Name: Marena Burnett
Title & Organization: Executive Director, Three Squares New England
WID Role: Member since 2024
Hometown: Worcester, MA
Lives Currently: Needham, MA
Education: BS Business Administration, University of RI
Hobbies: Hiking, skiing, kayaking, 3 little grandbabies!
When and how did you join the development field? This question could be answered in a myriad of ways. I started my professional career with an intense, one-year training in sales (which some might say is the dirty synonym for development) and was very successful until I stepped out after the arrival of my first child. For the 17 years, I was a full-time mom raising four kids, and organized an event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to stay engaged. This event was one of their top external fundraisers.
As Chief Engagement Officer at the Centering Healthcare Institute, I nurtured relationships with four very large philanthropic partners, and later joined Food For Free as their first Chief Development Officer.
Is there someone who has shaped or influenced your career in development? If so, in what way? Betsy Rigby has been my trusted guide since the day she asked if she could lend a hand to the Make-A-Wish Golf Party! For the past 25 years she has been the person I turn to for questions, advice, and a good laugh.
With your experience, tell us a bit about why fundraising is important to achieve an organization's mission? Someone I worked with very recently had the audacity to tell me that development was a nonessential role. Quite the opposite! You simply cannot build, grow, and sustain a nonprofit organization without fundraising.
Why did you join WIDGB? How has the WIDGB community supported you? I've only recently joined WIDGB and am thrilled to have made so many connections already. In this work, having a community to share ideas, successes, and opportunities with is absolutely essential.
Describe your biggest development success story to date: Standing on the stage at eBay auditorium to pitch to an audience of more than 400 nonprofit entrepreneurs and philanthropists is a career moment I savor. Not because I revel in the spotlight; this three-minute opportunity was my introduction to the Bezos Family Foundation. It took another two years, however, to cultivate this partnership and receive significant funding.
How do you incorporate principles of DEI into your development work? Meeting Dr. Gail Christopher at a W.K. Kellogg Foundation event was life changing for me. She inspired an intense learning journey to better understand about racism, power, privilege, and the racial inequities & injustices of our culture. I've been very fortunate to have participated in the Cook Ross’ Everyday Bias for Healthcare Professionals train-the-trainer program and carry the belief that everyone must feel valued, heard, and represented to truly have a sense of belonging—in all aspects of life.
What advice would you offer to someone new in the field of development? Development can’t be siloed. Build meaningful relationships with people across your organization. Get on the truck, volunteer at the farm, do everything you possibly can to understand the impact of your nonprofit's good work.
