Meet Danielle Kempe, Development Manager for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Danielle is also a YNPN Boston leadership team alumni! She served as a Membership team ambassador from 2011-2013 and remembers her favorite event was the YNPN Boston Launch party at the House of Blues in 2012.
Meet Danielle Kempe, Development Manager for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Danielle is also a YNPN Boston leadership team alumni! She served as a Membership team ambassador from 2011-2013 and remembers her favorite event was the YNPN Boston Launch party at the House of Blues in 2012.
Name: Danielle Kempe
Profession: Development Manager
Organization: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Favorite Quote: Seek progress, not perfection.
Best Way to Relax After a Long Week:
I like group fitness. Perhaps a 5K run with November Project/Boston Brunch Runners or a BollyX dance fitness class. I also write about my fitness journey on a blog. Writing relaxes me as well.
Describe Your Professional Journey:
I’ve been working as a nonprofit fundraiser for over 6 years.
In college, I was a student leader for a community service club. I like to joke that I’ve volunteered at every nonprofit in the Boston area that accepts volunteers.
It took a few years after graduation for me to realize I could turn my passion for the nonprofit space into a career.
I fell into my first job in the nonprofit space – managing Belle of the Ball (prom dress donation drive) and Coats For Kids. I was hooked!
For my next job, I managed Walk MS & the MS Challenge Walk for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater New England chapter. Being a team captain for the Boston MS Walk when I was a student in college helped me land the job. I had also volunteered for the MS Challenge Walk as a volunteer “crew” team captain. It felt great to be working for a cause I was so passionate about.
Now, I work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, managing 6 Great Strides walk sites. This job is also rewarding to see the strides in research changing the lives (and life expectancies) for people with CF – for the better. There’s no cure yet, but I’m confident I will see a cure in my lifetime.
What Does Professional Development Mean To You?
Professional development to me is a mix of networking to informally learn how your peers tackle their goals, formal training’s like Association of Fundraising Professionals workshops and MA Nonprofit Network annual conference, and informal learning through blogs, twitter, and instagram.
Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?
Within 5 years I hope to be a Director of Development. I’ll probably have aged out of YNPN events….but I may still lurk reading the listserve & blog.
Pro Tip:
Being a friendly face at networking events can pay off. You can make someones day!
And it’s a small nonprofit world – who knows where the new connection may end up working.