Dear Friends,
As my term as chapter president comes to an end, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my fellow AFP board of directors and committee members. Board service is one of the toughest volunteer roles, and our board and committee members took on their duties with dedication, grace and seriousness, especially during a year impacted by a global pandemic.
I also want to thank our hundreds of members and friends. You continued to show up with a passion to connect, learn and grow. We started the year with two back-to-back sold-out lunch programs, then pivoted to online programming and networking opportunities, and held our first ever virtual National Philanthropy Day Awards Celebration. Your willingness to support every new initiative and idea we had leaves me incredibly humbled and grateful to have had the opportunity to preside during this time.
I also want to thank our chapter donors and sponsors. It is because of you that we are able to bring our members such strong programming and educational opportunities. Thanks to Texas Capital Bank, our 2019-2020 chapter sponsor. Texas Capital Bank is committed to helping communities prosper through strategic investments, and the investment they have made in our chapter is so greatly appreciated.
I also want to thank Communities Foundation of Texas for their commitment to building a pipeline of more diverse fundraisers by providing 20 scholarships to Black and African American development professionals, and AFP Global for always being such a strong supporter of advancing our goal to elevate the professionalism of fundraisers at all stages of their careers, promote high ethical standards and build trust among donors. APF Global continues to be a champion in serving as a powerful voice in confronting the pressing challenges facing the nonprofit sector today. Lastly, I want to send a special thank you to Catapult Fundraising for allowing our chapter to use their platform for all of our virtual programming this year. This was certainly a year like no other and I am thankful to Catapult for stepping in to assist with our technical needs.
As the end of the year draws near, I hope everyone will take the time to rest, restore and reflect. And while this year may not have played out as we initially planned, I am thankful for the growth and for the many opportunities to lead. Thank you to our Greater Dallas AFP chapter members, and thank you for everything that you do to make our communities better, healthier, and more prosperous for us all.
Happy Holidays!
Yours in the spirit,
Shawn Wills, CFRE
Chapter President, Greater Dallas AFP
