Attendance at Fundraising Conference Drops by More Than 20%

Officials of the Association of Fundraising Professionals are hoping a few dozen more people will sign up to get into the last day of the conference in Vancouver to listen to today’s keynote speaker: Wayne Gretzky, the ice-hockey legend.

Lack of star power, an international location, and events that coincided with many school vacations are among the reasons that this year’s meeting attracted 3,200 people, down from the more than 4,000 fundraisers who went to the conference in Chicago last year.

“Geography is an issue,” says Michael Nilsen, a spokesman for the association. It’s the first time since 2003 in Toronto that the conference has been held outside the United States, he says.

Still, the attendance figure is in line with the organization’s goal this year, Mr. Nilsen says. “Frankly, they’re pretty good numbers. … We’re in the ballpark.”

In Chicago last year, the fundraising conference brought dynamic and marquee speakers such as the movie star Queen Latifah, who gave an inspiring pep talk, and former President Bill Clinton, who spoke on thought-provoking global issues. Born in Ontario, Mr. Gretzky is expected to talk about the Wayne Gretzky Foundation, which he established in 2007 to help needy kids in North America learn to play hockey.

In an interview, Andrew Watt, president of the fundraisers’ association, said big names aren’t the main draw of attendees.

“The most powerful thing out of any group like this is the opportunity to meet with fellow fundraisers,” he says. “I know when I first came to my first AFP conference in St. Louis nearly 10 years ago now, I was blown away by the scale of it. But as I began to dig down, I realized that the value of it lay by the people. To realize that you’re part of this extraordinary network of fundraisers, reaching around the globe, is an incredibly powerful experience.”

Send an e-mail to Raymund Flandez.