The Dressage Foundation Announces New Staff and Exciting New Website Offering

June 17, 2009

The Dressage Foundation proudly announced the addition of two new staff members, Jenny Johnson as Administrative Manager and Melissa Filipi as Development Director.
 
Jenny joins the staff with a wealth of administration experience, and a passion for horses.  Her organizational skills will guide the Foundation forward as she moves into her role as Administrative Manager.  Jenny will be an integral part of the grant and scholarship review process, as well as managing the accounting and associated reporting, donor software reporting, and website maintenance.  She has over 20 years of owning, caring for, riding, showing and loving horses!

Melissa comes to The Dressage Foundation with experience in planned giving and integrated marketing, fundraising and direct mail while with the Nebraska Humane Society, Grizzard Communications (Atlanta) and Alpha Dog Marketing (Nebraska).  She has spent five years designing fundraising mail programs, managing the day-to-day details of direct mail campaigns, and reviewing the financial results of these programs for animal welfare groups across the country.  Melissa is also Vice President – Programming for the Nebraska Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly the Planned Giving Council of Nebraska).

As Development Director, Melissa will be responsible for establishing new Funds as requested by Donors, seeking new donations to current Funds, raising general operating donations, and assisting in the daily operations of The Dressage Foundation under the leadership of Lendon Gray, President & CEO.  Jenny and Melissa are being trained in their new jobs by John and Lynn Boomer, who have managed The Dressage Foundation for the past ten years, and who will be retiring at the end of 2009.

When asked about the new staff members, Board Member Clay Teske said, “In a nutshell -  they are superb!  Both of them are highly professional, expertly qualified in their respective fields, and extremely personable!  Both are quick learners, eager to work and fun to be with.  They are an excellent addition to The Dressage Foundation family and I am positive they will soon prove to be indispensable assets.”

In conjunction with the new staff, The Dressage Foundation is now offering a total planned giving solution with the addition of Gift Legacy to its website.  With this exciting new service, The Dressage Foundation will be able to reach out to donors and close more planned gifts through the interactive website, weekly eNewsletters, powerful software and brochures fully explaining the intricacies of planned giving in easy–to-understand language!  Gift Legacy incorporates donor case histories, sample proposals and educational information in one place. 

To visit The Dressage Foundation’s new Gift Legacy site, click here.