Jenna Ervice couldn’t be more thrilled, excited, and humbled, to have been invited to join the Community Action Marin team as Director of Development. As she explained, “I must have stared at my offer letter for a good 20 minutes before it really sunk in that, yes Jenna, you really are the newest member of the team!”
We couldn’t be more excited to have Jenna join the team either. Out of Community Action Marin’s four core values, Jenna says, she aligns with Inclusivity and Unity but most strongly connects with Relationship and Service:
“Development is about building relationships of all kinds, across many different sectors, demographics, and focus areas. I’ve always had the ability to establish quick rapport with others no matter what their background, interests, or lived experience is, and that skill is a tremendous asset in fundraising.”
Jenna also selected Service as a value she shares with CAM because first and foremost, “giving back” is simply a part of her genetic makeup. It’s the reason she came to Community Action Marin. Jenna shared that she is always willing to lend an extra hand or go the extra mile when someone needs assistance:
“Even though some particular tasks may not be in a job description, she stated, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t feel some sense of responsibility to be of service to our colleagues–especially when so many staff at CAM spend the majority of their days in direct service to our clients.”
Since Jenna started working in fundraising in 2002, she has worked for organizations that serve marginalized people and communities, including 10,000 Degrees and Raphael House. Jenna was most recently the Executive Director of the Belvedere Tiburon Library Foundation, where her role was to oversee the final stages of the library’s multi-million-dollar capital campaign. Through the campaign, Jenna and her team were able to double the size of the original library, add innovative programming, and even include an art gallery in the new building. And as satisfying as it was to be able to bring an impressive new library to that community, her heart yearned to get back to more personally satisfying work connecting to racial and economic justice.
Jenna would like her work at CAM to impact Marin County by helping to enable the agency to reach more people and provide high-quality services in response to immediate needs. She also hopes to educate the community about the disparity of well-being that exists in Marin by race and help to bring more of affluent Marin into CAM’s ever-growing community of donors.
When asked about what challenges she foresees in her role, Jenna sees an opportunity to ensure that the fund development roadmap is supported as a strong part of board, dedicated staff, and leadership efforts. She hopes to enable volunteers and community members to more deeply engage with creating impact and advancing the agency’s mission. Finally, she hopes to “work nimbly and with efficiency,” to increase contributions and create incredible ambassadors across Marin for the people of Marin who are working hard to overcome challenges, fulfill their goals, and realize their dreams.