June is National Volunteer Month, and I want to take this opportunity to thank Apra’s amazing volunteers. Volunteering is an amazing act; it not only helps the community, but it also gives you a chance to grow personally and professionally. My sincere gratitude to all the fantastic volunteers who have generously given their time and skills this year. Your willingness to share insights, write articles and work together on projects has made our community vibrant and thriving. Thank you for being the catalyst for growth! You rock!

Each year, Apra opens a call for volunteers to help support the association's initiatives. There are opportunities to curate content for our marquee educational events like Prospect Development. One could get involved in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice and Access (DEIBJA) or Ethics and Compliance committees and work to improve equity within our profession and maintain the highest ethical standards while doing it. There are opportunities to develop and source Apra’s digital educational content, or f you’re deeply connected to your local Apra chapter, consider raising your hand for the Chapters Committee — where chapter leaders help guide chapters to be the best they can be.

To create the best committees we can, we ask you to share your background, interests, experience and availability. We also ask some questions about your identity that you might find personal and irrelevant to volunteering. We ask these questions so we can create diverse committees and volunteer structures across industry, lived experience in the BIPOC/LGBTQIA+/Disabled community, organization size, time in the profession and more.

We believe that all professionals have a unique perspective and convening those perspectives results in a better volunteer experience. Your responses to the identity questions are confidential and will not be shared outside of the volunteer matching process. We hold ourselves accountable to elevating historically marginalized voices in all levels of our organization. While the volunteer interest survey is available throughout the year, we will begin reviewing and slotting committee rosters on July 12, so don’t delay if you’re interested!

As I express my appreciation to this year's volunteers, I want to invite others to join us on this incredible journey of professional volunteerism. Fill out our volunteer interest survey today and let us match your skills and interests with the perfect volunteer opportunities. Together, we can build a stronger, more vibrant professional community and continue driving positive change.

To our amazing volunteers: You have selflessly dedicated your time and efforts to support Apra, and for that, I am truly grateful. Your contributions have helped foster the professional growth of others and encouraged knowledge sharing and community development. I encourage everyone to follow in the footsteps of these exceptional individuals and embrace the power of volunteering with a professional association.

Lastly, the early bird deadline (July 14) is quickly approaching for this year’s Prospect Development Conference. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

I can’t wait till we are together in August. See you in Indianapolis!

Carrick Davis
President, Apra and Executive Director of Prospect Management & Research, University of California

Carrick Davis is the executive director of prospect management and research at University of California, Davis. He has spent his career in nonprofits, focusing on translating data into actionable insight. In his time volunteering with Apra, he has been a committee chair, a chapter leader and is in his sixth year as a board member. In his role as president, he also chairs the Apra Foundation Board. Away from work and Apra, he enjoys cooking, cycling and spending time with his partner and two fur babies, Percy and Jonas.