とても残念なニュースが届きました。3月29日から31日までアメリカ・メリーランド州のボルティモアで開催予定だった米国ファンドレイジング協会のInternational Conference on Fundraising（AFP ICON）が中止となりました。
人々が会場で対面で会う大会は中止ですが、オンラインでのバーチャルカンファレンスは予定通り行われるようです。
▼こちらが協会からのお知らせです
現地での大会に参加を登録していた人は4つの選択肢があるとのこと。
「参加費を協会に寄付する」という選択肢があるのがファンドレイジング協会……。
大会が開催される限りにおいて、渡米を予定していました。ただ大会自体がなくなったので、出張をキャンセルします。
今年はとても残念ですが、
このコロナを乗り越えたあとの世界で開かれる大会は激熱なものになるでしょう。
ミネアポリスでお会いしましょう！
こちらが今日来たメールニュースです。
AFP ICON in-person has been canceled.
AFP ICON VIRTUAL will continue as planned.Hi, it’s Mike Geiger from AFP, your president and CEO.
The situation regarding COVID-19, the coronavirus, has changed dramatically. With Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s announcement today of the executive order prohibiting gatherings and events over 250 people, we have canceled the in-person experience of AFP ICON 2020.
However, despite the announcement, we have plans in place and AFP ICON VIRTUAL will continue on schedule.
In fact, we are looking at ways to expand the VIRTUAL experience to make up for the lack of the in-person event, including how to best integrate more education and networking aspects into AFP ICON VIRTUAL.
If you are registered for AFP ICON 2020 and have not yet transferred or canceled your registration, you have four (4) options.
Transfer your registration to AFP ICON VIRTUAL. You can learn more about AFP ICON VIRTUAL at afpicon.com/virtual.Transfer your registration to AFP ICON 2021, April 18-20 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Cancel your registration for a full refund.
In these three (3) cases, please reach out to Experient Customer Service to process your transfer or cancelation. You can email Experient at frp@experient-inc.com or call 800-424-5249 (U.S.) or 1-847-996-5829 (International).If you are contemplating canceling your registration, we invite you to consider the fourth option of donating part or all of your conference registration fee to the AFP Foundations for Philanthropy. This would be a tax-deductible donation. To donate, simply email foundation@afpglobal.org by March 31, 2020, stating your intended donation amount.
I’m sorry we won’t be able to offer the full AFP ICON 2020 at this time, because the education and networking experience in-person is always exciting, unique and inspiring.
The AFP community is a strong one, and I know we all remain dedicated to our causes. Thank you for your patience, and I commit to you that we’ll continue to look for ways to offer education and training this year that will help you advance your cause.
I’ll be back in touch very soon with more updates, and I encourage you to join us for AFP ICON VIRTUAL.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at MikefromAFP@afpglobal.org.
Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA
President and CEO
AFP