Long before Katie Amoro became a chief development officer, her pink car was packed to the brim with her belongings as she clicked her key into the ignition. The rumbling of the engine marked the beginning of a trek from Florida to Boston, and the start of her new life in New England.
A few months earlier, as a recent college graduate, Amoro had landed her dream job in marketing.
“A few months in, I was miserable,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this isn’t what I expected, and this isn’t quite right for me. And now, what do I do?’”
So, she took a leap of faith and hit the road.
Once in Boston, she sought “untraditional” roles, finding an opportunity to work as the assistant director of development at Rosie’s Place, a nonprofit organization providing shelter and resources for women experiencing homelessness.
There, Amoro discovered a passion for fundraising and a love for the mission of Rosie’s Place: “to provide a safe and nurturing environment that helps poor and homeless women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity, and find security in their lives.”
Amoro didn’t anticipate she would be working in development at Rosie’s Place for the next 17 years. By the end of her time there, she was in charge of organizing all major events.
“I found my real passion, and I was really able to grow up at Rosie’s Place,” she said.
Finding the Bridge
Amoro went on to work at the nonprofit Cradles to Crayons for five years, followed by the Baker Center for Children and Families, another nonprofit, for two years.
“One of the things that immediately impressed me about Katie is just how incredibly warm she is,” said Joanne Jaxtimer, a consultant at the Baker Center during the time Amoro worked there. ‘She is a person [who] engages in a conversation in a very sincere way; she doesn’t [just] go through the motions.”
According to Jaxtimer, during Amoro’s time at the Baker Center, she designed and implemented a thorough strategic plan based on both quantitative and qualitative data, secured significant gifts from donors, and successfully planned the organization’s annual gala.
“You know, to have somebody with her skill set and with her personal qualities working on behalf of those organizations that serve those most at risk is a pretty powerful recipe,” said Jaxtimer.
Although Amoro didn’t plan to leave the Baker Center, when she encountered the opportunity to work with Bridge Over Troubled Waters, she once again felt called to support individuals experiencing homelessness.
“Given my background [of] working at Rosie’s Place for so long, I just felt really connected to the mission,” she said.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters is a nonprofit organization providing services to youth experiencing homelessness, and mirrors Rosie’s Place in focusing on dignity and respect for clients, according to Amoro.
“We really meet the youth where they are,” she said.
When a potential client walks through the doors of Bridge Over Troubled Waters, they meet with a staff member who listens deeply and compassionately to them about their needs, said Amoro.
“I think that really empowers the youth to be able to have agency over their own lives, as well as allows them to really reach for their dreams,” she added.
Some of the services Bridge Over Troubled Waters provides are mental health services, education, and career opportunities, as well as housing options ranging from emergency housing to independent living.
Looking Ahead
Although Bridge Over Troubled Waters has met its fundraising goal for this year, Amoro said the organization is keeping an eye on changes at the federal level that could impact its development strategy moving forward.
“What those changes are pushing for is nonprofits to really be diverse in their funding streams and to really be thoughtful, and to be out in the community more than ever, really sharing the important work and mission,” she said.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ President Elisabeth Jackson said in a press release that Amoro’s “experience as a fundraiser who understands this population and the challenges they face makes her uniquely qualified to build a strategic plan that expands our capacity while maintaining the high quality of our services.”
Jaxtimer described Amoro as a “wonderful leader” with a gift for communicating effectively, kindly, and authentically with others. “Katie is going to roll up her sleeves, and she’s going to engage in a most collegial and collaborative way with the folks on her team,” she added.
She said Amoro is “beautifully suited” to lead fundraising efforts for the organization, and that she is struck by Amoro’s commitment to working with those who are most marginalized.
“Katie has chosen her path: working on behalf of those who might not otherwise have a voice, and that’s where I think she brings a powerful toolkit and wonderful skills,” Jaxtimer said.
