Strong Opinions Blog

Association of Fundraising Professionals Kept Secret – Jimmy LaRose

Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) are what we call an “intermediary organization.” Intermediary organizations are defined as ones that “support the provision of services by another organization rather than providing direct services itself.” Tragically, AFP’s income model is based on members paying dues for the privilege of adhering to their rules, ethical codes and broken regulations (which no longer work!)

Simply put, Association of Fundraising Professionals will teach about all sorts of things EXCEPT FUNDRAISING.

They’re selling swill.

If you need to learn that embezzling is wrong, then join AFP
If you didn’t know that putting personal gain ahead of donors is sinful then join AFP
If you disrespect the opposite sex and require behavior modification, then join AFP
If you struggle with bigotry toward persons of difference races, then join AFP
If you look down on persons who identify as LGBTQ, then join AFP
HOWEVER…If you actually need to raise money DON’T JOIN AFP!

PLEASE PRESS HERE OR PLAY BUTTON ABOVE TO SEE VIDEO REVEAL!

Here’s what Louis Fawcett, President of National Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives had to say in a recent interview. Louis shared, “We have the audacity to thwart AFP’s attempts to govern the nonprofit sector with broken models, arrogant piety and ever-increasing rules and regulations. AFP flies above reality and look down on those who are working hard every day for small and medium nonprofits. They pass down rules and regulations from on high because they presume to know what’s best for you. They don’t trust you to lead your organizations and they don’t believe you can determine what is best for your communities.”

Here’s the secret the Association of Fundraising Professionals doesn’t want you to know. NO ONE GOES TO THEIR ETHICS TRAINING! The least attended educational forums AFP provides are events on ethics! Why? Because we all learned how to be nice when we were in kindergarten.

Why is Association of Fundraising Professionals membership in decline? I’ll tell you! AFP’s rules, ethics and regulations are not only fundamentally a bad product but the rules, ethics and regulations they’re selling are outdated and don’t work anymore.

I was privileged not only to be the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ youngest Certified Fund Raising Professional (CFRE) in history but was also trained by AFP to write test questions for the CFRE exam. I WAS ALL IN FOR AFP. After holding this designation I naturally pursued my Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive (ACFRE) and spent $7,000 dollars on the necessary continuing education requirements (CEUs) before flying to Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to finalize my “ethics training.”

Here’s what they promised: IUPUI will address today’s fundraising needs and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities using practical tools, innovative strategies and ethical practices taught by The Fund Raising School.

Hooey! Hooey! Hooey!

I sat in those classes and realized I’d been duped. I WAS DONE. Not only did their elitist offerings defy FREE MARKET PRINCIPLES but after 20 years in the industry I was a first-person witness to the way they violated they’re own rules.

FINAL REVELATION…AFP’s main purpose is to MAKE CONSULTANTS MONEY!

Here’s the problem: Fundraising consultants are one of the biggest reasons nonprofits are in this mess in the first place. The only reason AFP local chapters exist is because for-profit consultants drive their initiatives (consultants constitute the majority of board membership of local AFP chapters) so they can continue to sell their failed products to vulnerable charities that no longer work.

AFP consultants keep nonprofits in a state of paralysis by prescribing solutions
that deal with symptoms, rather than healing the systemic issues (people,
process, product, etc.). Most are simply misguided and without malice. Many know exactly what they are doing.

Charities are matched, even superseded at times, by AFP practitioners who are blind to the realities of their profession. I will be charged with damaging the consulting profession. What I’m attempting to do is actually so much worse than that. I don’t want to “damage” AFP…I want to “kill” it in its present form, ushering in an era of resurrection, where thousands of practitioners RE-IMAGINE PHILANTHROPY in a way that changes the world. This is a defining moment. Never has a finer group of professionals been positioned to affect such great change within such an important
movement. The “change” I speak of will not be easy, as it can only be discovered in the fiery crucible of a “great repentance.” It will require AFP consultants to stop charging charities millions of dollars for disproved methods that haven’t worked in decades.

I’m inviting you to trust me. I’m letting you know that I maybe your best source of truth having spent my entire adult life serving 16,000 nonprofits, ministries and churches. I’m called to ensure that you are no longer bilked by industry magnates that, will malice and forethought take advantage of your naivete.

Call me at (803) 808-5084 or send an email to [email protected] I’m here to serve you.

Warmly, Jimmy LaRose

—END—

Association of Fundraising Professionals Are Keeping a Secret was written by Jimmy LaRose author of RE-IMAGINING PHILANTHROPY. Jimmy’s passion for “people who give” has inspired philanthropists around the world to change the way they invest in nonprofits. His belief that donors are uniquely positioned to give charities what they truly need – leadership rather than money – is the basis for his work with individuals, governments, corporations and foundations, in the U.S., Europe, Asia & Middle East. Jimmy, in his role as author, speaker, corporate CEO & nonprofit CEO champions all of civil society’s vital causes by facilitating acts of benevolence that bring healing to humanity and advance our common good.

You can learn more about the Association of Fundraising Professionals by reading, “Does AFP’s Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) Remind You of the RMS Titanic?” – By Redfern II

NANOE Board of Governors 2019 Convention & Expo w Jimmy LaRose

NANOE Board of Governors 2019 Convention & Expo will feature Jimmy LaRose for a second time in Charleston, SC on March 26-27.

Jimmy will challenge donors to give charity what they really need…their minds more than their money. When asked, “why speak directly to philanthropists?” LaRose replies, “It’s simple. THEY ARE OUR GREAT RECOURSE! Benefactors, Foundation Execs, Corporate Givers, etc., are uniquely positioned to Read More…