Being a good #fundraiser does not make you a good person.
These two things are not intrinsically linked, in spite of what people in our sector may think.
Raising millions of dollars does not mean you get a free pass when it comes to your actions.
Being lauded by your peers does not mean that you have a strong moral compass.
Being hailed as the “fundraiser of the year” or holding titles like President & CEO does not abscond you from moral critique – especially when you have an active role in acts of anti-Black racism.
Being good at #fundraising does not make you a good person.
“A lot of us, white women, are coming to our work with some deep martyrdom as the motivator. And this equation of ‘my worth is dependent on how helpful I am…’ well, helping is just the sunny-side of control.” – Fleur Larson, White Women as Gatekeepers (The Ethical Rainmaker Podcast)
We, white fundraisers, are prone to being martyrs.
We believe that because we have entered into this “caring” profession, this compassionate career, we are immune to the critiques that our peers in the private sector are subjected to.
The lies we tell ourselves are perverse.
“I am giving my time and talents to a cause I care about – this makes me a good person.”
“I give so much of myself to the cause, so my actions outside of work don’t have to be impactful and focused on justice.”
“I am doing impactful things through my job, therefore my inaction on other issues isn’t as bad as my for-profit counterparts!”
“Canadians are so polite, we hesitate to brag about how well we’ve stolen this land. Ours is a humble colonialism.” ~ Desmond Cole, The Skin We’re In
Canadian fundraisers are particularly prone to believing we are good people because we do good work.
We convince ourselves that the antiquated and outdated ways we do our work are not that harmful.
We convince ourselves that a sector that is predominantly filled with well-meaning white women can’t possibly be racist.
The sea of white supremacy that we swim in is tepid at best. Therefore, we can’t be causing that much harm.
These excuses don’t make us less harmful. They make us intellectually lazy, and frankly, quite dangerous.
Our politeness is what makes us active participants in the oppression of Black, Indigenous, and racialized people in the charitable sector. Especially when we are complicit in hiding harm done to our fellow fundraisers, as is the case with the past and present leadership of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter.
On February 14, fundraiser, activist, and author Nneka Allen, CFRE, COC, PCC published her lecture “Us and Them, What it Means to Belong” which chronicles her experience of anti-Black racism as a board member of the AFP Toronto chapter.
What Nneka details in her lecture, and in the subsequent Giving Black podcast, is a horrific story of anti-Black racism at the hands of a powerful and influential white woman in the #fundraising sector. For those of you who don’t know, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter is the largest fundraising chapter in North America and host of one of the largest fundraising conferences, AFP Congress. The prestige of being on the AFP Toronto board is alluring for many, but Nneka’s experience is a cautionary tale of when group-think and white-dominant culture goes unchecked. It is a story of abuse of power, and of cliquish bullying behaviour by a group of people who remain unchecked.
It doesn’t take much detective work to figure out who the Chair of the board was in 2019. Caroline Riseboro was the President & CEO of Plan International Canada and then moved to Trillium Health Partners Foundation – one of the provinces of Ontario’s largest healthcare foundations. She led AFP Toronto in 2019 along with many well-known and well-respected members of our profession. These are people that have substantial followings, are asked to speak at events about leadership, and are held up as leaders in the #fundraising profession.
“The tragic deaths of George Floyd and too many others under these circumstances must stop. We must work together as fundraisers and non-profit professionals, as informed citizens, and as role models to future generations to end these tragedies and institutional and blatant racism.” – Penny Connors, former Executive Director, AFP Toronto (2020)
When I learned of this act of aggression against a Black woman in front of these leaders in our sector I was outraged. When I learned that many of the people around the table took Caroline at her word and refused to see their complicity in this act of anti-Black racism I was disappointed.
When I learned that three Black fundraisers quit the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter board en masse due to this act of anti-Black racism and the only consequence for Caroline was to be nominated for “Fundraiser of the Year”, I was livid. The same group who witnessed this act lifted up and celebrated this individual. They have reinforced for her, and for those around her, that what happened was acceptable.
In November of 2022, I met with the past-president and incoming president to discuss Caroline’s nomination, and to ask them to reconsider her award. After all, how could they move forward with this celebration of this individual? I shared everything I knew about the incident in question, shared my concerns about how this was a gaping wound that had not been healed, and asked them to reconsider her nomination.
The result of that conversation? She was celebrated at the award ceremony weeks later.
Where is the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter‘s supposed commitment to the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access they espoused in 2020? Where is AFP’s commitment to being the “voice of the unheard“?
Where is the outrage about anti-Black racism in our sector?
“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the White moderate who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice.” – The Birmingham Letters, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd and the #blacklivesmatter movement’s resurgence into the public consciousness, our sector committed to being actively anti-racist. But where are the people who claim to care about this work? Where are the people who posted black squares on their social media feeds and promised to be more than performative allies? Where is the outrage?
Why do we continue to lie to ourselves, and to each other, about the lack of action around racism in #fundraising?
We lie to ourselves that our inaction is not a sign of moral weakness, but a sign of critical thinking.
We lie to ourselves and say that being anti-racist won’t cost us anything.
We lie to ourselves when we believe that there is too much at stake for us to participate in calling out white supremacy in our sector.
We lie to ourselves if we believe threats of legal action mean we should stay quiet.
When Black people tell you they have been harmed you believe them.
“When a Black woman complains that something is wrong, believe her first and ask questions later. Black women have too much to lose pushing against systems if they lie.” – Monica Fox
I have my own experience in perpetuating harm against two women of colour. In early 2022, I was asked to co-chair the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP Global) Fundraiser Bill of Rights Task Force. In the fall of 2022, I learned that we had done harm to two talented, bright, and brilliant fundraisers at the AFP Chicago Chapter. I was embarrassed and ashamed, and more importantly, called to action. You can read about that here, here, and here. But more importantly, you should learn about this Bill of Rights here: https://www.afpchicago.org/fundraiser-bill-of-rights-quick-link
The lesson learned? It is incumbent on white people to call their peers in when they have perpetuated harm. It is important for us to name racist acts, respond to those acts, claim responsibility, and ultimately do the work of repair. We must speak out against these egregious acts. And when all else fails, we name the perpetrators and we hold our institutions and associations accountable. That is what the brilliant Mazarine Treyz calls “being a traitor to white supremacy.”
I am tired of our profession’s mediocre and tepid responses to acts of racism and discrimination. We are not the voice for the unheard, we are the muzzle that seeks to censor and silence those who speak out against injustice.
Now that this is made public, I ask Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter‘s board of directors to rescind Caroline Riseboro‘s award for Fundraiser of the Year, to publicly apologize to Nneka Allen, CFRE, COC, PCC, Múthoní Karíukí HBSc, MPNL, CFRE and Mide Akerewusi, B.Sc., M.Sc. (Econ), CSR-P, CDEP. for their conduct, and to find a way to repair the damage done. As I noted in my conversation with the board members in November – this is a gaping wound, a scar on the profession, that will never be healed until they acknowledge it.
Any other step forward will be a lie. And lies do not heal.`