The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III addresses LI philanthropists

Long Island's fundraisers got together for their 24th annual Philanthropy Day Friday at the Huntington Hilton in Melville, where the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III electrified the audience in a keynote speech, exhorting them to act to erase "the wealth disparities" on the Island and across the country.

About 300 members of the Long Island chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals jammed into a ballroom to hear Butts, president of SUNY Old Westbury, deliver a mostly soft-toned, at times humorous and wide-ranging message that touched on everything from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the need to foster healthy eating habits.

"We're fat, y'all," Butts joked at one point.

But Butts, who is also pastor of Harlem's 203-year-old Abyssinian Baptist Church, offered a mostly sobering look at America in the early part of the 21st century.

"We have to do something about wealth disparities," Butts said. "It's criminal a baby doesn't have what it needs to survive in America." He reminded the audience that they are "good people" trying to do "good things," raising money for causes ranging from eliminating hunger to curing diseases. "Our core values have brought forth a philanthropic spirit," Butts said.

But, he added, "I want to make the United States of America a better place. The poor are tired of being poor. Don't walk around saying 'I'm middle-class.' If you're middle-class these days, you're broke. You are struggling to make your mortgage payments."

Butts appealed for more "good people" to step forward to deal with poverty and racism.

In an interview before his speech, Fran Karliner, president of AFP's Long Island chapter, acknowledged that times are tough for fundraisers in this sluggish economy. "It is more difficult," Karliner said. "That's why days like Philanthropy Day are so important."

Participants attended work sessions to learn different ways to raise money.