Building Our NAYDO Community

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how COVID-19 has refined my thinking about donors. Before, I might have been more focused on asking for a specific program or project. Now, I am inviting donors to join in deeper conversations about our future, our role, and our mission in light of COVID, which creates a different experience for them and for me. It’s a partnership and long term investment, not a financial transaction. A donor’s enggement with the YMCA mission, vision and vitality is key, and this is what changes their giving experience.

The same holds true for NAYDO. We invite Y staff and volunteers to join, but what we really want is for each person to engage. To be active, not passive. To share and reach out. To get involved, not wait for someone else to say ‘yes’ to a request.

When our members understand that the time they invest in NAYDO connects them more deeply to the Y’s mission – and to their staff, board members, donors, volunteers, members, and other stakeholders – their experience changes. When you feel you belong, are helping, and have meaningful connections, you want to do more to support the mission.

NAYDO is one pursuit where I am renewed and reenergized. I get outside my daily job, my problems, and my challenges. I am inspired by the work we accomplish together. I realize how vital this involvement is for NAYDO’s future and the Y’s future.

I invite and encourage you to get more involved in NAYDO. We are sensitive to the year’s furloughs, layoffs, and budget cuts. We will work with you to keep you involved. Contact Mary Zoller to find a workable solution, 504.464.7845 or info@naydo.org.

NAYDO is an investment in our collective financial development success. We must continue to find the resources, tools, tactics, and know-how to meet the needs of our communities. Let’s collaborate and share our successes. Together, let’s partner and invest in NAYDO.

Shelly McTighe-Rippengale
NAYDO Council Chair
Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer
YMCA of San Diego County