Letter from the Chair

As we start this new year, I want to strike an optimistic chord. Having experienced the same changes you all experienced in this past year, I want to offer this thought: that perhaps what felt like deconstruction in 2020 was actually construction for 2021.

We had to change so much of how we do what we do as fundraisers, from the way we host meetings to the definition of an event, to how we interact with our colleagues to how we manage remote teams. While what we do today looks different than it did a year ago, I would suggest that the world also looks different, and this is what makes us ready––and hopeful––for this year.

In the pages of this issue of the Journal, you will find many of the creative ways our colleagues found this year to pivot their work with exceptional results. These articles show our collective resilience, and, at the same time, ask us to think about what we’ve learned this year about ourselves and our work that we want to make permanent even as this period recedes. I hope you find them as instructive and inspiring as I did.

AHP, too, has learned from this year and will incorporate those learnings into our work going forward. I want to thank the AHP staff for the immense amount of work putting together wonderful online education events so we could still gather as a community during a time where many of us felt isolated.

The AHP Board and Executive Team are embarking on two critical areas this year: implementing a new strategic plan, and the hard work of increasing the diversity of our membership in order to ensure equity and the feeling of belonging at AHP for all those transforming healthcare through philanthropy. I am excited for this work, and am hopeful for how it will impact the AHP membership for years to come.

And last but not least, I want to thank you, my fellow members, for your continued support. Thank you for renewing your memberships, for seeing the value of continuing your professional development, and for growing your community through AHP.

Fred Najjar

Chair of the Board of Directors at AHP

Executive Vice President & Chief Philanthropy Officer at CommonSpirit Health