Melody Moody Thortis Email & Phone Number

Jackson, Mississippi, United States

Lead on key initiatives including: - Mississippi Rural Placemaking Summit - Community Engagement & Public Input System Improvements- Creator of Community Toolkits including: Community Asset Mapping, Placemaking Tools and Community Engagement Gaps Strategy & Impact - Thought partner for organizational strategy, grants and programmatic long-term impact - Innovative Strategies and best practice research for community engagement and mapping - Identifying gaps, barriers and opportunities in communities we serve in order to target interventions- Track, measure, analyze and evaluate the overall impact of the Foundation's past, current and future funding and make recommendations on strategies for potential funding opportunities. - Leading convening's with various stakeholders including community-led efforts to assess gaps and barriers and connecting them with potential philanthropic resources and partners. Grants- Responsible for creation and implementation of competitive grants strategy - Management of all competitive grants, including Capacity Building, Project & Impact grants, Downtown Revitalization, Rural Matching and grants related to the Jackson, MS Water Crisis - Ensure strategic alignment with grant focus areas (Placemaking, Community Partnerships & Children and Families) including building community relationships with current and potential grantees- Offer regular office hours, technical assistance, focus groups and nonprofit support- Writing and submitting grant applications and RFP's for local, state and national grants & opportunities- Serve as liaison between the Foundation, its donors and grantees, as it relates to grants and programs

Jackson, Mississippi Area

- Executive Leadership Team / Department Head / Manager - Manage and oversee agency’s 4.2 million dollar grants portfolio including state + federal funding - Created 5 new public granting streams including 1.4 million in COVID-19 relief - Obtained over 3.1 million in federal grant acquision and oversee all institutional grantmaking- Chair: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (DEIA) committee - Chair: Annual statewide arts conference planning committee- Advisor: Advocacy, Organizational strategy and Creative Placemaking - Radio Host for “The Arts Hour”, broadcast statewide on MS Public Broadcasting (NPR affiliate)

Jackson, Mississippi Area

- Project Management: Lead on major agency projects and activities related to community arts, economic development and organizational capacity building, professional development and trainings- Lead organizer: Annual statewide conference, creation of statewide literary cultural trail, creative placemaking and asset-mapping / community arts- Grantmaking: Managed grants portfolio related to organizations and projects that utilize the arts in community development and individuals specializing in design and visual arts- Chair: inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) committee

Jackson, Mississippi Area

Consulting Firm specializing in strategy, capacity building, civic/community engagement for nonprofits and local governments. My firm offers specialized expertise in: group facilitation, community asset mapping, stakeholder buy-in and designing participatory community gatherings as well as alternative transportation (bicycle/pedestrian issues), advocacy and creative placemaking.

Jackson, Mississippi Area

- Top Executive / Organizational Spokesperson / Fundraising / Strategic Planning- Communications: Responsible for all media, print and digital communications- Fundraising: Managed all aspects of institutional development, including individual funding, grant writing and sponsorships- Advocacy: Increased Mississippi’s national ranking from #47 to #32 as a nationally recognized “Bicycle Friendly State”; Federal Policy Lead for Alternative Transportation statewide - Campaigns: Created multiple statewide media campaigns, wrote, directed and produced two PSA educational videos.- Community Organizing: civic engagement, group facilitation and grass-roots advocacy training- Event Planning: Organized multiple statewide conferences, outdoor festivals, workshops and place-based walking, bicycling and ADA assessments.- Organizational Leadership: Led the organization's strategic planning process, created annual strategy, budget reports and work plans.- Project Management: Launched programs to increase access, equity and statewide initiative for underserved communities.- Public Policy: Successfully passed favorable legislation in Congress and increased local public policies across Mississippi.

Jackson, Mississippi Area

- Fundraising and Event Planning: Created and organized annual event, acquired over $100,000 in sponsorships.- Marketing and Public Relations: Managed communications, organizational re-branding, website design, database, donor correspondence and all print and digital media.- Management: Managed organization’s employees, contractors and volunteers.- Strategy: Developed and executed organizational fundraising strategies, co-created Strategic Plan.

Jackson, Mississippi Area

- Project Coordinator: Organized bi-weekly community service and social justice projects for 500+ individuals - Nonprofit Liaison: Served as liaison between University and 40+ nonprofit organizations- Event Planning: Coordinated campus-wide and community events and fundraisers

Master Of Arts - Ma, International Development/Advocacy & Human Rights

Stellenbosch, South Africa

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Religion/Religious Studies / Art

Concentration: community development, outreach and engagement