Five Lessons from AFP Compass 2025
The program for AFP Compass 2025, hosted by the AFP Calgary chapter.
Last week, I attended AFP Compass, hosted by AFP Calgary over two days. I also had the privilege of presenting, doing a session based on my research about Millennials and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Your author presenting on one of his favourite topics.
I also attended a number of other sessions. Here are five key lessons I took away and have been thinking about since.
Consistency is Critical for Philanthropic Relationships
The first day concluded with a conversation featuring two local philanthropists, Esmail Bharwani and Chloe Dusser. Both spoke to the importance of sharing information as it happens, and how that helps build trust and advance the relationship. That knowledge-sharing about how their support makes a difference is more important than recognition, and other actions charities often consider to be of significance to donors.
A challenge that came up in relationship-building is the turnover amongst staff. Major donors can feel like they’re just getting to know a fundraiser/primary contact when that person moves on after anywhere from six months to two years. Studies show the average tenure of a fundraiser is 16-18 months. This can leave donors (and the organization) feeling like they’re in a constant cycle of starting over. Given that performance tends to increase over time, and it can take years to cultivate transformative gifts, it’s critical to think about how to retain staff, and if that’s not possible, where to invest and who needs to be involved in long-term relationships. It’s the reality that not every organization will be able to keep a Development Director or fundraiser long-term, this could be due to the size of the organization and limited growth opportunities, or an inability to pay what larger organizations can. In this case, it points to the need to ensure people who are expected to be involved long-term, such as an Executive Director/CEO, or board/fundraising committee member, are part of any key donor relationships too.
In Simon Kuper’s book Soccernomics, he talks about the outsized success of the French club Olympique Lyon, despite seeing constant turnover amongst the team and its coaching staff due to a limited budget. He points out how they ensured consistency through retaining the Sporting Director (think GM/Team President in North American terms) who could keep the same principles and practices in place as other roles turned over. The same principle applies with small-medium sized charities who know that turnover is likely in key roles. You need to know who the consistent person or people will be to nurture relationships over time.
Focus on Leading Indicators, Not Lagging Indicators
Leading indicators predict the future, while lagging indicators explain the past. In her session on data-driven decision making, Eva Kwan of Method Works Consulting explained how organizations too often rely on lagging indicators to measure performance - such as number of donations and revenue, number of clients served, instead of leading indicators such as engagement and second gifts from donors. Leading indicators are more likely to tell you whether any past success is likely to continue, and are less likely to be skewed by a few major, one-time gifts or other results that are an exception to a pattern.
Easy Corporate Money is Gone
Tuesday kicked off with a panel on the evolving nature of community investment. Representatives from major regional and national companies Telus, Enbridge, Cenovus, and ATB shared insights into how they approach this today. Like many granters, they are dealing with a significantly higher volume of applicants than in the past, making it essential that any ask has a long lead time (often a year in advance), and clearly aligns with their goals. Companies are looking for impact, engagement (as a company and for its employees), and clear alignment between an organization/project and their own philanthropic/community investment priorities.
There may still be room for the easy gala/golf tournament sponsorship/donation asks of the past, but many companies are moving away from that space, and the dollars available are shrinking every year. Charities cannot take partnerships or investment opportunities for granted (no pun intended) anymore, as companies’ needs and interests are constantly evolving in this space. It points to a need for charities to have a clear sense of their goals, and which funders have compatible goals right now.
Don’t Overlook Engaged Supporters Because They’re Not Your Major Donors
A recurring theme throughout multiple sessions was that your best future prospects are often your most engaged supporters, not your biggest donors in the past. This is especially true for small organizations with limited resources - rather than chasing people who are major donors in the community, their best return on investment is starting with those already engaged in their work - be it as donors or in other ways. This comes back to the leading indicators point from earlier, and it’s important to remember that as Lisa Greer says in her book Philanthropy Revolution (which everyone should read), a one-time (major) gift does not necessarily mean a donor plans to or wants to give a similar gift again.
Philanthropy Isn’t Necessarily Fundraising
In her session on board member engagement, Andrea McManus facilitated a conversation around the difference between philanthropy and fundraising. The latter speaks to the bottom line and hard numbers, the amount of money you need to raise to meet your budget, the former is more broadly about helping others, showing appreciation, and the overall betterment of the world. Many boards (and board members) - including several I’ve worked with - assume no distinction, or immediately worry that their engagement in philanthropy means they’re going to be expected to be actively involved in fundraising. There are many ways for board members to contribute, and targeting the more broad concept, and the engagement/appreciation side (stewardship, relationship-building) is more likely to yield success.
I highly recommend you consider this conference next year, as it offered a wealth of great learning sessions and opportunities to meet people in the sector.