Advocacy Day in Albany Report
By Susan Shattuck, Chapter Immediate Past President & President, Special Events Unlimited
On April 30th AFP NYC Co-Chair Vikki Jones and members of the Government Relations committee, myself and AFP chapter members of Western, Finger Lakes, Hudson-Mohawk, and Mid- Hudson joined us in Albany to meet with our respective Senators, Assembly members and representatives.
The AFP NYC chapter’s first advocacy day was four years ago. We invited the NYS chapters to join us going forward. Their addition adds strength and scope to our mission, and our elected officials appreciate hearing from their constituents.
Our mission is to share what AFP stands for: its scope in New York State, in the country and internationally, and its pledge of ethical and effective fundraising.
Our objective is to provide knowledge and resources on issues related to laws and regulations about giving, and pointing out non-ethical entities not aligned with legitimate fundraising.
We were well received in Albany and our discussions and feedback helpful to both sides. One case of particular concern we met about is a pending bill requiring fundraising employees of charitable organizations to complete a course of instruction in the ethics of fundraising. While it is a legitimate topic, its particulars and its execution are flawed. One example is the assumption that 75% of nonprofit staffers are fundraisers. We had good meetings with the bill’s leaders, will continue our dialogue and provide feedback to Assemblywoman Galef and Senator Comrie who are overseeing the bill.
Our great thanks go to our colleagues at Bolton St. Johns for their help and expertise in setting up the eighteen meetings we had that day!