new challenge and find a new way to think about it. Invest in your professional growth. Mark S. McCampbell, CFRE
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