The Maritime Fundraising Conference (MFC) is Atlantic Canada’s largest fundraising conference. We are back and better than ever. This year we are moving to a one-day symposium format on Monday, June 12 at the Nova Scotia Community College, Ivany Campus, on the Dartmouth waterfront.



Join us in-person or virtual while we make commitments to support one another, break down barriers, and work together to successfully deliver our respective missions. Not only will you leave feeling inspired, but you will have tools to impact positive change. 

Click here to invest in yourself and take advantage of the Early Bird rates. Deadline for Early Bird rate is April 28, 2023. 



AFP Nova Scotia is pleased to offer complimentary registrations to MFC as part of our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) in the fundraising sector. Current and future fundraisers/applicants from BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, or under-represented communities are encouraged to apply. After you fill out the questionnaire here you will receive a coupon code to use during the registration process.

Whether you’re attending MFC23 or not, you are invited to join us at The Cable Wharf on Monday, June 12, 5:30pm – 7:30pm.

Our gratitude goes out to Glenn Stewardson and The Donor Motivation Program for their continued commitment to AFP Nova Scotia and our Fundraising Sector for their year-long partnership as our Social Networking Sponsor. And a big thank you to RCR Hospitality for their continued partnership as our Signature Event Sponsor this year.

Join us: Monday, June 12, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30pm

Where: The Cable Wharf, next to the Halifax Ferry Terminal, 1751 Lower Water Street*

Cost: To help defer costs, the event will be a minimal cost of $10 per person and open to everyone, Members and Non-Members alike. Every registration includes one drink ticket and as a selection of appetizers.

The Mentorship Program is actively seeking Mentors to help the next generation of fundraisers in Atlantic Canada. Could it be you?

We are currently looking for senior fundraisers with experience in annual giving, donor stewardship, planned giving, and major gifts. There is a current need for two mentors:

• One with 6+ years’ experience in the field and has knowledge of annual giving and donor stewardship to help a junior fundraiser who just started in a health charity.
• One with 10-15+ years in the industry who can help provide a better understanding of career pathways and overall professional development for a fundraiser with approximately 7 years’ experience.  

For more information, visit Mentorship - AFP Nova Scotia Chapter or contact Whitney or Siobhan at whitney.machin@mscanada.ca or Siobhan.doherty@dal.ca.

Meet Katrena Thomas! Katrena always knew she wanted to work in fundraising. During her senior year of high school, Katrena helped run monthly fundraisers to cover the costs of their prom. “During and after university, I worked in a couple other fundraising roles, and the thing they all had in common was that they required making connections with people,” Katrena reflected. “I decided I wanted to pursue connection-making full time which is what I now do in my current role.” Katrena is the proud Advancement and Alumni Relations Officer at King's-Edgehill School.

“I joined AFP NS in Fall 2022 because my director and mentor has been a part of the organization for many years and spoke to the benefits of the organization,” Katrena explained. “I also have friends and past colleagues from other workplaces who were members, and they would talk about the amazing connections and opportunities they made at AFP events. My experience so far has been great; I have attended two of the socials and one in-person talk and one online learning session, all of which were very welcoming and informative.”



Please give a warm welcome to Katrena. We are very excited to learn and grow with you.

The Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the following scholarship recipients:



Carly Levy - $500 to attend AFP ICON in April and

Whitney Machin - $500 to attend AFP Leadership Retreat in July.

Congratulations to our AFP Members for being successful in their applications. All the best in your professional development!

Did you know? AFP’s Travel Stipend Program exists to provide financial assistance for AFP Canadian Chapter Board members and AFP Canada Board Members and AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada Board members to attend AFP ICON, AFP LEAD, as well as Canadian Leadership Retreat.

Looking for a comprehensive view of the current state of the Canadian nonprofit and charitable sector? Check out the release of Blackbaud’s new Canada Giving Focus Report.

With this latest publication you will gain access to income trends, consumer-led fundraising insights, and challenges across the sector, plus a deep-dive into Canadian donor behavior. 



In this report you'll find:

• A Foreword with an overview of the fundraising landscape by Brady Carballo-Hambleton, Senior Vice President, Ontario & Nunavut, Heart & Stroke Foundation
• Q&A with Patti Sylvester, Director of Donor Experience and Caroline Lehigh, Donor Relations Manager, Trillium Health Partners Foundation
• Nonprofit benchmarks from the Status of UK Fundraising Report
• Preferences of Canadian donors from the Donor Behaviour Insights Report

On April 16th to April 22nd we celebrated National Volunteer Week. This year’s theme was volunteering weaves us together. We couldn’t agree more.

A special thank you to our AFP volunteers and community for being so giving of your time, talent and energy to strengthen the fabric of our community.

Click here to read an op-ed written by Cindy Carson, CFRE, and published by Hilborn Charity eNews.

For your CEO, CFO, Board Chair, or Treasurer, the annual Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law Boot Camp 2023 will take place on April 27th from 8:30am to 5:00pm EST.



This is a one-day, online boot camp on compliance and standards issues for Canadian charities. This workshop will deal with questions that all charities (or potential charities) should consider: What are we trying to accomplish? Should we incorporate? Should we be a charity? What is the difference between for-profit, non-profit, and registered charity? Cost is only $275.