Have you met our Development Officer, Maura? Throughout Maura Carroll’s 11 years on the team, she has been integral to the successful implementation of both Jett Foundation and greater community efforts, cultivating community relationships to grow our annual operating budget by nearly 800% since 2009. Not only is she amazing at what she does, but she tackles every challenge with grace and an unmatched positivity.
As a Development Officer, one highlight of the role for Maura is talking to funders about our programs and the excitement of telling them about the real, tangible impact they are making in the everyday lives of so many families.
“Our programs are serving more families every year and it’s exciting to see that impact grow. Especially today when so many families are struggling, it’s incredibly rewarding to be part of a team that is making life just a little bit easier for the families we serve,” Maura said.
Being such a challenging year all around, the fundraising landscape for Maura and the development team has changed significantly. However, that hasn’t stopped the team and Jett Foundation supporters from coming up with creative fundraising methods.
“Fundraising has changed a lot since working from home and in-person events being cancelled. We had to cancel our annual gala scheduled for May, and during a typical summer I would be attending several triathlons, road races, and bike rides after months of our athletes raising funds for our mission,” Maura explained. “ But this year, I cheered for many of our virtual athletes from their Facebook pages instead, and even watched live while one of our board members shaved his head after raising $5,000 for our programs.”
While working from home and Zoom calls has allowed the team to propel our mission without missing a beat, Maura still misses being in the office and conversing and joking with her co-workers.
“Although we still meet often over Zoom, we don’t really have the down time to catch up personally. We used to travel to conferences together and events. I really miss that!”
Since she started working from home full time at the onset of the pandemic, Maura has been taking lots of long walks with her dog and playing tennis with her daughter more than ever. Her and her husband even dusted off their old kayak and bought a paddle board this summer, activities they love but were just too busy to enjoy shuttling their kids around to various activities.
When asked if she had any tips for staying focused while working from home, she laughed. “I don’t know, but I could use some! With three teenage girls living in my house, I have been getting up super early to take advantage of those quiet times.”
To connect with Maura about all things sponsorships, grants, or starting a DIY fundraiser for Jett Foundation, send her an email at maura@jettfoundation.org.
