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As of last month, your Fort Worth Metro Chapter has 187 members. I am happy to report that number is steadily increasing, thanks in many ways to the hard work of your VP of Member Services Luke Byford and Director of Membership Recruitment Peyton Salavarria Lehrer. Although our chapter has fluctuated in size throughout 40+ years of existence, we are fortunate to have made it through over two years of a global pandemic with our network of fundraisers so intact.
You probably know well the benefits of being in a large chapter with a great roster of professionals. When it comes to learning, problem-solving, and advocating for our professional, we do it best when we have a broad range of skills and perspectives shared across our organization.
When you zoom out of our corner of North Texas – where our members come from a wide breadth of cities from Wichita Falls to Arlington to Denton to Keene—our partner chapters help us make an even bigger impact on our communities and for our members. Greater Austin helps coordinate advocacy efforts at the Texas Capital every two years during the Legislative Session, and our neighbors with Greater Dallas help us put on the annual DFW Philanthropy in Action Conference (one of the largest conferences of its sort in the entire country).
That conference is just around the corner, on June 16 and 17. If you have the time, it is one of the most affordable ways to stay up-to-date on emerging best practices while growing your professional rolodex and earning a ton of continuing education credits.
On the subject of cost, Nathaniel Aranda, who serves as our Director of AFP Global Courses and works with Stephanie Molina’s scholarship committee, reminded us in April’s meeting that we are still accepting applications for DFW Philanthropy Conference Scholarships. But if free isn’t your speed, you can still take advantage of early bird pricing through to April 30.
Maybe you’re on vacation at your friend’s Florida timeshare that weekend in June? AFP Global also offers virtual sessions throughout the year, such as like-size chapter meetings and affinity groups, which all members are welcome to attend. I have to give credit to the team at AFP Global for doing a beautiful job moderating these networking meetings in a way that gives you enough time to work through prompts in small groups, while making space for the full group to learn and connect.
Thank you for being a key part of our professional network. And if you are not currently a member of our AFP chapter, please consider making this network even stronger with your presence and participation!
See you on May 9 at the TCC River Campus Action Room!
Thanks and safe travels!
Wesley Gentle, CFRE
AFP Fort Worth Metro Chapter President
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