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Fundraisers Receive Top Awards From Peers
dc nonprofit conference

Angel Aloma and Adrian White Slagle were honored with the most prestigious awards from the ANA Nonprofit Federation (ANANF), formerly the DMA Nonprofit Federation, at its annual Washington, D.C. conference.

Angel Aloma ,executive director of Food for the Poor, received the 2019 Max Hart Nonprofit Achievement Award. White Slagle, director of new business and account management at agency One & All, received the 2019 Rising Leader Award.

The Max Hart Nonprofit Achievement Award recognizes outstanding career accomplishments by a fundraising professional. Aloma was nominated by nine prior Max Hart Nonprofit Achievement Award recipients. At Food for the Poor he oversees all fundraising and communication initiatives, and under his leadership the organization has become one of the largest international relief and development organizations serving the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America.

“Life is not as complicated as we think sometimes,” Aloma said while accepting the award. It revolves around love and passion, he said. He said the work requires working for those who “don’t have a voice of their own.”

He lauded those in the room for fighting for fairness and justice. “People in this room are people of the light,” he said.

The Rising Leader Award recognizes a young professional. White Slagle joined Operation Smile after graduating from James Madison University and rose through the organization’s ranks. While in her 20s she was appointed vice president, strategic marketing and supportive experience, overseeing fundraising efforts for all channels, global branding, and donor experience and data analytics. Now with fundraising agency One & All, she is a frequent speaker at forums and conferences.

“Good marketers are good story-tellers,” said White Slagle. She said there are two elements of a career, something happens and then a choice is made to set a person on their path. She explained that she was marking time in an entry-level fundraising job at Operation Smile when a mentor asked her what she thought of a marketing effort. “It was a simple question,” she said.

Her choices were the same as those of her boss. That’s what happened. Not long after, the choice was whether to stay at Operation Smile or to leave. She decided to stay, after which he had “imposter syndrome,” where you always believe you are in over your head.

She developed teams and then was recruited to joined the agency One & All. Her advice to those gathered: “learn and pass it along.”