When you attend this year's annual AJFCA Conference in Calgary in May, you'll realize matchmaking services aren't exclusive to the "singles' scene," and that they do have a home in the world of philanthropy.

The founder of Canada's first inaugural philanthropic brokerage firm Dexterity Consulting, Gena Rotstein, has also been the innovative force behind Place2Give.com, the ground-breaking, on-line, donor-centered search-match-donate search engine. She has spent the past 15 years working, volunteering and fundraising for a variety of international and national non-profit groups and charities, and will be the guest speaker on Sunday, May 15th, at the session entitled Donor Development: It's More than Just a Thank You Note. She will also speak at the luncheon for Agency Development and Marketing Professionals at the conference.

In 2008, Gena launched Calgary-based Dexterity Consulting, which acts as a matchmaker to help donors select charities. Much more than simply telling people what to do with their money, her organization approaches philanthropy the same way a personal banking professional approaches wealth management-by aligning a client's social values with the philanthropic goals of a non-profit, and making sure that organization has the performance record to get the job done. Gena has been interviewed by, and written for, international newspapers and web columns on fundraising and philanthropy. She was recently named Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine, and was a presenter on TEDxCalgary. An on-going speaker at philanthropic events, she takes a new approach to an old section with "Philanthropy 3.0."

After earning her Masters of Arts in non-profit management and Jewish Communal Service by the time she was 24 from Brandies University in Boston, Gena worked in the non-profit section throughout Canada and the U.S., and eventually saw an opportunity to help solve one of the problems she identified in her industry-namely, that people often donate money to a charity without looking into its track record.

You'll find additional information on the sessions and speakers at the conference in upcoming e-newsletters.

Air Canada Designated Official Canadian Airline

Air Canada, which features non-stop flights from throughout the United States and Canada to Calgary, has been designated the official Canadian Airline for the 39th annual AJFCA Conference. This will enable conference attendees to receive discounted fares to and from Calgary for the conference.

To preview flights and make reservations, visit Air Canada, and use the code CQ7UNRQ1 in the box marked "promotional code." This code may be used from any US or Canadian city served by Air Canada to/from Calgary. The airline city code for Calgary is YYC.

A discount is applied to the fare when the travel ticket with Air Canada is purchased. The discount and the fare are subject to all applicable taxes and surcharges.

Air Canada has non-stop flights to Calgary from Chicago, Denver, Edmonton, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Montreal, Newark, Ottawa, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

Please review the Discount Chart for specifics,