National Philanthropy Day®: Tell Us Your Philanthropic Idol And Win $500 for Your Favorite Charity

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To help celebrate National Philanthropy Day®, November 15, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) is encouraging people to submit videos of themselves talking about their philanthropic idol and what inspires them to get involved.

The top five most popular videos, as voted on by the public, will earn submitters a $500 donation in their name to their favorite charity.

Starting Sept. 10, anyone can submit a one-minute "selfie" video to the National Philanthropy Day® website, npdlove.com, as part of the Who is Your Philanthropic Idol? contest. The video should identify who your philanthropic idol is and why your idol motivates you to help others.

The idol can be a person (relative, friend, acquaintance, celebrity) or thing (book, movie, poem) or anything else that inspires you to get involved with philanthropy.

The deadline for submitting videos is Oct. 7.

Then, starting, Oct. 10, the public can begin voting on the videos. The top five videos will be announced on Nov. 15, National Philanthropy Day®.

Videos can be shared and commented on using Twitter and #npdidol, while people can also visit facebook.com/nationalphilanthropyday.

More information about the contest can be found at npdlove.com, including information about AFP's own philanthropic idols (the finalists for its international awards program) and a list of National Philanthropy Day® events. AFP will hold its first National Philanthropy Day® Honors event in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15.

National Philanthropy Day®, Nov. 15, was first celebrated in 1986 through a proclamation from President Ronald Reagan. In 2012, Canada signed a bill permanently making Nov. 15 National Philanthropy Day® in that country. The day is now celebrated in more than 100 communities across North America.

Since 1960, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has inspired global change—helping nonprofits and charities and supporting fundraising efforts that have generated more than $1 trillion. AFP advances effective and ethical philanthropy by providing advocacy, research, education, mentoring, collaboration and technology opportunities for the world's largest network of professional fundraisers. AFP's more than 30,000 members raise more than $100 billion annually, equivalent to more than one-third of charitable giving in North America, with millions more generated around the world. For more information, go to www.afpnet.org.

CONTACT: Michael Nilsen, Vice President, Public Affairs, (425) 241-4675

SOURCE Association of Fundraising Professionals