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Letter from the CEO
Ihave been saddened and angered by the experiences shared by fundraisers of color, including those in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s profile of Tycely Williams. The descriptions range from being second-guessed, discounted, discriminated against, excluded, and even worse. As leaders in healthcare philanthropy, we have the opportunity and obligation to ensure that all people from all backgrounds know that they belong in our organizations and on our teams.
At our annual conference in 2020, I shared that AHP was assembling a taskforce to identify ways that our association could become truly inclusive and provide ways to support members as you work to increase recruitment and retention of candidates from diverse backgrounds. I am excited to share the progress AHP’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) taskforce is making.
This subcommittee, led by Jory Pritchard-Kerr, FAHP, Executive Director at Collingwood General & Marine Hospital Foundation, has reviewed and updated the board nomination process, changing the requirements to broaden and diversify the experiences and backgrounds that board members bring to the association. Additionally, the committee has updated the language of the nomination submission to make it more inclusive and accessible. In May, these changes were ratified by AHP’s Governance Committee and Board of Directors. They are also looking at the nomination forms and criteria for AHP’s Si Seymour Award and will make suggestions to the Si Seymour committee to ensure a broader candidate pool for AHP’s highest award.
Educational Content
This subcommittee, led by Sharon Jones, FAHP, CFRE, Director and Vice President of Development at Be Your Haven, has identified two bodies of work. The first, reviewing and updating AHP’s educational resources to ensure inclusivity in all content developed by AHP, and secondly, gathering, curating, and disseminating best practices for recruiting and maintaining a more diverse philanthropy workforce. Later this month, the Madison Institute faculty will engage in development training, led by Nancy Bussani, Vice President Strategy and Governance at CommonSpirit Health, on how to create more inclusive curriculum and content (as well as best practices in online teaching). They have also identified resources and organizations for AHP to partner with to fast-track content development around recruitment and retention. We will publish those resources on the DEIB page on AHP.org—please check back regularly for new materials.
Partnerships and Outreach
This subcommittee, led by Art Ochoa, JD, Director and Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at Cedars-Sinai, has identified 11 organizations with which AHP should develop relationships and explore partnerships. The committee has already begun the work of reaching out to begin those conversations. We need your help—if there are organizations you know about or are a
part of that you think AHP should partner with on this work, please let us know. You can send me a note at alice@ahp.org.
We are making tangible progress, and there is still so much more to do. We are in the early stages of what will be a multi-year journey with the goal of ensuring we have a diverse profession, an inclusive association, and an environment where we can all belong. Thank you for all that you will do to help walk this path together.
Alice Ayres, MBA
