The Canadian Association of Gift Planners is almost 20 years old. I discovered that because as Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy enters its 20^th year of publication, the team at is looking back on some of the news highlights from our first year.

Our April 1992 issue (then Canadian Fundraiser) reported that Canada's fledgling planned giving council was changing its name to the Canadian Association of Gift Planners. That month, Ken Ramsay, newly-appointed chair of its interim board, outlined some ambitious goals - regional round tables to bring gift planning education to every region, bibliographies and resources for gift planners, and conferences to draw practitioners of that fairly new profession together.

As CAGP, like Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy, approaches its 20^th birthday, its achievements are obvious -

• Regional roundtables are active all across the country.
• Membership is well over 1,000.
• Its educational program is rich, and its latest annual conference drew 300 delegates.

And Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy? Publishing a newsletter that helps nonprofits do a better job and change the world is something to celebrate - even more so when you've been publishing it for nearly two decades. From 10 annual issues, we've grown to 24, plus an e-newsletter, Hilborn eNEWS, that's just expanded from semi-monthly to weekly.

There's much more to cover now. That's a reflection of the growth, importance and visibility of the sector we serve - all due to the energy and dedication of the hundreds of thousands of people who work and volunteer within it.

Congratulations to CAGP, to the visionaries who founded it, and to all the associations and hardworking individuals that help to make the Canadian community benefit sector one of the most vibrant in the world!