The Western North Carolina Association of Fundraising Professionals will celebrate National Philanthropy Day with a luncheon today in Asheville. Through the bold use of human intel, we have been able to acquire an advance copy of the remarks that will be delivered for this year’s Outstanding Fundraiser.
You may not know that today’s final honoree, Alex Comfort, has already written his own obituary. He claims that this is to relieve his survivors from at least one small burden, but we know that it is more about message control. One thing Alex cannot control is what gets said at his funeral. So Alex, today I would like to give you a small view of what that event might be like.
Alex’s life truly began when he embarked on his fundraising career in 1986 as a field director with Ward, Dreshman, and Reinhardt where he directed residential campaigns – meaning he would come to live with you for the extent of the campaign. Somehow these campaigns moved at a much more rapid pace than today’s capital campaigns, and during his tenure Alex helped raise over $5 million.
He then settled down in New Orleans where he worked for Covenant House, a program serving homeless teens, raising $5.6 million in support of their efforts. Alex also spent three years at the LSU Medical Center, raising over $5 million there as well. What those who knew him then will remember most, now that he is gone, is Alex’s tireless commitment to the local AFP Chapter. He was especially involved with the chapter’s effort to connect very small non-profits with experienced professionals to give them much needed fundraising expertise. For his service, as much as his success, Alex was awarded that Chapter’s Outstanding Fundraising Professional honor.
In 1996, Alex and his wife Kippy – my condolences – moved to Asheville when Alex joined the staff at UNC Asheville. In 11 years, Alex secured $16.7 million for the University. Alex believed his greatest achievement was not securing the largest gift ($2 million for Kimmel Arena) or largest bequest ($3.1 million) ever made to the University, but meeting with donors to explain the very unique market niche of which is UNC-Asheville. He also began at that time to make a significant impact on the lives of students he met, encouraging them to explore careers in philanthropy and non-profit management. Some of them have still not forgiven him.
When he left UNC-Asheville to become the Executive Director of the Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association in 2007, he faced the daunting task of leading a diverse staff to lofty goals on a very limited budget. His broadening of funding sources while stabilizing operations was accomplished with great diplomacy. Board Chair John Heintsh called Alex “A very compassionate person, Alex was philanthropic in all aspects of his life. The classic person to lead the philanthropic community.” Countless non-profit professionals in Western North Carolina feel this way.
Serving on the board of the Melvin R. Lane Fund as well as the AFP chapter, Alex got to know many of us who currently serve the philanthropic community. His experience as a fundraiser, as well as his background as an Episcopal priest, cast him in the role of advisor, confidant, and mentor. He walked with us and helped us see our jobs as vehicles for service to organizations, to donors, and to the community. In recognizing Alex as the 2010 Outstanding Philanthropist, I would like to paraphrase the words of Michael O’Shea in the movie “Waking Ned Devine” — The words that are spoken at a funeral are spoken too late for the man who is dead. What a wonderful thing it would be to visit your own funeral. To sit at the front and hear what was said, maybe say a few things yourself. Alex Comfort was a great inspiration. But I don’t ever remember telling him that. If he was here now, if he could hear what I say, I’d congratulate him on being a great man, and thank him for being a friend.