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Happy New Year!

By ENF Development Coordinator Billy Donnelly

I started working at the Elks National Foundation in June of 2014. I spent all of my time here at the ENF hearing about our major milestones. I only could read about the Hoop Shoot National Finals, or the MVS Leadership Weekend. People could only tell me what the Elks National Convention or the end of a fiscal year is like. Recently, that has started to change. I have had a small part in the legwork for some of our major events, and it has been quite the experience.

I recently made it through the end of my first fiscal year with the ENF. It was almost as if time sped up. If I blinked, I would have missed two weeks. Everything that I had learned from the past year with the ENF was put to the test. Although it was very busy, it was busy in a good way! I had the opportunity to talk to countless ENF Fundraising Chairs, Secretaries, Treasures and Exalted Rulers from all across the country. Being able to talk to so many people and hearing their Lodge’s stories really helped reduce the stress of all of the paperwork.

Even though the fiscal year is officially over, things have yet to slow down in Chicago. With the Hoop Shoot National Finals and the MVS Leadership Weekend taking place this month, there is still a lot to do. It is very rewarding playing an active part in these events. I am no longer hearing about them happen, but helping to make them happen myself. I feel very connected to these programs and am eagerly awaiting their arrival.

 Looking into the future, I am very excited about everything this year has to offer. I have already been in contact with some of the 2015-16 ENF Fundraising Chairs and think that this year will be another one for the record books!

Billy Donnelly
ENF Development Coordinator

 With more than 800,000 members and nearly 2,000 Lodges nationwide, Elks are providing charitable services that help build stronger communities across the United States. The Elks National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, helps Elks build stronger communities through programs that support youth, serve veterans, and meet needs in areas where Elks live and work. To learn more, visit www.elks.org/enf.
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