VOA Utah
Image capture from a series of videos I produced for VOA Utah
After two decades leading design and digital strategy for global brands, I shifted to mission-driven nonprofit work to apply my skills in strategy, storytelling, and team leadership to community needs. The same principles I used to build creative teams and deliver large-scale digital products now guide my approach to fundraising, donor engagement, storytelling, and organizational growth, where outcomes are measured in lives saved.
Volunteers of America, Utah
A 360-person, $36M human services nonprofit in the Salt Lake Valley. We care for over 8,500 low to no-income individuals who are homeless and in need of mental health and addiction services.
Becoming a Chief Development Officer
During the pandemic, I started volunteering by serving meals at VOA Utah’s Youth Homeless Shelter. After getting to know staff and clients, I accepted their encouragement to step outside my for-profit zone and join them full time.
Recovery on Redwood opened in 2023, doubling our mental health and addiction services capacity.
Operational Fundraising
When I joined, I had no experience fundraising at the scale the organization needed. I got to work and with my naiveté, I brought fresh ideas that helped grow our donor base and strengthen campaigns resulting in private fundraising growth from $2M to $3.6M within 3 years. We increased our in-kind donations 50%.
Oh, there’s a capital campaign, too!
In addition to our operational need, I was asked to lead fundraising for a 75,000-square-foot detox and mental health facility, a project that required a $20M capital campaign. I took on the challenge, building a strategy and team to support what became the largest fundraising effort in the organization’s history.
Engaging the Community
My second area of my responsibility is leading VOA Utah’s Community Engagement efforts, directing a staff of 20 who coordinate over 8,500 individual volunteers and hundreds of groups. Together, we support mamy events, prepare and serve more than 427,000 meals from 4 kitchens, and manage the receiving and distribution of over $2.3M in in-kind donations.