Announcing the results of the 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Kim Ruotsala
Director of development
Food Bank of the Rockies

Nominations for Kim Ruotsala mention numerous fundraising accomplishments, from increasing annual campaign funds from $700,000 in 1997 to more than $3 million in 2006, to establishing a now 10-year-old celebrity golf classic. But the one we focused on most is her development of the food bank’s BackPack Program, which sends needy children home from school each Friday with a backpack full of food to ensure they eat well over the weekend. It’s not exactly fundraising, but this fresh, creative approach to mission fulfillment can only encourage financial support by showing donors that there are exciting programs out there to fund.