Alignment. It’s a word that the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga’s philanthropy staff uses over and over again in talking about their work, and it seems to carry multiple meanings for them. This team works hard throughout the year to ensure that the needs and wishes of the Foundation’s donors are aligned with their charitable giving plans, as well as keeping the Foundation’s internal operations and processes aligned to make an efficient and tangible community impact.
Philanthropy team members Caroline von Kessler, Marisa Ogles, and Chris Adams recently sat down for a chat about what drew them to this unique work, and how they strive to help the most charitable people in our community meet the needs of a changing Chattanooga.
What are your job titles - and what do you actually do for the Foundation?
von Kessler
I’m the Vice President of Philanthropy, which means I work with professional advisors and our donors to help them understand the different opportunities available to them for giving.
Ogles
I’m the Senior Director of Donor Services & Engagement. My primary work at the Foundation is about understanding our donors: what they care about, the values that motivate their giving, and the impact that they want to have through their philanthropy.
Adams
I’m the Foundation's Donor Services Coordinator. My primary role is to support the philanthropy team, which includes everything from processing grants from our donor-advised funds, to building relationships with younger donors, to performing research for donors on grant recommendations. I enjoy putting my name and face out there so folks know that they have one more contact at the Foundation.
What was your introduction to the world of Community Foundations?
Adams
I knew next to nothing about the Foundation coming into the organization [laughs]. My introduction was through the interview process. Even though I had done some research about how community foundations operate, I still didn’t have a true understanding until I got here and started having lots of one on one conversations with the rest of the staff. I will say that I was very excited to finally be able to be a part of something that I can feel good about–I've always enjoyed helping people, and the longer I work here, the more I enjoy even the technical aspects of the job because we all believe in what we’re doing here.
Ogles
I came from the nonprofit sector, so my understanding of the Community Foundation was really about grants that they gave through a competitive application process. I was brought on to help build relationships with our donors and make their giving experience more meaningful. Working with people and helping them make our community better sounded really fun, and it is really fun!
Are there trends that you're now seeing about specific things that Chattanoogans are concerned about?
Ogles
Younger donors are building careers and building families, and they also want to get very involved in giving back and understanding our community’s needs. One area that has seen a real cross-generational increase in interest is affordable housing and preventing homelessness. The pandemic really shed light on the idea of not having a home when you're sick, and so we've seen a lot more interest in that.
von Kessler
The Foundation is committed to addressing root causes of our community’s greatest challenges. For example, along with our partners, we are working to stem homelessness by helping avoid evictions through the Eviction Prevention Initiative. Donors have joined us in supporting this initiative which has helped keep over 400 of our neighbors from eviction through legal representation, back rent, court fees and access to social workers.
This team works hard throughout the year to ensure that the needs and wishes of the Foundation’s donors are aligned with their charitable giving plans.