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2024 National Philanthropy Day (NPD) Celebration
November 14, 2024
Parkview Mirro Center for Research & Innovation
Event Center
10622 Parkview Plaza Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46845
Registration Opens - 7:30 am
Breakfast, Award Presentation, and Keynote Speaker - 8:00 to 9:00 am
Individual Tickets:
AFP Member Ticket - $50
Non-Member Ticket - $75
On National Philanthropy Day (NPD), we celebrate the extraordinary change that fundraising and philanthropy have helped to create in our world!
What Is National Philanthropy Day?
National Philanthropy Day is a special day set aside on the fifteenth of November. The purpose of this day is to recognize the great contributions of philanthropy—and those people active in the philanthropic community—to the enrichment of our world.
NPD was originally conceived of and organized by Douglas Freeman in the 1980s, and the first official events held in 1986 after President Reagan signed the official NPD proclamation. The day provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of giving and all that it has made possible. NPD celebrates the endless daily contributions individuals and organizations across the world make to countless causes and missions.
Last year, more than 130 AFP chapters held NPD events and activities across North America. In addition, AFP launched #NPDLove and the NPDLove.com website, a global social media outreach and awareness campaign to engage the global charitable sector, the philanthropic community, and the public in activities to demonstrate “love of humankind” and highlight how they (or their organization) are helping to change the world.
Keynote Address | Lakoya Gardner, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy in America
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LAKOYA GARDNER
LaKoya Gardner is the Inaugural Director of the Mays Family Institute on Diverse
Philanthropy located at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which is the
world’s first school dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its
practice worldwide. The core mission of the Mays Family Institute is to understand the
perceptions, practices, experiences, and needs of the individuals and institutions that
operationalize philanthropy in underrepresented communities and develop programming and
services to engage philanthropic practitioners, scholars, and the public at large in conversations
and activities to advance this field.
LaKoya speaks across the globe on issues related to national and international trends in diversity
and philanthropy. She has pioneered new approaches and programs, such as the NCAA
Foundations of Fundraising, United Negro College Fund Philanthropy Institute, and the “Athlete
to Advocate Executive Certificate”, just to name a few. The Athlete to Advocate program allows
her to provide training to professional athletes to help enhance their philanthropic activities as
well as their communication and advocacy skills through their unique platform as professional
athletes, all while helping them target and alleviate social injustices and inequalities.
Most recently, LaKoya was a co-author of the fifth edition of “Achieving Excellence in
Fundraising,” which is the leading fundraising textbook based on research and steeped in
practical expertise.
LaKoya has over 17 years of experience in fundraising within higher education and numerous
nonprofit organizations. Prior to her position at the Mays Family Institute, she raised over
$14.7M within a 3-year timespan as the Executive Director of Resource Development at Ivy
Tech Community College located in Indiana.
LaKoya received her Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
(IUPUI), and her Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Indiana Wesleyan.
Her focus area is to continue utilizing her expertise in fundraising to expand the understanding of
donors of color and other underrepresented donors to shift the narrative within the field
philanthropy.
Special thanks to:
