AFP Fort Worth Metro Chapter to honor Karen & Larry Anfin and others on National Philanthropy Day

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Fort Worth Metro Chapter will honor Karen & Larry Anfin as its 2018 Distinguished Philanthropists, one of six awards to be presented at its 38th annual National Philanthropy Day® Awards luncheon November 15 at the Cendera Center.

More than 500 people are expected to attend the National Philanthropy Day® Awards luncheon, which recognizes individuals and organizations for their contributions to charities and causes in the greater Fort Worth community. It is one of countless celebrations of National Philanthropy Day® planned across North America on November 15, a date set aside to celebrate giving since 1986.

“National Philanthropy Day® highlights the contributions of philanthropy to our world, and this year’s honorees represent a proud local tradition of giving, volunteering and civic engagement,” Pat Miller, CFRE, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fort Worth Metro Chapter Board of Directors, said.

Ciera Bank President Charlie Powell, who shared the 2016 National Philanthropy Day® award for Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser with his son, James, will serve as emcee for the awards luncheon. It is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, November 15 at the Cendera Center, 3600 Benbrook Highway in Fort Worth. Honorees in the 2018 awards program are:

• Distinguished Philanthropists: Karen & Larry Anfin – Karen & Larry Anfin will receive the 2018 Distinguished Philanthropists Award for their extensive community service and giving spanning decades. Organizations ranging from Rotary Club of Fort Worth and the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show to A Wish with Wings and Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth have benefited from the Anfins’ gifts, good counsel and hard work.

• Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser: Joe Monteleone – Joe Monteleone, past executive director of the Morris Foundation, leveraged his knowledge of the local nonprofit funding community to bring the Cristo Rey educational model to Fort Worth, single-handedly directing fundraising over three years as a volunteer. Now celebrating its launch year, Cristo Rey Fort Worth High School at Our Mother of Mercy is part of a Catholic learning community that provides young people of limited economic means a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, integrated with work-study experience. Monteleone also supports fundraising for the Stock Show Scholarship Program, among other volunteer assignments.

• Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy: Braden Baker – Braden Baker was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and has 65% deaf hearing loss, so he knows the value of hearing aids. He discovered their extraordinary cost—about $3,000 a pair—only after the family dog chewed up a pair. Worried other children might not be able to afford them, Braden created a GoFundMe page to help provide hearing aids to children in need and met his $1,000 goal in 24 hours. He has since raised over $75,000 for the Audiology Department at Cook Children’s Medical Center and the Oticon Hearing Foundation, benefiting kids from Fort Worth and hurricane-drenched Houston to Guatemala. His work caught the attention of TV host Ellen DeGeneres, who featured Braden on her “One Million Acts of Good” show.

• Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation: Balfour Beatty – As Balfour Beatty builds and maintains the infrastructure communities depend on, its employees contribute time and raise funds for hundreds of charitable causes throughout the world, including North Texas organizations that strengthen community health and human services, education, and first responders. It is a loyal supporter of causes, forming charitable partnerships that last.

• Outstanding Philanthrophic Foundation: Paulos Foundation – The Paulos Foundation combines data- and outcome-driven philanthropy with a devotion to people and the communities they create. Its approach is captured in the award-winning permanent supportive housing community at the Palm Tree Apartments in Fort Worth. The community, a public/private partnership created by the Paulos Foundation, offers a solution to homelessness that balances the needs of individuals, neighbors in the surrounding Six Points Urban Village, and the community as a whole. Its success has been rigorously documented, earning the foundation the 2017 Partner of the Year award in A Night of Light, the CNM Connect awards program recognizing excellence in the North Texas nonprofit sector, and a 2017 Award of Excellence from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).

• Outstanding Professional Fundraising Executive: The Ben Franklin Award: Don Shisler – A member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fort Worth Metro Chapter for more than 20 years, Don Shisler has transformed Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County in a quarter-century as its president and chief executive officer and made the mission a pillar in local efforts to respond to homelessness. Its annual budget has increased from $350,000 to $6 million annually during his tenure, in which the 130-year-old organization gained international prominence through the book and movie “Same Kind of Different as Me.”

National Philanthropy Day® Awards luncheon sponsors include ThinkGiving, M. Gale & Associates and Frost. Media sponsors are the Fort Worth Business Press and FW501c. Additional sponsorships are available, and tables as well as individual seats are on sale now. Contact Co-Chairs Kristy Leedy at 817-366-8216 or Priscilla Miller at 979-255-4422 for more information about National Philanthropy Day® and visit https://community.afpnet.org/fortworthmetrochapter/home to register.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) is the professional association of individuals and organizations that generate philanthropic support for a wide variety of charitable institutions. Founded in 1960, AFP advances philanthropy through the combined action of more than 30,000 members in over 230 chapters around the world. Fort Worth Metro Chapter was established in 1980 and is part of the international AFP community. AFP’s individual and organizational members raise over $100 billion annually, equivalent to one-third of all charitable giving in North America, and millions more around the world.