Message from the Board of Directors Supporting IDEA & Greater Toronto Chapter President

AFP Greater Vancouver’s Board of Directors are committed to upholding our core values and commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA).

We acknowledge the harm done to former AFP Greater Toronto Chapter board members, Mide Akerewusi, Nneka Allen, and Múthoní Karíukí dating back to 2017 through 2019, and offer our support to Mide as the new Greater Toronto Chapter President. We are all deeply inspired by Mide’s desire to answer the call to lead AFP Greater Toronto, despite being one of the individuals subjected to harm. Please read more about Mide’s first week in office on his LinkedIn page and about his Muthoni Kariuki story returning to support AFP after almost 4 years.

We encourage you to read the apology from AFP Global. We also acknowledge that systemic racism exists across our fundraising sector and is a lived reality for many of our colleagues.

We are mindful and making equitable efforts to meet individual needs and to ensure a safe, respectful, and accessible Association for our members, in order for all to contribute to their fullest potential. We are focusing on our Chapter’s core IDEA principles below:

• Recognizing others as different but equal.
• Respect and empathy for all.
• Trust and integrity that facilitates the integration of different and multiple voices in organizational discourse.
• Demonstrating appreciation for different voices, active listening; open to disparate viewpoints and opinions, and facilitating dialogues among the diverse groups.
• Practicing and encouraging transparent communication in all interactions.
• Developing participative decision making; problem solving; and team capabilities.
• Exploring potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

Please learn more about how AFP defines each of our values. We collectively strive to create a space where we can share varying perspectives, appreciate different points of view, and resolve differences through mutually open and respectful dialogue.

We are proud to be a diverse Board, including representation from People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, and first-generation immigrants. With that said, we acknowledge that we continue to have much to understand and learn. We believe we can do more to support our members and the important work that is being done in the sector and within the community. Each one of us continues to create space for this incredibly difficult, emotional, valued, and important work, with a commitment to continuing the conversation. We invite you to join us on this journey to strategically develop ways to support, listen to, and uplift our members and community.

Investments that we are making to action our commitment to IDEA in 2023:

• We have established a working group to review all Chapter policies to identify gaps, assumptions, unconscious biases, and ask reflective questions that will help ensure our work is grounded in equity and inclusion.
• We are increasing investment in funding and scholarships to support members that may not have the resources or access to participate in Chapter events and opportunities.
• We are working on providing new educational opportunities and highlighting IDEA-focused educational resources available to support your own work and foster a culture of belonging.
• We are examining ways to make the selection of our Giving Hearts Awards more diverse and inclusive.
• We are investing in achieving our IDEA Champion Designation for 2024.

We also encourage you to complete your AFP demographic information. Providing this information is important because:

1. We can better define what inclusion, diversity, equity, and access means to our members and the broader fundraising community, and this information will help to assess our progress.
2. Based on the data you provide, we can create programs, products and services that match what you, our members, will feel connected to.
3. Having more complete demographic data will help us promote equity within our community and grow membership where diverse perspectives are valued to create inclusive spaces.

We welcome your feedback regarding sessions and training that would be valuable to you in supporting your own work around IDEA. Please feel free to reach out to info@afpgreatervancouver.org with your programming suggestions and how we can further support you.

Thank you for your trust and generosity as we continue this journey together.

Sincerely,

AFP Board of Directors (2022-2023)