IDEA Fellowship
Association of Fundraising Professionals Silicon Valley Chapter (AFPSV)
Case Statement: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Fellowship Program
Applications for the 2024 IDEA Fellowship are open! Fellowship announcement will be made in early January. APPLY TODAY!
Introduction
The Association of Fundraising Professionals Silicon Valley Chapter (AFPSV) was founded 38 years ago to serve the needs of the Silicon Valley fundraising community, including professional fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, board members, and volunteers. Since its founding, our Chapter has greatly increased and expanded our professional training offerings, including monthly luncheons, fundraising school, mentoring programs, Silicon Valley Philanthropy Day, and a host of other educational opportunities that have had an enormously positive impact on the fundraising profession and the overall Silicon Valley community. In addition to providing a high level of fundraising training, our Chapters programs and services support capacity building, increased impact, and mission delivery for all non-profits in our region.
AFPSVC identified diversity and inclusion as a priority, and our work to that end resulted in our Chapter being awarded the "Friends of Diversity” designation from the international office of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. AFP Global is renaming this designation in early 2020 to IDEA Champion Chapter. We have maintained that designation from 2008 through 2020, and this recognition has been a journey of steps AFPSV has taken to be inclusive and represent the diverse populations of fundraisers, their donors, volunteers and clients; however, we are aware that there is much more work to be done. There have been tremendous forward strides made since 2018 when the IDEA Fellowship was launched.
Despite the rich diversity in Silicon Valley, we have also observed that the Chapter’s current membership is largely white, female, and more established in the profession, and we are missing the voices and experiences of young professionals of color (African-American, Latinx, Hispanic, Asian), LGBTQ+ and fundraisers from other underrepresented communities.
We believe that affordability and representation may be two of challenges keeping professionals of color from participating in trainings, networking events, and mentorship activities. Many fundraising professionals in the Valley work for non-profits that lack the financial capacity to reimburse and/or support participation in career development trainings. Coupled with the low salaries that nonprofit professionals earn and the high cost of living in Silicon Valley, these professionals are unable to invest in their own professional development without assistance.
The IDEA Fellowship Program was conceived to provide leadership opportunities for individuals to have a seat at the table, participate in training, mentorship, networking activities be future board leaders, and join as full-time members. This will ensure our chapter is representative of our entire community and enrich all of our learning experiences. In addition, inclusion will have a wide-reaching impact within the populations of donors, volunteers, and clients with whom fundraisers work.
Proposed Program and Participants
The IDEA Fellowship is a year-long program for fundraisers from underrepresented communities, including fundraisers of color (African American, Latinx, Hispanic, Asian), LGBTQ and other under represented communities. The IDEA fellowship would provide participants with full access to all the benefits of Chapter membership, including:
- 2024 AFP Membership to AFP International including AFP Global’s newest offering from Korn-Ferry, a 360 career building tool.
- Chapter Luncheon Workshops on a variety of topics
- Monthly IDEA Fellowship Circles to meet and learn from experienced fundraisers
- Opportunity to apply and participate in the AFPSV Mentorship Program
- Fundraising Academy, a two day program previously presented by Sanford School of Philanthropy
- Networking Mixers
- Orientation session in January 2024
- Ticket to Silicon Valley Philanthropy Day
In addition to all of the training benefits, fellows would have opportunities to network, meet leaders in the fundraising and philanthropic sector, and participate in leadership opportunities while they build fundraising capacity and increase mission impact.
Fellows will be announced in early January. For any questions, Ryan Magcuyao at vpidea@afpsv.org.
Click here for Online 2024 IDEA Fellowship Application
2024 IDEA Fellowship Application (PDF)
Diversity Statement (Word)
Did you know? We are a proud AFP Global IDEA Champion!
Endowed Fellowship Sponsors
Health Trust
Individual Contributors
Kathy Kwan
Avnish and Madhu Aggarwal
Becky Levine
Manju Ramachandran