MILFORD, PA — For many, the name Jenni Hamill is synonymous with the decade-old Greater Pike Community Foundation, and with good reason. She is the first executive director of the regional philanthropic organization, and has overseen many changes and improvements since she started in that job in 2017.

Hamill recently announced that she will be stepping aside as executive director to allow for new leadership to take the organization to its next stage in life. She plans to stay involved with Greater Pike, and focus on areas that she said really excite her, such as advancement and new fund development.

“Greater Pike has progressed—with rapid growth—from its infancy… to a new life stage where it can benefit from a leader with more time to take us to the next level,” she said. “I am imagining someone with nonprofit leadership skills, positive energy, and an understanding of our community.”

Since 2017, Greater Pike has undergone many changes. It established a virtual, and then a physical, office space. Hamill is also responsible for creating the Greater Pike Legacy Society, the members of which provide long-term philanthropic support for local causes and charities through future bequests and estate gifts.

Behind the scenes, she coordinated with the board of directors and fostered a growing staff.

Hamill helped to jump-start and formalize many processes and protocols that support Greater Pike’s grant and scholarship programs and foster donor development. Finally, during her tenure, she created greater name recognition for and understanding of what the foundation does for the community.

“Early on, when I introduced myself, I would often hear, ‘Greater Pike what?’ But it is getting easier to explain to someone what Greater Pike does and how it connects people in the community who want to help with the charities, and nonprofits that need the help,” she said. “It’s not just that people are hearing and reading about us. It’s a feeling that’s growing because we all see the philanthropy happening and reaching more and more people.”

Consider the growing scholarships and grant awards that are distributed annually. Or—perhaps the most visible activity—Greater Pike’s response in the community during COVID-19.

“After a few years of building our systems, when the pandemic hit, Greater Pike was poised to respond, and we jumped right in,” Hamill said. “We gained a lot of traction in the community during COVID, not only because we were able to distribute more than $70,000 in COVID relief to local nonprofits, but because the community started to see us as a vehicle for charitable support and a force for good in our area. I felt then that our moment had arrived.”

But now the organization is at a crossroads, she said. “We have the ability to help. We have the responsibility to help. We can affect change and do good.”

What is Greater Pike?

Greater Pike helps individuals, families, and local businesses to provide a permanent and personal way to give back to the community. For more information call 570/832-4686 or visit www.greaterpike.org and Facebook.com/GreaterPike.

She noted that the foundation has distributed more than $1.1 million since it began.

When Hamill first became executive director, she was busy raising three children and working full-time for the University of Michigan, managing medical research studies and clinical trials. “I agreed to do this on a very part-time basis, but since then, our great success has outpaced my available time,” she said.

She credited her success to “solid partnerships and teamwork. I have had the privilege of working with a talented and committed board of directors, caring and committed local government officials, and a kind and generous community. The next executive director will inherit a phenomenal team devoted to long-term sustainable and local philanthropy.”

Greater Pike board chair Gail Shuttleworth said the board is looking forward to continuing to work with Hamill, using her institutional knowledge and supporting her in her vision for growth.

As for advice for her successor, Hamill hopes the new director will be the force that propels the foundation further ahead each year.

Set goals, she said, think big, and find ways to work with the community at all levels. “Community is more than belonging to something,” she said. “It’s doing something together that makes a difference.”

A search committee is currently seeking applicants for the executive director position. For more information and job requirements, visit greaterpike.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ED-Job-Description-8-20-22.pdf or email Gail Shuttleworth at info@greaterpike.org.

Story contributed by the Greater Pike Community Foundation.