In my seven years as a member of the Junior League of Owensboro, I have seen the league weather many challenges among its donor base, members, the community at large, and even among its own leadership. In the past two years, I have had the privilege of working with our top leadership to refocus our organization’s community impact area, restructure the league to adapt to the diverse lifestyles of modern women, and recreate the brand image to better connect with both the members and the general public. As I continue in my role as Executive Vice President/President-Elect, and move into the role of President in 2025, I plan to continue current efforts to rebuild the Junior League’s brand and donor base, and broaden our local community impact. One of my most valuable resources will be the library of information available from the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), as well as AJLI and other Junior League conferences, where I can benefit from conversations with many other leagues, as well as the larger AJLI leadership community. In pursuit of these rebuilding efforts, I will see to accomplish the following goals.

Short-term Goal (1 year)

Goal: Establish a quarterly league newsletter that is distributed to the membership, community partners, and donors, as well as posted on the league’s public website.

Action/Strategy: As we work to rebuild our reputation and brand image with our stakeholders, both internal and external, it is crucial that our members and our community be assured that we can be trusted with their support and their funds. In order to establish this trust, I will create a newsletter where we can have dedicated space to advertise for our sponsors in a way that reaches the community members—not just exists on our website or social media—and that highlights our community partnerships. A draft of the first newsletter will be ready by the time of the July board retreat for review by the board and management team, then the first newsletter can be edited and ready for distribution by the start of the next league year in September.

Personal & Professional Importance: Having been dedicated to nonprofit work for many years, and spearheaded many projects, I am very invested in the continuation and growth of the Junior League of Owensboro. Both league members and the larger community have lost trust in the league over the past 10-15 years, due to misplaced focus and a brand that did not resonate publicly. By now we have established that we are different league with a new brand that is more consistent with what our community needs and is interested in. I believe a next step in continuing to rebuild trust is to create a way to share news consistently with our stakeholders, and to ensure that our donors and community partners are being given the recognition they are promised in exchange for their support. Personally, my background is in writing, editing, and design work, and this gives me a way to continue doing that work in other areas of my life outside of employment.

Assessment Plan: To assess the impact of a quarterly newsletter that dedicates space to the organization’s donors and community partners, I will create a mock-up of the first newsletter and present it to the board members, then the general membership, for feedback before distribution. I will evaluate and incorporate any suggestions, then take the newsletter to print/digital platform. Within two weeks after distribution, I will contact a couple of our featured sponsors and community partners to get their feedback on the newsletter as well. I will then evaluate those responses and incorporate them into the format for subsequent newsletters.

Resources: Previous Junior League internal member newsletters (out of production since 2019) for ideas on what other content to include that would connect with members; articles from COMM 568 discussing how such an instrument can build organizational identification among stakeholders; Nonprofit Leadership Lab’s resource library and community of nonprofit leaders and mentors who can offer feedback and advice.

Mid-term Goal (2-3 years)

Goal: Build relationships with 4-6 additional community partners for Junior League

Action/Strategy: The Junior League thrives in part on its relationships with external community stakeholders. Whether they are other nonprofits who are interested in collaborating on events, businesses who can offer financial support, or individuals who are passionate about the Junior League’s work in the community. After the quarterly newsletter has been established, I will create a marketing packet that includes all of those issues to date, as well as information about the league’s new brand, community impact work, and events. Then I will request meetings with three to five previously researched potential community partners each league year, realizing that every meeting will not necessarily develop into a partnership. I will present the marketing packet at the meeting and discuss the potential for a partnership in the way that is more sensible for both organizations.

Personal & Professional Importance: A nonprofit operates much like any other business—it has hard costs, administrative costs, and it requires money to operate. This detail is often overlooked by community members who otherwise value the nonprofit and its work. By building community partnerships, I can establish relationships with others locally who understand that nonprofits need as many resources to support their administrative costs as they do for their community work. Having the support of those stakeholders will give the Junior League more credibility with other potential stakeholders, as well as create some consistent funding and available resources for the Junior League. For me personally, learning to build community partnerships is a valuable skill that I can take with me anywhere I go, whether that is another nonprofit, a corporate job, or my own business. Having people invested in one’s organization creates a community of mutual support and helps the organization thrive.

Assessment Plan: Increased community partnerships will be assessed in two ways. First, I will track the resources and funding that are currently available to the league, including consistent annual donors (noting they are not necessarily pledged already), as well as resources that other organizations have made available to us in the past, such as meeting space. At the end of the 2024-2025 league year, I will again track resources and funding based on community relationships and see where we are, and I will continue this practice at the end of each league year. Second, completion of this goal can be assessed by creating a list of organizations that have agreed within the previous year to partner with us going forward, for funding or for resources, and maintaining this list annually.

Resources: Lists of Junior League sponsors from the previous 5-10 years, in order to prioritize contacts; AJLI contacts who have experience building community partnerships; AJLI conferences where information specific to Junior Leagues is available; Nonprofit Leadership Lab’s resource library and community of nonprofit leaders and mentors who can offer suggestions and support.

Long-term Goal (3-5 years)

Goal: Establish an endowment for the Junior League of Owensboro

Action/Strategy: The Junior League currently relies primarily on sponsorships to fund its annual budget. With nearly 100 nonprofits in Daviess County all vying for donor dollars, it is prudent that the league create another revenue source, and for this we will lean into our relationships with previous and Sustaining members. When the league’s credibility has been reestablished, and the organization is sufficiently separated from its old brand and public image, I will appeal to those members through an invitation social. I will present information and statistics about the league’s work from the previous 3-5 years, then I will entreat the guests to invest in the future of the Junior League and its impact on the Daviess County Community through a sizable donation with which the league can then establish an endowment fund.

Personal & Professional Importance: Professionally, I believe that having an endowment would elevate the Junior League of Owensboro in the eyes of the community. It would show that the league is a nonprofit with substantial support and can be counted on to continue their work in the community. Personally, being able to establish an endowment would strengthen the Junior League as a volunteer organization and increase its reputation and respectability. This is the kind of organization that I want to be a part of, and that I want others to want to be a part of!

Assessment Plan: The success of this goal will be shown by the establishment of a Junior League endowment. If the league is unable to secure sufficient donations to establish the endowment by this time, then I will take stock of any monies that have been donated for this purpose and put them in their own account until we do have enough funds. I will also review the relationships I have helped the league to build and evaluate what else needs to be done to acquire the rest of the donations for an endowment and integrate any changes, as well as continue to foster other stakeholder relationships to cast a wider net.

Resources: AJLI contacts who have experience with endowments; AJLI conferences where information specific to Junior Leagues is available; investment officers at local banks; Nonprofit Leadership Lab’s resource library and community of nonprofit leaders and mentors who can offer suggestions and support.