Today we’d like to introduce you to Teresa Kelly.
Hi Teresa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Having worked for Habitat for Humanity in Lee County as Executive Director around 8 years I stepped away from the Nonprofit world a couple of years. I had a friend from the Lions Club who served on the Board of Directors for Christians United Outreach Center of Lee County, and he asked if I would come on the board to help them expand their thrift store to financially support the agency. He knew that I had started the Habitat Home Store in Sanford and had the knowledge to get them off the ground. I agreed and within 6 months he and several board members approached me about becoming the first full-time Executive Director for the agency. At that point the Agency was around 5 years old but had always had part-time individuals (mostly pastors) to lead the agency. As I was in a life transition with the death of my husband I agreed to take the position. I had been successful in acquiring my certification in Fundraising Management along with other leadership courses while employed with Habitat for Humanity as it was a National Organization with lots of resources for the position of Director. I feel that this background has served me well since Sept 2009 when I started as the Executive Director. It has also served me well being elected to local office as a Commissioner for the Town of Broadway serving in my second term.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
After serving the agency as Executive Director around 14 years I had an opportunity to take a position with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC covering 4 counties in the Sandhills. This position was to be a Branch Manager working with 70+ agencies within the Sandhills territory. I felt it was a great opportunity to share knowledge with other agencies that I had acquired over those 14 years and help them become stronger in fundraising, community presence and the day-to-day challenges of running a nonprofit food pantry. I accepted the position in the fall of 2023 and quickly realized the position had been changed due to restructuring at the corporate level to a more fundraising and community support position. I tried for a year and a half but was not fulfilled in that role and felt my strengths were not being utilized as I had hoped. I had started making plans to change careers, (I had my real estate license for 15 years and never activated them) when I received a call from the current Board President of Christians United Outreach Center of Lee County asking if I could meet to talk with her regarding my old position. I agreed and soon realized that I was being called to go back to the job I loved in the community I loved serving in. I have now been back almost a year, and it has been very rewarding and humbling to know that I had made a difference and was appreciated for the experience I could bring back.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Working in the Nonprofit world and with a community centered agency has challenges for career development. Larger organizations have resources both financial and skills development that are not afforded to a small nonprofit. However, working for a small nonprofit, you need expertise in lots of areas such as accounting, human resources, donor management, board management, grant writing, public speaking, volunteer management not to mention programs and ability to change based on the needs of a community. I feel my success has come from always being open to learning receiving my Certification in Nonprofit Management and Executive Leadership from Duke University and Fundraising Management from Indiana’ School of Philanthropy. As a community food pantry, we are always looking for opportunities to meet the needs and around 10 years ago we took on the role of providing weekend food to students in our local school system when another organization closed down. It has expanded into the entire school system, 22 schools and also extending into the summer months through a summer feeding program directly into neighborhoods at high risk. In addition, we became a healthy food pantry allowing clients the freedom of choice in selecting food that their families would like to have even going as far as writing grants and purchasing 4 hydroponic food growing units to assure families are receiving quality fresh food such as lettuce and herbs even during the winter months. These additions are because we are a local agency, with a local board of directors who can make decisions based on need without having to go through a corporate higher level to start and stop programs.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Im not much of a book reader but I thrive on community interaction and try to be involved in many organizations such as my church, Lions Club and Kiwanis Clubs that align with my interests of making a better community to live. My faith also plays a big role in pulling me toward making this world a better place for those neighbors around us. God calls us to service. My favorite scripture is “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday”. Isaiah 58:10
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cuoclc.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064675242328
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresadewkelly/
