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IN THIS ISSUE:
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AHP Pacific Regional News
I filled out AHP’s annual survey recently, and under “Membership” was asked to choose the primary reason I remain a member of AHP:
“Yes” to all of the above. Twenty-five years after joining this association, AHP has become one of the defining elements of my life. My closest friends are AHP members scattered around the country. Next to my bed is a copy of The Last Run, a book recommended to me by an AHP friend who knows what I like to read. In Northern California this weekend, I just had dinner at a restaurant recommended by an AHP friend. Next month I’m having dinner in Phoenix – again, at a restaurant recommended by another AHP friend. Another AHP friend just promised to send me a slide presentation on Moves Management for my Board. Recently, when I made the mistake during a committee meeting of saying, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” – yes, a horrible slip for a cat lover like me – I was instantly corrected by an AHP friend who has now made me take up the banner of promoting the Australian fur-friendly equivalent comment: “there is more than one way to wash a wombat.” The common theme here is that AHP is a special organization made up of sharing and caring people. They are the heart of our organization. If you have not yet volunteered or become involved with AHP, the 2007-2008 Regional Cabinet invites you to become active. AHP membership offers A through E above, but it also offers so much more. Just call a committee chair listed below or me if you would like to volunteer in 2007-2008! Mary Anne Chern, FAHP, ACFRE
By Dena Cochran, FAHP, AHP Pacific Regional Education/Certification Chair If you are new to fundraising, the answer is obvious. You want to learn all you can in order to be successful. The studying you will do to prepare for the CFRE exam will improve your fundraising skills more than you can imagine. If you are a veteran, the answer is just as obvious. For one thing, you have no idea how much you’ve forgotten about fundraising. Although you probably have great skills honed by experience in areas in which you work regularly, you are probably pretty rusty in those areas where you seldom have to venture. And finally, things keep changing. Do you know about the new IRA rollover rules? If not, you’d better learn them quickly before the legislation expires. But then Congress is making noises about extending the program, so in either case, you need to know what is going on. And what are the latest postage regulations affecting your direct mail program? And where are you on web-based giving? Do you know how many other shops are making online donations available? More importantly, do you know how successful they are in attracting online donors? Even more hip is “predictive modeling” which we can use to estimate potential donors’ propensity to give to health care. Have I made my point? I hope so because what I’m trying to say is that certification is much more than successfully passing a test. It is a process that will give you new skills to make you and your programs more successful. Speaking of being more successful, I believe that the average fundraising professional changes jobs every three or four years. Achieving certification will make you more attractive to employers not only because of the CFRE letters following your name but also because of your new, increased knowledge base. So please consider obtaining your CFRE. The test is offered electronically several times a year at locations throughout the West. To find out more about the exam and preparation for it go to www.cfre.org. Dena Cochran, FAHP
By Mary Jane Crist, AHP Pacific Regional Foundation Chair We did it! The AHP Pacific Region Annual Fund goals were met at the AHP International Conference in Philadelphia. Our goal of 200 donors was exceeded by two and the $25,000 goal was exceed by over $1,000 dollars. Final results will be forthcoming. While AHP Pacific has hit our regional goal, the overall 2007 Annual Fund is still $1,800 short of the total pledge goal. If you haven't pledged yet, there is still time to help! You can pledge online at: http://www.ahp.org/foundation/pledge-card.php. Thanks to everyone that has participated. Mary Jane Crist
By Melody Gillard-Juarez, Executive Director, Southern Coos Health Foundation Just two days back from completing the Fundamentals track at the AHP Madison Institute, I was able to begin sharing with my newly formed health foundation board some of the principles of “The Psychology of Giving” and creating a “Culture of Philanthropy” summarized from the jam-packed week of class. Materials, facts and approaches gathered at Madison quickly proved ideal tools to motivate our new board, and gave me the grounding needed to lead the way. The overview presented in Fundamentals covered all aspects of a successful health care philanthropy program—including budgeting, the role of the board and the culture of philanthropy, various types of annual giving, how to know if you’re ready for a capital campaign and the basics of planned giving. The faculty members were all seasoned professionals with many years of accomplishments in health care philanthropy. As a result, I feel quite grounded in what it takes to build a successful “best practice” foundation. My classmates at Madison included people from large shops, medium-sized operations, and one-person offices like mine; people who were working in support of hospitals ranging from hundreds of beds to the smallest with just 19 beds. We were of varying degrees of experience in the health care fundraising profession. Two students were a few days from starting their first job at a health care foundation. Two students actually closed $1 million gifts during their Madison week! Now that was inspirational! The whole experience was designed to allow students to create a network of professionals—both faculty and students—in order to exchange ideas and materials, and to learn how others in the business approach the challenges and opportunities we face. It was so nice to have information targeted specifically at health care philanthropy, and to learn in a group environment where we could work together to problem solve and to encourage one another. In our class, I met a peer working, as I am, in Oregon—a person I had not known before. We each flew two time zones and, ‘lo and behold, met people from “home,” and now we can serve as resources to one another. In addition, after Madison, I have a network across the U.S. and Canada of colleagues that I can contact for advice and motivation. I felt particularly lucky to absorb the overview provided throughout the Fundamentals classes at a time when our foundation is still forming and our board is just beginning to explore its role and the positive impact we can make on our hospital and quality health care in our community. Because of what I learned at Madison, we have the luxury of beginning with “best practices”—and avoiding pitfalls along the way. My goal is to summarize the invaluable “Red Book” of Madison, topic by topic, for our board, carving out a pertinent section for each of the board meetings. They’re looking forward to this, as am I. I was able to attend Madison this year through an AHP Foundation scholarship and because of the generosity of the AHP members who support the AHP Annual Fund. Now that I have been to the Institute and experienced its value in helping me to be the best I can be in this profession, I know I cannot afford not to return. I intend to budget to take part in the Planned Giving focus next summer. Thank you AHP, the faculty and organizers of the AHP Madison Institute, the University of Wisconsin and fellow students at Madison for giving me this rich opportunity. I would encourage anyone who wants to excel in the health care fundraising profession to consider a week in Madison. Melody Gillard-Juarez
Legislative Updates: IRA "Rollover" By Marite M. Butners, J.D. LLM-TAX, AHP Pacific Regional Government Affairs Chair Help send a message to Congress to extend this important provision The soon-to-expire IRA “rollover” benefit of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 is foremost in many of our minds. The latest results in the survey of Charitable IRA “rollover” gifts undertaken by the National Committee on Planned Giving, made pursuant to the rules established by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, show that these gifts have now surpassed $100 million. It is requested that all AHP Pacific Region members forward information on gifts received pursuant to the act to be counted in the survey. To report your gifts go to www.ncpg.org and click on the survey link. The Ways and Means Committee is reviewing these results, as they are the best testimony of the public support for this benefit to charity. The current “rollover” provisions are due to expire on December 31, 2007. However, freestanding legislation, The Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2007, introduced in the Senate and with a house companion bill, H.R. 1419, is gaining support. The stand-alone charitable Rollover Legislation would make rollover benefits permanent, would remove the annual limitation on donations (currently at $100,000 annually), would make the benefits available to those who have reached 59 ½, and would allow the gifts to be made to certain planned gifts as well as directly to the charity. Now is the time to communicate with those that represent us and let them know how important this change is to the health and well-being of our communities! The NCPG web site also has a link to a sample letter to aid in your communications. IRA “Rollover”: U.S. Treasury FAQ’s The U.S. Treasury has released some helpful guidelines on the IRA “rollover” provisions of PPA 2006. Among the frequently asked questions that they confirm are:
You can find more information about the IRA Rollover on the U.S. Treasury Web site. Marite M. Butners, J.D. LLM-TAX
By Mark McCampbell, CFRE, AHP Pacific Regional RIC/Communications Chair For those fundraising professionals who are new to the field, making a career in health care philanthropy may not seem like a long-term proposition. Some, however, look back with surprise at what has become twenty, twenty-five and even thirty years in fundraising professional positions. As I returned from the AHP International Conference where I had the opportunity to hear seasoned professionals share insight, experience and well-earned wisdom, I was glad that my choice to spend my more-than-25-year career in non-profit leadership, particularly in fundraising, has been more like running a marathon than a sprint. Whether you’re new to the profession or long-experienced in fundraising, learning and practicing a few simple keys I call “life balance” will help you be a better person, a better fundraiser, and development professional, organizational leader and community contributor. One essential key in life balance is looking ahead. Looking ahead can be accomplished through continuing education, professional certification, readiness for change and both giving and receiving mentoring. For the purposes of this article, looking ahead does not imply that you should be job hopping or constantly creating a level of dissatisfaction and unrest in your current position. It does mean, however, that you are continuously learning, questioning the status quo, quantifying your own performance and personal development and staying in touch with others in the fundraising profession. Continuing Education Many institutions now offer adult continuing education courses online. Interaction with a professor through e-mail and phone calls and completing assignments independently replaces the classroom experience. Some on-line learning experiences afford students the opportunity to form groups for discussion in a “virtual classroom” interaction. As technology develops, continuing your education will become more of a possibility for the professional fundraiser at any level of experience. In the health care philanthropy future, hospital foundation executives are being placed on the administration team along with CEOs, hospital administrators, chief financial officers and clinical leaders. An advanced degree resulting from adult continuing education may increase the fundraiser’s skills in management, human resources, finance and business or marketing and communications. If you’re interested in pursuing formal education opportunities, consult your benefits coordinator in the Human Resources department of your organization. Future-thinking organizational leaders are building incentives into their employee retention plans that may include reimbursement for some expenses related to adult continuing education. Professional Certification Looking ahead involves remaining at the forefront of trends, developments and performance, which are all important requirements of obtaining and retaining certification. Specialties ranging from accounting, law, insurance to management, offer certification opportunities. These credentials may be an important tool in the fundraising executive’s portfolio. Fundraisers who find themselves involved in planned giving would certainly benefit from charitable estate planning certification programs. As an example of someone whose certifications serve her well in the fundraising processes is Marite Butners, J.D., LL.M-Tax, who is staying on top of policy issues and government relations affecting our work. Please contact Marite, marite.butners@providence.org to learn more about how important credentials are in the work she is doing. While it is still gaining recognition, the CFRE, or Certified Fund Raising Executive designation is appearing on more and more job listings. This level of certification is for the fundraising professional who has a minimum of five years experience in the field. Through a broad, generalist look at fundraising, the CFRE certification process is based in education focused in seven key competencies, making this experience a means to round out even the most specialized fundraising professional. These competencies include research, both current and prospective donors; asking, or soliciting and closing gifts; techniques of fundraising, such as direct mail, grants, events; relationship management; volunteer recruiting, training and retention; accountability, including compliance; and management of resources in fundraising. For members of AHP, the FAHP, or Fellow, is the highest level of achievement for leaders in health care philanthropy when it comes to professional certification. This distinction is an indication that the fundraiser is a continual learner and performer, achieving extraordinary fundraising goals, through an unrelenting commitment to the standards of ethics and professional practice espoused by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. For more information on professional certification through CFRE please refer to www.cfre.org for online application procedures. Fundraisers who already have the CFRE designation and wish to pursue FAHP should go to www.ahp.org for more information about the Fellows program. Readiness for Change As stated earlier, looking ahead does not imply job-hopping. Rather, being prepared for change is part of life balance even within your current position. To modify slightly a well-known adage, “change happens.” The time may come when you need to make a change. In order to be ready for change, professional fundraising leaders need to keep their skills and their resumes up to date. Colette Murray of Paschal Murray suggests a regular review of your resume. “Visit your résumé often and add new items to the front and peel away old items from the end. If you format your document properly, the piece will flow nicely with various edits and editions.” Many companies like Paschal Murray help non-profits connect with fundraising professionals. To learn more about keeping your qualifications up to date in your résumé, log on to www.paschalmurray.com and request their résumé writing article. Mentoring Looking up the stairway to a mentor provides perspective, understanding and insight as fundraisers find themselves facing questions, situations with boards or administrators and unusual demands of growing organizations. Mentors keep us looking ahead by assuring us that we’re not the first ones to encounter these challenges, and we’ll not be the last ones. Looking to the side, to a colleague in our same level in another organization, keeps us looking ahead as we find that we’re not alone. Beyond commiserating, this sharing of our circumstances can lead to new thinking, solutions and strategies for making lemonade out of even the sourest bushel of lemons. If you take one thing away from this reading, let it be the importance of looking down the stairway to help someone new to the profession. We each benefited from those people who went before us. Now, with some experience under our belts, it is our opportunity to reach out to help another fundraising professional grow, develop and sustain success. I find nothing more gratifying to keep me looking ahead than to support someone who is just starting out. Achieving life balance is an important aspect of being the kind of people who are effective fundraisers. Through continuing education, professional certification, readiness for change and giving and receiving mentoring, we can assure that the organizations we serve will, at the end of the day, have the best person possible to do what we need to do. Stay out in front of the field. Keep looking ahead. Mark S. McCampbell, CFRE
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