May 2008 President's Message
John W. Hicks
 Dear Friends,
On April 28th, I had the extraordinary pleasure of joining several colleagues from our Chapter Board as well as AFP International’s President and CEO Paulette Maehara in welcoming a delegation from the Fundraising Akademie to New York City. The Fundraising Akademie is Germany’s premiere fundraising organization and we are truly honored that they have traveled so far to meet with several members of the Greater New York Chapter to learn more about our best practices. We wish them a successful visit and hope that they will not only find it a wonderful learning experience but will enjoy the finest the Big Apple has to offer.
We were honored that Lothar Schultz, the Akademie’s Founder, joined the group for the visit. A highlight of the welcome brunch was Lothar revealing how he got his start in fundraising here in New York City! In a magnificent speech, he shared with us his view that philanthropy and fundraising is a profession that appeals to the finest qualities in people and how those of us who make it our calling are truly blessed. I look forward to sharing his views in full in a future issue of our Chapter Newsletter.
I would like to thank Paulette Maehara and her team at AFP International for facilitating an introduction to our esteemed colleagues from the Akademie. I would also like to express our Chapter’s appreciation to Christian Eitmann from the Akademie for his hard work and diligence. I truly hope that this visit marks the beginning of a continuing collaboration between our Associations—proof that the power of philanthropy transcends borders.
Collegially yours,
John W. Hicks |
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