Herman "Art" Taylor

Herman "Art" Taylor is President and Chief Executive Officer of AFP Global, the leading professional association for fundraising professionals worldwide. Since assuming leadership in April 2025, Art is guiding AFP Global through a comprehensive strategic transformation to address critical challenges facing the profession, including declining donor participation and high job turnover rates. His leadership focuses on implementing diversified membership tiers, AI-powered career development, comprehensive belonging initiatives, innovative programming, and technology-enhanced learning with personalized platforms and micro-credentialing.

Art brings to AFP Global a distinguished 24-year tenure as President and CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (2001-2025), where he transformed charity accountability and donor education. Under his leadership, the Alliance increased charity evaluation reports from 250 to over 1,400, introduced the widely-recognized Accredited Charity Seal with over 1 billion public impressions, and pioneered innovations including the AI-powered Askgive.org donor education tool, the blockchain-based Givesafely.io donation platform, and The Heart of Giving Podcast, ranked #1 nationally in the nonprofit genre.

His collaborative approach at the Alliance led to groundbreaking initiatives including "The Overhead Myth" campaign, the "Advancing Collaboration" program that earned the 2018 ASAE Foundation Innovation Award, and partnerships with Stanford Social Innovation Review, GuideStar, and Independent Sector to advance nonprofit transparency and effectiveness.

Academic and Teaching Experience

Since 2018, Art has served as Lecturer at Columbia University School of Professional Studies, teaching Ethics in the Nonprofit Sector to MS candidates. He also serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy's doctoral program and is a regular guest lecturer at Georgetown McDonough School and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University.

Leadership and Board Service

Art serves as Senior Vice Chair of the Franklin & Marshall College Board of Trustees, where he has been a member since 1993 and chairs the Trusteeship and Governance Committee. His current board service includes Convergence Policy (Chair), the Institute For the Future, Certified Fund Raising Executives (CFRE), National Human Services Assembly (NHSA), Creating Healthier Communities (CHC), and Elevate 215. He also serves on the Salvation Army National Advisory Board.

He has previously served on numerous nonprofit boards including Vice Chair of Independent Sector (1998-2003), the US Office of Personnel Management Combined Federal Campaign 50 Year Commission, and as an advisor to the National Football League Player Care Foundation board.

Education and Professional Background

Art holds a BA in Business Administration from Franklin & Marshall College (1980), where he received an honorary Doctor of Laws (2002), and a JD from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (1989). He is a Certified Public Accountant and completed the University of Oxford Said Business School Certificate in Blockchain Strategy Program. He received a foresight practitioner certificate from the Institute for the Future (2015).

Before entering nonprofit leadership, Art gained business experience at Deloitte & Touché LLP, UGI Corporation, and Keystone Foods Corporation. Earlier in his nonprofit career, he led the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America (1990-1999), growing the civil rights employment network to serve over two million disadvantaged Americans.

Recognition and Thought Leadership

Art is a sought-after speaker on charity accountability, fundraising ethics, and nonprofit governance, having delivered hundreds of speeches and testified before Congress on improving charitable sector trustworthiness. He has been named four times to the Non-Profit Times list of the Power and Influence top 50 in the nonprofit sector and is a member of its Hall of Fame. DCA Live cited him in 2018 for demonstrating exceptional performance in advancing his organization's mission.

Art is a graduate of South Philadelphia High School and member of its Cultural Hall of Fame, reflecting his commitment to community and educational opportunity throughout his career.