Thank you to KC Carnes, a Development Associate at Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington, for this article! This was originally published in the August 1 Alumnae Newsletter, but we wanted to share it with all of you so we are sharing it on the blog, too. If you'd like to sign up for Alumnae News or our other newsletters, please click here!
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| Mary Lee sported a sweet Girl Scouts tattoo at the Birthday Celebration. |
Mary Lee Alder has over 10 years of professional fundraising
experience. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive, board member of the
Association of Fundraising Professionals and a member of Willamette Valley
Development Officers. She was most recently the Development Director for
Self-Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) and oversaw a $3.5 million annual private
fundraising goal for the multi-service youth development agency which serves
primarily poor children and children of color. Before that, she served for eight
years as the Planned Giving Officer/Senior Development Officer for Medical
Teams International, an international relief and development agency. She was
also a Brownie!
To get to know her better, I asked Mary Lee the following
questions:
What is your favorite Girl Scout memory: "When I flew up to
Girl Scouts from being a Brownie, we went to the beach and hunted for
seashells."
How did Girl Scouts impact you? "At an early age, I became passionate
about fairness for girls and other underserved/under represented people."
What is something you are proud of? "Every morning that
I actually wake up an hour early and go for a run, I'm really proud of
that!"
What advice do you have for girls? "Try new things! Eat
weird foods. Every time something doesn't work out the way you think it should,
you've learned something to use for next time."
Any advice for adults
regarding to how to inspire girls? "When you see a girl doing something right, notice it and
comment on it. These can be girls you don't even know. Point out the act of
kindness you see her do. And by all means, tell her she's pretty! Every girl
has something beautiful about her!"
Mary Lee's attitude on fundraising: "Generous people -
at all levels of giving - are always looking for wonderful places to give their
money. It's not so much about asking someone for a handout, it's more about
asking people to join in this exciting adventure we're on and they're completely
stoked to do it. Generous people get great joy out of giving money, whether
it's one dollar or a thousand dollars."
