Director of Development & Public Relations
Relationships, Storytelling & Communication are Key Components to an Effective Development Strategy
My approach to courting philanthropy:
- Communicate the successes in services provided
- Deliberate attention paid to the constituent
- Discuss, plan for, and promote the possibilities
- Express gratitude
“Many persons have a wrong idea of what
constitutes true happiness. It is not attained
through self-gratification, but through
fidelity with a worthy purpose.”
- Helen Keller
Connecting Time, Talents & Treasure with a Worthy Endeavor
So much is attained by giving. Our dependence upon one another is not weakness, but a human condition which presents the opportunity for us to personally grow and contribute. “Giving” is an opportunity to align oneself with a movement, service, organization, cause or ministry greater than our individual selves. It is my absolute joy to facilitate connecting resources to their intended purposes in ways that best serve the donor and their intentions.
My Story. My Purpose.
Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging (ESTJ)
I’ve come to learn that developing self-awareness is essential to growth and happiness. In early adulthood, I recognized my own propensity to service, and my knack for finding solutions to organizational problems. This first became apparent after some time in graduate school. I was recruited as an Operations Manager at the corporate headquarters of 84 Lumber Company in Eighty-four, PA. While very good at my job, I felt unfulfilled. I took a hairpin career turn, and became an AmeriCorps Volunteer educator and coach at St. Stanislaus College Preparatory in Bay Saint Louis, MS.
Volunteerism
From 2002-2003, I was an AmeriCorps Member who “lived simply” in community with the Catholic order of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Bay Saint Louis, MS. The living quarters was situated on the campus of Saint Stanislaus College Preparatory, a large Catholic boy’s boarding school where I taught Catholic Morality, History of the Church & Business Classes, as well as coached the varsity soccer team (MS State Champions in 2002). This was such a rewarding experience that I chose to seek out another year of service as an AmeriCorps Member.
Servant Year & Philadelphia
In 2003, I joined the Philadelphia Servant Year Program as an extension of my continued AmeriCorps Member participation. For one year, I served as an after school program director at a “Beacon School” in North Philadelphia where there were 8 staff and 150+ children & youth who would be enrolled into various activities, sports and programs using the school as a resource for tuition-free, after-school programming for the community-at-large. Originally organized by the Episcopal Diocese of PA in partnership with the Lutheran Synod of SE PA, Servant Year was needing new direction in 2004. I was recruited and employed as the new Servant Year Director by an Advisory Board and the respective bishops at the time (Bennison & Almquist). In this capacity, I flourished. From 2004-2013, I was responsible for running every aspect of a nonprofit: recruitment, agency partnerships, placement, housing, intentional living and programming - and fundraising. All programmatic income was expected to be realized through my singular efforts. I learned what it is to leverage a board’s relationships, organize events, broadcast members’ and agency’s endorsements and stories, work with member alumni and successfully wrote for grants.
Wiley Mission
As a $20M regional non-profit with two campuses, Wiley Mission serves a large variety of individuals within several ministries: A Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC); preschool, daycare & camp; behavioral health and addiction adult day program; and a church & regional food pantry. Over 15+ years, it is here that I honed my resource-development skills and public relations abilities. I have become confident in donor procurement and relations, grant writing, event and volunteer management, estate planning, annual appeals and stewardship. I have become in-tune with regional foundations and their interests, developed numerous corporate sponsorships and stewarded in a vast amount of resources over an array of origins. Connecting hearts with ministry has been the foundational principal I rely upon to begin the journey and case for support. Wiley Mission provides essential services to our region that many people can resonate with and “get behind.”
Please contact me to find out how you can support this ministry or go to https://wileymission.org to learn more.