The Cause Is More Important: A Conversation with Torrie Taj, AFP’s 2026 Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the Year

Torrie Taj is a nonprofit executive, fundraising leader, educator, coach, and the 2026 Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the Year, the highest honor awarded by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. For more than three decades, Torrie has helped shape Arizona’s nonprofit landscape. She spent 23 years at A New Leaf, rising from direct service roles to executive leadership, helping grow the organization and expand housing, shelter, and support services for vulnerable families. Since 2015, she has served as CEO of Child Crisis Arizona, where she has led dramatic growth in both mission impact and philanthropic support, including a transformational campaign that created the Center for Child & Family Wellness. She is a longtime champion of ethical fundraising, professional development, mentorship, and what she calls an abundance mindset—challenging nonprofit leaders to think beyond scarcity and invest boldly in people, infrastructure, and mission.  Recorded live in the Exchange at AFP ICON 2026, we explore her leadership journey, the lessons she has learned along the way, her abundance mindset, and the importance of growing things.