I know you know this, but you are awesome.
As we say au revoir to another #ResearchPride month, I wanted to let you know that I (and all of the other #ResearchPride bloggers**) deeply appreciate that you have read, supported, and enthusiastically shared this month’s posts through social media and word of mouth. It’s a big deal to us, and we thank you.
Creating awareness of the contributions of any group, cause or mission takes a lot of advocating, patience, and time. Folks have worked hard over the past month to seed great messages all over multiple platforms in order to cultivate and grow our base of prospect development-advocating champions.
What’s next?
The result of advocacy is change.
What change do you want for our profession?
What can we see coming down the pike technologically, socially, and professionally that will change how we work? How can we get in front of these new technologies and expectations and be prepared for their impact?
These are issues worth talking about on social media, in your office, at your local chapter meetings, and at the national and international professional association conferences and seminars.
In case you didn’t know, the APRA chapter leaders meet twice a year to talk about these exact questions and issues. Any board member from every APRA chapter is welcome, not just the officers. Their discussions are informed by their own experiences and by the input of their members bringing ideas, questions and concerns about what is most important to them.
What if your APRA chapter held a brown bag or town hall discussion to talk about these things before the chapter leaders met?
What if your APRA chapter invited the local AFP chapter or CASE chapter folks to join in?
I like the idea of prospect development and front-line fundraisers sitting together to talk about the changes facing us in our sector and how we’re going to work together to prepare for them, don’t you?
What changes would you like to help make?
** Deepest thanks, admiration, and virtual high-fives to the bloggers who helped make #ResearchPride 2016 such a success! Ben, Chris, Crystal, Elisa, iWave, James, Jen, Krystal, Marianne, Marissa, Mark, Preeti, Sabrina, Sarah B, Sarah CS, Sharon, and Stephen
