Announcement

Jaime Graeber is the Development Manager at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals - Western North Carolina Chapter and received the 2025 Chamberlain Scholarship to attend AFP ICON in Seattle, Washington in late April. The Chamberlain Scholarship is available to individuals who have never attended the international conference. AFP ICON 2025 attracted over 3,000 fundraising professionals with more than 100 sessions. Jaime shared some of her reflections from her time below: Reflections from AFP ICON 2025 in Seattle Thanks to the support of the Association of Fundraising Professionals - Western [...]

Ben Kees is the Senior Director of Development at Western Carolina University, where he raises philanthropic support for the College of Arts & Sciences and manages a team of directors of development across four academic units. Kees received a Bachelor of Science from Kentucky Wesleyan College and a Masters of Education from Vanderbilt University. He is also the Co-chair of Programs for the Association of Fundraising Professionals - Western North Carolina chapter. Pitch Your Own Game: Lessons from Baseball Legends to Enhance Donor Engagement and Major Gift Strategies Development professionals have our own version of throwing strikes: honing our skills to [...]

Mark Goldstein, CFRE, GPC, is the President and CEO of Communication Mark, offering a full range of grant writing services for the past 25 years. Mark has raised more than $100 million in grants for organizations of all types and sizes, particularly for health, human service, community development and technology needs. He is the past President of the Grant Professionals Association North Carolina Chapter and an active member of AFPWNC, recognized as the region's Outstanding Fund Raising Executive in 2019. Mark has provided training sessions through WNC Nonprofit Pathways, the Duke University Continuing Studies Nonprofit Management program, and Alliance for Better [...]