Building relationships with nonprofit partners (The Salvation Army/Feeding America), and helping them optimize direct marketing & omnichannel tactics, increase fundraising and engage volunteers.

Passion project with my husband to help clients plan/book stress-free and fun-filled vacations to Disney Destinations, Universal (Orlando/Hollywood), and other destinations around the world. For more info, visit: https://linktr.ee/orlandostravel

Led the advancement team in the areas of fundraising, corporate and foundation support, donor relations, grants, special events, volunteers, marketing, communications, and community relations. Developed the organization’s advancement vision which included setting goals, strategies, benchmarks and timelines in order to continuously identify new stakeholders and deepen relationships with the community.

Beyond continuing events and PR-related roles (as described in previous position summary), formally added stronger and more deliberate relationship building responsibilities to raise substantial funding, enhance relationships with key constituents, and increase the visibility of The Salvation Army. Over my 18 years with The Salvation Army, many strong relationships were built with dozens of major corporations, organizations, donors, media, influencers and professional sports teams around the Twin Cities. These partnerships translated into significant financial and in-kind donations annually.

Managed and developed all elements of nationally-recognized fundraising and PR events. Goals included engaging and inspiring stakeholders, cultivating untapped demographics and raising significant funds for The Salvation Army. Project/event management included vendor contracts, budgets, sponsorship proposals and agreements, press releases, marketing/advertising, branding guidelines, photography/videography coordination, staffing responsibilities, volunteer roles, social media engagement, and website and online registration. Evaluated events for effectiveness and efficiency based on ROI and SWOT analysis. Collaborated with partners to leverage exposure and increase donations. Beyond marketing for events, produced strategic and comprehensive advertising campaigns for Christmas fundraising that delivered on objectives. Integrated both digital and tradition (TV, radio, print, and outdoor) tactics. Coordinated messaging, graphic design, and all assets. Tracked reach and ROI post-campaign. Broad experience with brand and reputation management. Developed innovative PR concepts and creative tactics for new media partnerships, social media engagement/content, sponsorships, feature articles, media interviews, presentations, and website design/content. Experience doing media interviews including live TV/radio.Creator of The MOST Amazing Race - a large-scale, fundraising event for The Salvation Army’s housing and food programs in the Twin Cities with a 12-year run. The event raised over $1M between 2006-2017 with over 1,600 participants (average age 32), 900 volunteers, 100+ different businesses/organizations and thousands of donors. This event is now being reproduced by The Salvation Army in other cities around the United States and has raised over $2 million.Created/supervised a public relations internship program. 2-4 interns annually that assist with special events, content creation, press releases, marketing strategies and social media engagement.

Development and implementation of school-based and community-based programming in the areas of post secondary and career exploration, job readiness, and leadership development for 500 youth yearly. Expanded and managed annual “Take Your Daughters to Work Day” event. Involved over 50 successful women in the Twin Cities leading career seminars and hosting job shadowing for over 100 girls. Actively involved with program administration, outreach, budgeting, analyzing/tracking outcome-based objectives, and staff/volunteer supervision and training.

Writing and editing of profile reports that would enhance communication by nonprofits with donors. Tracked and supervised the flow of reports given to contract writers. Responsible for all event planning and travel arrangements.

Coordination and implementation of the educational enhancement, computer, cultural enrichment, and career exploration programs with youth. Facilitated and expanded employment readiness and violence/alcohol/drug prevention programs.