Simone Joyaux, Passionate Fundraiser and Energetic Agitator for Good, has Died

There is no easy way to say it. Simone P. Joyaux, ACFRE, Adv Dip, FAFP, CPP died Sunday, May 2, following a devastating stroke on April 29. Simone, 72, had been diagnosed 14 months prior with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. She is survived by Tom Ahern, her life partner (her preferred term for her husband since 1984).

Simone once observed:

Colleagues around the world describe me as one of the nonprofit sector’s most thoughtful, inspirational, and provocative leaders. I’m proud of that description. I see myself as a change agent, an agitator. Whether it’s asking essential cage-rattling questions … or proposing novel approaches … or advocating for change … that’s me.”

Known internationally, Simone was a fundraising and nonprofit management consultant, coach, teacher, and author. She was a volunteer for professional and civic organizations. She was a force for philanthropy, a social justice warrior, and an agitator for the changes she believed would make the world just that much better. She was a philanthropist. Even in death, she continues, quite literally, to give of herself with the donation of her organs.

In her book, Strategic Fund Development, Simone wrote:

Longing to belong. Isn’t that part of human nature? Afraid of being forgotten. Isn’t that part of being human, too? Through relationships with others, we belong. Through commitment to community, we won’t be forgotten.”

No, Simone won’t be forgotten anytime soon. She touched the lives of thousands of people around the world. You can visit Caring Bridge to read how others remember Simone. You can also share your own memories.

Simone P. Joyaux (1949-2021)

I’ve known Simone for decades, though I regret not as well as I would have liked. There always seems to be time, until there is not. I first met her following one of her classic kick-ass presentations. We chatted for a bit. I was particularly struck by how such a provocateur could also be charming, humble, and warm.

Over the years, we found many points on which we agreed. There were also points on which we did not agree. However, our exchanges were always respectful, even friendly. Even when we disagreed, she always made me think and reconsider, though not always change, my position.

Recently, Simone and I had become classmates. We both enrolled in the inaugural class of the Philanthropic Psychology course offered by the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy. During our studies, we had a chance to engage in deep, meaningful conversations. She generously shared her insights and wisdom. All of us who took the course benefitted greatly from her participation.

One of the things that always tickled me about Simone was her passionate, fiery delivery, whether orally or in print. Her constructive rants were always something to behold. I loved when they would end with “and … and … and.” I often wondered what her next thought was following the suspended “and.” Or, maybe she wanted us to fill in what came after that last “and.”

3 Insights that will Change the Way You Do #Nonprofit Work

[Publisher’s Note: This is the first of a number of posts kindly contributed by guest authors who attended the 2016 AFP International Fundraising Conference. These posts share valuable insights from the Conference. This week, I thank Nancy Racette, CFRE, Principal and Chief Operating Officer at DRi, for highlighting the “Rebels, Renegades & Pioneers” education track.]

 

What if you could hear from some of the nonprofit world’s leading provocateurs, innovators, and big thinkers about the glories, the failures, and the future of the charity sector?

If you had attended the recent Association of Fundraising Professionals International Fundraising Conference, you could have. If you were unable to attend the program, don’t worry. I’m about to share some highlights with you.

Development Resources Inc. (DRi) sponsored the new education track called “Rebels, Renegades & Pioneers.” The track was designed to engage attendees in thought-provoking conversations about the nature and ultimate purpose of the nonprofit sector, in addition to providing tactical guidance. Business leaders, fundraisers, researchers, and activists who have spent their lives fostering these conversations shared their thoughts at the Conference.

Nancy Racette, CFRE, DRi Principal and Chief Operating Officer, attended the program. DRi is an executive search and consulting firm that builds nonprofit capacity through Board and leadership recruitment, strategic planning, and resource development both across the country and around the world. Here are some of the important insights Racette found:

 

What if social justice were a form of donor cultivation?

What if fundraisers used studies testing such propositions when they designed philanthropic programs?

How would the lessons of this research change participation in the nonprofit world?

The experts gathered for the “Rebels, Renegades & Pioneers” education track addressed these and other provocative questions. Here are three of the most significant ideas we heard:

1.  You’re not a fundraiser. You’re a catalyst for change.

The Rebels track opened with an inspiring call for fundraisers of all stripes to see themselves as agents of large-scale social change.

The fundraising vision of Roger Craver,  Jennie Thompson,  and Daryl Upsall created a new model of social movement in the 20^th century, one in which membership-based nonprofits made themselves central actors in some of the world’s greatest social transformations, from AIDS to apartheid, from voting rights to human rights.

Today, though, the challenge is to recognize that you don’t have to be a c(4) organization with a national membership to be an agent of social change. Fundraising is an inevitably activist enterprise, one that calls on people to remake the world — and that’s as true of art museums and homeless shelters as it is of Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club.

Art isn’t a luxury for the leisured; it’s a revolutionary prism through which humans re-imagine themselves and bring their new visions to life. That’s why the Urban Institute released a 2008 report on making the case for the arts as a space of collective community action. What’s more activist than that?

And we know that engaging people in social action ultimately creates new donors. People who see themselves as actors in a movement want to invest in that movement.

We got a live demonstration at AFP, when a woman who identified herself as a South American refugee stood up to say that the help she had received from Planned Parenthood had brought her to the Conference to learn how to raise money for the causes she believes in. If we see all the fundraising we do as a movement for social change, how would it help us engage people like that?

I Wish I’d Thought of That!

Have you ever stumbled upon a brilliant fundraising idea that inspired you to say, “I wish I’d thought of that!”?

Some of the greatest tactics and strategies we will implement during our careers are ideas that originated with others. Fundraising and nonprofit management ideas surround us. The challenge is not that there is a shortage of ideas; the challenge is knowing which ideas are truly great.

Now, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration have teamed up to make that task easier. At the AFP International Fundraising Conference (Baltimore, March 29-31, 2015), AFP and SOFII will host the session “I Wish I’d Thought of That!”

IWITOT is a unique seminar that will be moderated by Ken Burnett, Founder of SOFII, and involve 16 top-notch fundraising professionals who will each have up to seven-minutes to present his/her IWITOT brilliant idea. The fundraising ideas must be those the presenters admire or envy — an innovative replicable idea that we can all learn from. The proviso is that the idea cannot be their own or from their own organization, says Burnett.

The presenters include:

• Adrian Sargeant, Plymouth University
• Derrick Feldmann, Achieve
• Tom Ahern, Ahern Communications
• Amy Eisenstein, Tri-Point Fundraising
• Simone Joyaux, Joyaux Associates
• William Bartolini, Wexner Medical Center and Health Sciences Colleges
• Valerie Pletcher, Brady Campaign & Center to Prevent Gun Violence
• Daryl Upsall, Daryl Upsall Consulting International
• Stephen Pidgeon, Stephen Pidgeon Ltd.
• Amy Wolfe
• Laura Fredricks, Laura Fredricks, LLC
• Robbe Healey, Simpson Senior Services
• Alice Ferris, GoalBusters, LLC
• Frank Barry, Blackbaud, Inc.
• Missy Ryan Penland, Clemson University
• Tycely Williams, American Red Cross

“Each speaker will have a maximum of seven minutes each focused on a single big idea. This means that it’s a fast, colourful, entertaining, and inspirational session with much to learn for everyone and lots of fun, too,” says Burnett. “The speakers have been carefully chosen to give a balanced mix of seasoned professional leaders, sector gurus, and new, fresh ‘rising stars.’”

Here’s a limited preview of some of the ideas you’ll learn about during the IWITOT session:

Special Report: How Will the Fiscal Cliff Affect Nonprofits?

In recent weeks, there has been an increase in the amount of media coverage of the “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations in Washington, DC. I’ve even written a number of posts on the issue including: “Obama Plan Could Cost Nonprofit Sector $5.6 Billion a Year.”

Now, the blog site Nonprofit Community, hosted by publishers John Wiley & Sons and Jossey-Bass, has asked the question:

How Will the Fiscal Cliff Affect Nonprofits?

I, along with nine other Wiley and Jossey-Bass authors from different perspectives, respond. We offer insights and great advice for every nonprofit organization. By visiting Nonprofit Community, you’ll have a chance to hear from: