The board and executive director of the Greater Toronto chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), its largest chapter, have resigned en masse regarding racism allegations by what are believed to be three former board members dating back at least four years.
The resignations come on the heels of a cease-and-desist letter by the chapter’s former board chair to AFP Global and chapter leaders late last month. The letter allegedly enjoined them from assigning blame to her regarding how matters relating to alleged anti-Black racism were handled in what sources suggested might have been an attempt to head off any formal public apology the current leadership team could have been considering.
AFP’s Greater Toronto chapter (AFP-GTC) confirmed the resignations via a statement Wednesday in which leaders touted steps taken “to address discrimination and systemic racism.” Among the initiatives cited was a diversity consultant’s 2021 audit of the chapter’s organizational culture that leaders said had laid the groundwork for change.
“While we remain committed to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) at AFP-GTC, we feel that we can no longer continue the important work of addressing these barriers within the current climate, recognizing there are outstanding complaints by former board members dating back to 2017 through 2019, when this current Board was not in place,” chapter leaders wrote. “It is our hope that the composition of a new Board will allow the organization to address the issues, find a path to reconciliation and healing, and build a better and stronger community.”
For now, according to the Toronto leaders’ statement, “AFP Global will oversee the Greater Toronto Chapter and continue to ensure this organization is inclusive of diversity, equity, and accessibility.”
Just what precipitated this chain of events remains murky. However, the tensions appeared to spill over last month after organizers describing themselves as “a collective of Black, Brown, and white anti-racism activists” began a change.org petition calling on AFP Global to sanction the Toronto chapter for its “failure to make authentic and meaningful progress on its stated goal and objectives around Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA).”
Activists on LinkedIn have been chiming in with their own hot takes since the resignations were announced. Some faulted the chapter leadership for its handling of the matter but conceded the board’s hands may have been tied by threats of legal action and other outside pressures.
The upheaval at AFP Global’s largest chapter comes at an awkward time for the organization, which is planning to hold its 2024 annual international conference in Toronto. The organization recently concluded its 2023 convention in New Orleans, where attendees were treated to a sneak preview of the preparations underway for next year’s gathering north of the border.
Birgit Smith Burton, a Black female, currently serves as AFP Global’s board chair. Burton is the first Black female to hold that position in the organization’s more than 60-year history. She is also the founder and executive director of the African American Development Officers (AADO) Network and a well-regarded speaker and author on topics of diversity in the fundraising profession.
Burton and AFP Global President and CEO Mike Geiger both told The NonProfit Times they’ll have more to say about this matter in the near future but didn’t elaborate.
