AssifNext, 25 years of history and a future as a changemaker

Assif, the Italian fundraiser association, is 25 years old. It is one of the few in Europe to have fundraisers in its name: all the others have fundraising in their name and core. So they have many more arrows in their bow, perhaps, but this declaration of belonging - which speaks of a place experienced as home, first and foremost rather than being a genitive of possession - can still be the strong point of an organization that wants to put people at the center. On May 9 and 10, Perugia hosted AssifNext, the two-day event organized to celebrate 25 years, looking to the future. The members' meeting, in fact, also elected the new board of directors of the association, which will meet for the first time on May 23 and will also designate the president and vice president. An appointment to which Assif was called ahead of schedule, after the resignation of president Andrea Romboli and some councilors, last autumn. Michela Gaffo , head of fundraising at Fondazione Tender to Nave Italia, who succeeded Romboli as president, led the association to this event, in a mandate strongly characterized – as promised – by the active participation of each individual fundraiser.

What was AssifNext's goal in combining the renewal of the board of directors and the celebration of the first 25 years?

We wanted to gather the legacy of the previous 25 years, which we retraced in the online events that led us to the two days in Perugia, and from there open our eyes explicitly towards the future of the profession, of fundraisers, of fundraising and of the association. We chose to address the challenges that today concern the profession: new technologies, artificial intelligence, all the new social issues related to diversity and inclusion. We reflected a lot on the importance of words and on the need to start speaking in a new way; on collaborations with philanthropic entities, I am thinking in particular of the local foundations, Fondazione Perugia and the Foundation for Agricultural Education; on financing and popular shareholding models; on how we can provide solid and common foundations with respect to collaboration with companies. We took a look at the future, to understand how we fundraisers can become all-round actors in this moment of transformation. I must say thank you to the many volunteers - about fifty - who contributed to the organization and realization of the event.

What is the “Manifesto for a shared ethic in relations between non-profit organizations, institutions and companies” that was presented to the Assif audience?

In recent months, some fundraisers, with the contribution of Carlo Mazzini who is an Assif member, have worked on a “basic” document that all colleagues, from large or small organizations, could use in fundraising that involves relationships with private, profit-making entities, to all draw from the same common base. The occasion was the “pandoro gate”, but that episode actually made it clear that there was a need to think about that topic. Marta Pieri , Head of Corporate Engagement Oxfam Italia, who is one of the people who actively worked on this document, presented it in summary: it is still a document in progress, but the person who drafted it is starting to share it with colleagues in one-to-one relationships, not yet with a real public presentation, with the aim of gathering feedback. I believe it will be shared publicly soon. The gut reaction of the Assif members present in Perugia was unanimous: at first glance there seems to be no need for such a document, but when we think about it we understand that there is a great need for it, because we need to increase awareness regarding the cultural bases of this relationship.

The House of Representatives is discussing bill C. 1704 , specifically on the subject…

Today Assif, together with other entities , will be heard in the Chamber on this bill .

Assif arrives at these elections a year earlier than expected, after the resignation at the end of October of President Romboli and some councilors: who was elected to the new board of directors?

There has been a fair amount of renewal in the new board, there are several young names, organizations that had never been on the board like the Red Cross, consultants... In the new board with me there are Federico Petruio, Giulia Barbieri, Alessandro Silipigni, Claudia Costa, Alberto Almagioni, Anna Fabbricotti, Pietro Addis and Eleonora Spalloni . The first meeting of the new board will be on May 23, with the appointment of the president and vice president. I think we can say that from this point of view too we have experienced a good moment of participation, in the name of bringing the voice of the members back to the center. We are handing over to the new board an association in good financial and equity status, with consolidated and started projects and an active and functioning process of re-engagement of the members. It was a very well attended meeting.

What are the challenges for fundraisers today?

For fundraisers, the challenge is to be actors capable of bringing a mix of skills to organizations, which have to do with technological innovation and with a digital that obviously not all organizations have mastered at the same level yet. There is the issue of artificial intelligence which also poses ethical challenges. The issue of our role in organizations, because by virtue of the reform of the Third Sector we are asked to understand "more", even beyond fundraising, for example the commercial aspects that we mentioned before or those relating to different activities... And then we have to move and reason in a context that sees philanthropy changing: we must be able to establish a new relationship of trust with institutional financiers and with those who want to finance us, beyond the old model of the call for proposals. And again, how to talk about new languages ​​to dialogue with the new generations, who want to be involved as protagonists in the Third Sector and not just be donors: what protagonism do we offer to those who want to support us?

And the ones for Assif?

Being able to involve fundraisers in their activity; moving not alone but in collaboration with other institutional actors, starting from the Third Sector Forum and Assifero; bringing a slightly broader international vision to Italy, also trying to have a more prominent role in Efa. And then the issue of work and contracts, fair wages for employed fundraisers and giving those who want or find themselves working as consultants the tools to negotiate correctly... And also the issue of healthy work environments from a relational point of view. These are the big challenges that await Assif in the future.

The photos, from Assif, are by Sergio Agazzi