“Breakfast with a Philanthropist”

This moderated discussion is an opportunity for development professionals to engage with those in our community that have demonstrated outstanding civic and charitable responsibility to Cincinnati nonprofits and our communities.

Guests attending this discussion can expect a heartfelt and inspiring conversation that delves into the personal journeys and insights of our guests as philanthropic leaders. Through thoughtful questions, we’ll explore topics such as what brings them joy and how giving has deepened their sense of fulfillment. Guests will share memorable experiences, including their first philanthropic endeavors and the relationships they’ve built with nonprofits.

We’ll also discuss practical advice on balancing immediate needs with long-term change, fostering collaboration with nonprofits, and recognizing the impact of giving. Additionally, we’ll explore ways to increase diversity in the philanthropic sector and inspire the next generation to get involved in meaningful ways.

This session is not just about hearing their stories—it’s about discovering shared values and actionable ideas to drive positive change in our community.

Date:
Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

About the Speakers:

Philanthropist of the Year

Sherie Lynch Marek A Higbee, Missouri native, Sheri graduated from University of Missouri where she majored in Art.  When she moved to Cincinnati with her family, Sheri taught; when she couldn’t find a job teaching art, she taught typing and business. Sheri has a long eclectic list of side gigs that she had to stay busy when not teaching or volunteering. Among the organizations that have benefitted from her service and generosity are Dress for Success, St. Vincent de Paul, May Festival, Cincinnati Art Museum, Lighthouse Youth Services, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati International Wine Festival, Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission, Cancer Family Care, Cincinnati Bicentennial, Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Hearing Speech + Deaf Center, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, JDRF (now Breakthrough T1D), Cincinnati Horticultural Society/Cincinnati Flower Show, People Working Cooperatively, Historic Southwest Ohio and AVOC. “She was a founding board member of Dress for Success and went on to become board chair and is the overall largest donor in the organization’s history. Although the organizations Marek supports represent a range of causes, two are particularly close to her heart: children and the arts.

Outstanding Corporation/Foundation

Barbara Turner Turner, a Cincinnati native, is well known in the region’s corporate and philanthropic circles, with more than 40 years of corporate leadership experience in the financial services industry. She spent much of that time at Ohio National Financial Services, where she rose through the ranks to become the company’s first female and first Black president and CEO. Turner founded BT RISE shortly after resigning from Ohio National. BT RISE and the Turner Family Foundation advance economic empowerment and education providing mentorship and financial coaching, by funding educational and leadership development scholarships and by providing financial grants to individuals looking to start or scale businesses. BT RISE has also extended direct financial support, in-kind donations and volunteer hours to targeted organizations doing great work in our region to end poverty and lift others up.

Join us for an exciting opportunity to reconnect with fellow fundraising professionals and share ideas! Meet Dean Dorton, our sponsor, and discover how they lead with exemplary ethical practices in our community. Following this, we’ll tune in to AFP Global’s informative video presentation on the NEW Code of Ethical Standards, where you’ll learn about the development process, the release timeline, and the educational resources available.

Afterwards, get ready to be inspired as the Better Business Bureau demonstrates how ethical principles come to life in real-life fundraising scenarios right here in Cincinnati. Their practical insights will directly benefit our community. Wrap up the event with a lively Q&A session, where you can engage with peers and speakers to deepen your understanding of ethical fundraising practices. It’s sure to be an enlightening and enriching experience!

Date:
Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

Fundraising in Action: Leadership Influence on Fundraising Success

We will have a 3-person panel of leadership to discuss their position while shedding light on their invaluable support roles with development and fundraising.

Date:
Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

Meet the Panelists:
	Rickell Howard Smith: Rickell Howard Smith is a civil rights attorney with experience as a nonprofit executive director in racial justice advocacy serving the Greater Cincinnati region. She began her career in Cincinnati in 2006 as an attorney at Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, rising to a number of prominent leadership roles serving women and children in the community. Most recently, Rickell has served as the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice at Urban League of Southwest Ohio. She also has served in leadership positions at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Children’s Law Center, Inc. in Covington and the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. Smith is also active in the community serving as the Past Board Chair of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, Advisory Board Member for All-In Cincinnati Racial Equity Coalition and a Member of the Hamilton County Economic Inclusion Advisory Council and the Cincinnati City Manager’s Advisory Group on Policing.
	Tricia Mullins: Tricia has 16 years in the healthcare industry and over nine years in philanthropy with a specialized focus on leadership gifts. Tricia Mullins currently serves as the Chief Impact Officer for NewPath Child & Family Solutions (formerly known as St. Joseph Orphanage), a youth mental and behavioral health agency. In her Executive role she oversees agency culture including Human Resources, Development and Marketing/Communications. Additionally, Tricia is an independent philanthropy and leadership consultant partnering with local non-profits in growing their development efforts and strategy. Specializing in comprehensive campaign planning, philanthropic strategic plans and leadership coaching.
	H.A. Musser: H.A. joined Santa Maria Community Services in June1984 (his 40th anniversary is approaching) as a Planning Specialist and soon became a Neighborhood Organizer, helping bring together Price Hill residents to discuss common issues and work toward solutions. It was not long before he moved into the position of Santa Maria’s Sedamsville Center Director. H.A. has been the chief executive of Santa Maria since 1989 and currently leads as President and CEO. For 18 months during this tenure at Santa Maria, H.A. also served as the first part-time Executive Director of Price Hill Will, a community development corporation in Price Hill. H.A. has served as a board member and on advisory councils for many local organizations. He not only serves the community through his professional career, but is an active volunteer in the community.   Fun Fact:  H.A.’s junior high and high school years were spent in Brazil where his parents were Christian missionaries.

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

Connecting for Impact:  Strategies for Successful Grant Writing and Relationship Building

Learn powerful techniques to create winning grant proposals while mastering the art of building lasting connections with funders. This dynamic session will equip you with the tools and strategies you need to secure funding for your projects and form meaningful partnerships along the way

Date:
Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
NEW LOCATION for MAY! 

Please click HERE for parking details.

1819 Innovation Hub
2900 Reading Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45206

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

About the Speaker:
Tephra Y. Fields, MPA

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

Restoring the Lost Art of Empathy: The Key to Ethical and IDEA Cultures

Learn to apply practical tactics to strengthen your ability to connect and maximize yourself, your team, and your mission. Forbes, CEOWorld, and countless others have cited empathy as the #1 leadership skill required to lead an organization and cultivate an ethical and inclusive culture. Whether it is mental health or other stressors at play, the insight and skills learned here will breed inclusiveness, innovation, retention, and joy.

Date:
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

About the Speaker:

Matthew Gellin – American Legacy Theatre – Executive Artistic Director & CEO Matthew David Gellin, CFRE, is Executive Artistic Director & CEO of American Legacy Theatre. He has successfully acted, directed, and produced across the country, in Europe, and in Asia. Matthew is proud to have served as a USA representative at the UNESCO International Theatre Institute Research Lab in Romania, USA delegate to the People’s Republic of China for Foreign Business Affairs, named as a Promising Artist of the 21st Century by the International Arts and Cultural Exchange, and has published papers in peer-reviewed journals. He seeks to create a more equitable tomorrow through accessible theatre. He served seven years on the chapter board and most recently as Past-President. Now he is on the board of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy USA.

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

How to Be a Master Strategist

This session is based on the paradigm-busting book Strategists First: How to Defeat the Strategy Trap. Dr. Hays will explain who strategists are; how strategists think; and why strategists matter. Along the way, he disrupts several decades of traditional thinking about strategy and strategic planning.

If you’re an accomplished strategist, this talk gives voice and visibility to your fight against the status quo.

If you’re an aspiring strategist, this talk delivers the beliefs and practices needed to live this identity into action.

Date:
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

About the Speaker:

Ryan Hays – Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation + Strategy Officer University of Cincinnati Ryan Hays is Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer at the University of Cincinnati. He leads the Office of Innovation, including the 1819 Innovation Hub and the Cincinnati Innovation District. He oversees the University’s Department of Marketing + Communications, in addition to serving as Senior Advisor to the President and the Board of Trustees. From 2012 to 2022, Hays served as the President’s Chief of Staff, overseeing the Office of the President and the Office of the Board of Trustees. Hays was the primary architect for the University’s strategic direction Next Lives Here, in addition to the past strategic plan Creating Our Third Century. In 2019, he served as Interim Director of Athletics. In 2020, he co-led the University’s enterprise-wide response to the pandemic. Hays served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the University of Cincinnati Research Institute (UCRI), the precursor to the Office of Innovation, from 2014 to 2022. In 2016, he secured a $40 million investment to create the 1819 Innovation Hub. In 2017, he hired the University’s first Chief Innovation Officer. In 2020, he helped establish the Cincinnati Innovation District. Prior to UC, Hays was Assistant Dean of the Faculty at Princeton University. At Princeton, his duties spanned all four academic divisions of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. He co-managed a $600 million faculty budget. He facilitated the appointment of approximately 500 lecturers and visiting professors. He oversaw the appointment of all faculty leaders of academic centers, institutes and programs, as well as members of departmental advisory councils. Prior to Princeton, Hays staffed the Board of Trustees at Emory University. His work focused on strategic planning, trustee recruitment and board development. At Emory, Hays taught in the Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts (ILA), the oldest interdisciplinary doctoral program in the country. Prior to Emory, Hays served as special assistant to the Dean of the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College. In 1997, Hays helped launch the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future under the direction of Retired General Colin Powell. Hays received a BA from DePauw University and a PhD in psychoanalytic studies and postmodern theory from Emory University. His dissertation on Sigmund Freud has ranked among the Top 20 most-accessed scholarly works on ProQuest, an electronic library of more than 2.1 million dissertations and theses. His new book is Strategists First: How to Defeat the Strategy Trap. The legendary venture capitalist Jim Goetz calls the book a burn-the-boats movement.

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

How to Make Digital Development a Program, not Overhead!

Did you know that just 12% of nonprofits are digitally mature? Join us at the Alliance for Fundraising Professionals’ Knowledge and Network Event for an eye-opening session featuring our guest speaker, John Cavanaugh.

Unlock the secrets to leveraging nonprofit technology as a program rather than as mere overhead. John will guide you through innovative strategies to revolutionize your organization’s approach based on his experience in tech and now as a nonprofit executive director for the Plunk Foundation.

Discover actionable insights on optimizing technology to enhance program impact, engage donors, and streamline operations. Learn how to transform your nonprofit’s digital landscape into a powerful tool that drives mission success. Gain invaluable knowledge on aligning technology investments with programmatic goals and fostering a culture of digital innovation within your organization.

Join us for an enlightening session that will reshape the way you view and utilize technology in the nonprofit sector. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from John Cavanaugh and elevate your organization’s impact. Register now to secure your spot!

Date:
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

About the Speaker:

John Cavanaugh serves as the Executive of the Cincinnati-based nonprofit, Plunk Foundation.  He has 10 years of experience helping college students, veterans, and professionals digitally connect through various grant opportunities and university affiliations. John sits on the Board of the Cincinnati Eagle Scout Association and is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. John is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). About the Plunk Foundation:  We are a group of academics and professionals deeply committed to finding innovative approaches to promote digital privacy to empower communities.

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.

Kick off the New Year with AFP’s Greater Cincinnati Chapter at this Network & Knowledge session focused on getting ahead in 2024.

Visit with AFP’s 2023 winner of the Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising award, Darlene Kamine, who was nominated by Adopt-A-Class and the Community Learning Center Institute for her leadership and achievements throughout her fundraising career.

Then, explore all that AFP Greater Cincinnati has in store for you to advance your career in 2024 with Education Committee member Leah Bobbey.

Whether you’re interested in getting set up with the Fundamentals of Fundraising or pursuing your next certification as a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) or Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP), we have the pathway you need!

Moderated by incoming AFP of Greater Cincinnati President, Amanda Jenkins.

Date:
Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Time:
8:30-9:00 – Doors open/Networking
9:00-10:30 – Program

Location:   
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
 2400 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
United Way has a free surface lot for attendees.

Cost:  
AFP Members & Students (with valid student ID) – FREE
Non-Members – $45.00

	Darlene Green Kamine is the founding Executive Director of the Community Learning Center Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to the development of all schools as hubs of partnerships which maximize the conditions for learning and catalyze the redevelopment of neighborhoods. Kamine has devoted her career to ensuring the best interests of children. She was the founder of ProKids,  a guardian ad litem program for abused children in the juvenile court system, and was the co-founder of the Cincinnati Children’s Museum.  For more than 17 years, Kamine was a magistrate in the Hamilton County Juvenile Court, devoted to the dependency, neglect and abuse docket. When Cincinnati Public Schools launched the rebuilding of all schools in 2000, Kamine was recruited to design and lead the districtwide community learning center initiative in Cincinnati.  Kamine and CPS received the 2013 National Coalition of Community Schools Award of Excellence. In 2017, Kamine co-founded the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center, the first immigration law clinic located inside a school in the country. For her lifetime of professional and volunteer efforts on behalf of children, Kamine has been recognized with numerous honors including the ProKids Child Advocacy Award, Cincinnati Enquirer Women of the Year, Foundation for Improvement of Justice Gold Medal Award, Duke Energy Children’s Museum Difference Makers Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Cincinnati Bar Association Warrington Community Service Award.
	Leah Bobbey initially pursued a career as an opera singer before transitioning to Development at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2016, eventually working with all six volunteer boards and coordinating the organization’s various annual galas and triennial Wine Auction, which net $2.2M in 2018. In 2020, Leah joined Denver’s Opera Colorado as the Individual Giving & Special Events Manager, involved in every facet of fundraising from portfolio management to grant writing to annual fund planning. In September 2022, Leah began her current role as Senior Philanthropic Strategies Advisor with Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Working primarily with professional advisors to connect their clients to the foundation, Leah also works with businesses and their owners to explore charitable giving through corporate donor advised funds and gifts of non-cash assets. Leah was a 2018-19 Annual Fellow through the Development Leadership Consortium in Chicago, and part of the 2021-22 cohort with the Institute for Leaders in Development through the University of Denver. She received her CFRE accreditation in June 2021 and will renew in 2024. Currently, Leah serves as Secretary on the Board of the Estate Planning Council of Northern Kentucky as well as the CFRE Coordinator on the AFP Education Committee, and is pursuing her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation through the American College of Financial Services.
	Amanda Jenkins is the Senior Manager of Development Operations at StriveTogether, helping the development team achieve their short and long-term fundraising goals. Amanda’s professional career has focused on development work for political candidates, non-profits and associations. Prior to joining StriveTogether, she served as the Development Director at the Community Action Agency, where she led strategy, execution and outreach to diversify revenue streams. Amanda currently serves as President-Elect of Cincinnati’s chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Amanda also participated in Class 17 of the Cincinnati Chamber’s C-Change program, a leadership development program designed for professionals looking to increase their civic engagement in the Cincinnati region. In Amanda’s free time, she enjoys going on camping trips, hiking with her dog Mamma Mia, and exploring Cincinnati’s restaurants.

This event will be approved for 1.5 CFRE Credits.

Your reservation is a financial commitment.