In Episode 85 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Holly Wissmann, Director of Philanthropy of Breakthrough Central Texas & President of AFP Greater Austin Chapter, whose mission is to facilitate ethical and effective philanthropy in Central Texas. The members of the Greater Austin Chapter represent a cross-section of professionals who serve the diverse nonprofit organizations of the Austin community. Stephen and Holly Wissmann talk about Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Austin Chapter’s Philanthropy Day that is coming up March 24, 2022 along with AFP’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) locally and globally and the paradigm shift happening in the non-profit sector from donor-centered to community-centered fundraising.
Holly Wissmann leads AFP’s major gifts program and has helped grow the individual giving program from $500,000 to $3 million annually, serving more than 2,600 students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates. Having experienced the transformative impact of higher education on her own family, Holly is honored to have the opportunity to pay forward that gift every day, serving on a team dedicated to educational equity and partnering with students and families to realize their college dreams. Prior to joining the Breakthrough family in 2013, Holly served for seven years at ZACH Theatre, where she was on the team responsible for the Topfer Theatre Capital Campaign. A proud graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and Terry Scholar alumna, she holds a B.B.A. in Marketing and B.A. in Dance and serves on the Terry Foundation Alumni Advisory Board. In her 11 years as an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Holly has served in a variety of volunteer and leadership roles, including Philanthropy Day Chair and current President of the Greater Austin Chapter. In her personal time, she performs with East Austin-based, AZTLAN Dance Company, her artistic home for 16 years, and loves spending time with her partner, Fabian, and their fur babies, Xochi, Xico, and Ivan.
Holly Wissmann on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access:
At AFP we call it IDEA – inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. It’s our number one strategic pillar in our current strategic plan, both here at the local Austin chapter level and at the global level, it’s a major priority for us. I think all organizations and companies are doing a lot of internal reflection about both internal practices and how we engage externally. We’re in this capacity building role where we’re not only doing that assessment for our own organization, but also in this role where we can provide learning and support for our members who are going through the same thing with their own organizations. We are confronting previous bias around defining what does a philanthropist look like? What comes to mind when you think of a philanthropist? Or how do we define philanthropy? We’re wanting to not always focus on the 7, 8, or 9 figure big headline grabbing gifts, but focusing on philanthropy being so much more including all of the time, talent, and donations small and large that someone has to offer a mission or a cause. It’s important to focus on the role that we as fundraisers play in activating all the ways that people can contribute. With our upcoming Philanthropy Day Awards, that’s something that we’ve worked hard to highlight and share the diversity of philanthropists and philanthropic organizations.
Interested in listening to the full episode and hearing more from other nonprofits? Check out more episodes here Charity Charge Show
