Association of Foundations Members Reunite for 41st General Assembly

The Association of Foundations (AF) successfully convened its 41st General Assembly (GA) on April 19, 2013 at the AIM Conference Center, Makati City. There were 116 participants who attended the meeting representing 107 of the 126 AF member organizations. 

The event was highlighted by the report on AF’s accomplishments and activities in 2012 presented by AF President Felicitas Rixhon, and the report on the audited financial statements of AF for the year 2012 presented by AF Treasurer Alejandro Escano. These reports, along with all the Acts of the Board in the past year, were ratified by the General Assembly. The GA meeting agenda also included the introduction and taking of the Oath of Membership by new AF member organizations, Mindanao-based Dana Foundation, Inc. and Kamayo Mindanao Foundation, Inc. 

Among the awaited part of the annual GA is the election of members of the AF Board of Trustees. This year, 7 of the 15 board seats were up for election, two of which were regional board seats for Visayas and Mindanao. Election Committee Chair Lolita Delgado-Fansler announced the following elected members of the AF Board:

The elected members then took their Oath of Office led by AF Chairperson Judy Roxas.  The newly-elected and re-elected board members join the rest of AF incumbent trustees, namely, Ms. Carn Abella, Ms. Cecile Alcantara, Mr. Alex Escano, Ms. Doris Ferrer, Fr. Manny Guazon, Ms. Judy Roxas, Mr. Danny Urquico (representing Luzon), and Ms. Edith Villanueva.  

Plenary speakers at the GA included Undersecretary Jose Mari M. Oquiñena of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) for Special Concerns who presented the Pilipinas Natin platform which promotes volunteerism in nation-building; Undersecretary Angelita Y. Gregorio-Medel of the DWSD Institutional Development Group who presented updates on DSWD programs and CSO engagements; and Mr. Duke Dolorical of Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) who presented a voter’s education manual to help voters choose the most appropriate candidates to elect in the recently-concluded national election.

			Meanwhile, in line with AF’s thrust to continue building the capacities of its membership, the GA Business Meeting was preceded, on April 18, by sessions on organizational strengthening and on program development. The organizational development sessions included “On the Right Track: Ensuring Success Through Effective M&E” presented by Mr. Jerome Daclison of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), “Spic-and-span: Good Housekeeping for NGOs Exemplified” presented by Mr. Luis Morales of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), and “Usapang Techie: ICT Utilization in NGO Work” presented by Mr. Paolo Antonio Gonzalez of the Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc. (JCF). The program development sessions, on the other hand, included topics on Social Enterprises presented by Mr. Roberto Calingo of the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction presented by Mr. Godofredo Villapando of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE), and Persons with Disabilities presented by the AF Cluster on Disability Concerns.

Some news articles and/or feature stories came out in various newspapers related to AF’s 41st GA: 

Business Mirror http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/features/marketing/13352-af-a-triumph-of-solidarity

Philippine Star  http://www.philstar.com/business-life/2013/04/29/935998/41-years-helping-foundations-grow

Malaya http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/living/28195-association-of-foundations-celebrates-41-years

— By Joey Alegre, Program Officer, Association of Foundations