The Community Foundation has welcomed four new staff members this fall, and we’re excited to introduce them to you! These awesome people will help round out our administration, community investment, and philanthropic services teams.
Katie Boven joins us as an administrative assistant. You might talk to her when you call in or see her at our front desk in the mornings. Katie previously worked as a legal assistant for a local law office where she handled a variety of office duties including drafting correspondence, scheduling, and reception. Katie has lived in the area for six years and has a bachelor’s degree in business from Western Michigan University.
Nicole D’Arcy is our newest program officer and will be overseeing our poverty to prosperity grantmaking. Her experience and training provides a valuable perspective to these efforts. Most recently she was the federal grant program director with Catholic Charities West Michigan, collaborating with more than 30 partner agencies and measuring community impact, while also managing its Foster Grandparent program.
Sarah Dixon is our new philanthropic services associate. Her experience working with donors began when she served as stewardship coordinator and major gift associate at Ferris State University. At Ferris, she developed and implemented the university’s comprehensive stewardship program. She has been the community development manager at Make-a-Wish Foundation of Michigan and most recently worked with the Teaching College Dean at Ball State University.
Samantha Ruthven joins us as a program associate and will be responsible for assisting with educational programming and grantmaking. Most recently she managed the PACE/FOCUS after-school programs for TrueNorth Community Services. There she supervised Baldwin, Hesperia, and White Cloud schools’ programs and gained experience writing grant proposals, managing program budgets, and establishing community partnerships.