Reach for the Stars!

Kathie Sheehy
Donor relations specialist
Bill Wilson Center

As a 30-year-old agency with a long history of relying on grant funding and government contracts, less than 5 percent of the Bill Wilson Center’s revenue came from individual donors. According to nominator Lisa Sarmiento, BWC grants manager, Kathie Sheehy worked to drum up existing and new contact leads, taking people on tours of the shelter as a point of entry, and nearly tripled revenue from individual donors in three years. As part of this effort, Kathie heads up an annual luncheon, which has grown from 250 guests to 600 in 2007 and has matched revenue from new pledges each year. BWC also has significant follow-through from donors on their pledges. “Kathie is the key linking these successes,” Sarmiento says.