Local Female Leader Receives National Fundraising Award

September 22, 2021

September 14, 2021 — INDIANAPOLIS – OneCause, a leader in online and event fundraising, recognized fundraising innovation and excellence at its annual Raise Awards ceremony during the Raise 2021 Conference. More than 700 nonprofit fundraising professionals gathered online September 13-14, sharing lessons learned and exploring future strategies to reenergize fundraising.

“An important part of the Raise Conference is celebrating the continued innovation and resilience of our nonprofit community with the annual Raise Awards,” said Steve Johns, chief executive officer for OneCause. “Over the past 4 years we’ve received stories from hundreds of organizations and professionals who are truly changing the future of fundraising. This year’s winners represent nonprofit trailblazers who turned the challenges of the pandemic into opportunities for their causes, finding new ways to engage donors and grow impact.”

Watch the highlights from the Raise Awards Ceremony: https://www.onecause.com/raise/awards/..

In its fourth year, the Raise Awards expanded its list of honorees to recognize two winners in each of the organizational categories based on nonprofit size and three individuals in the Fundraiser of the Year category. This year’s winners include:

Fundraisers of the Year

The Fundraiser of the Year Award recognizes three nonprofit professionals whose leadership, passion, and success stands out among their peers. Katie Koglman, the CEO of United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties in Wooster, OH was the only female recipient of this year’s award. Katie was selected out of a nationwide pool of candidates. She received the award because she brought a new energy to an organization that hadn’t hit its fundraising goal in over 10 years, she leads with a drive and passion that is unmatched in this arena. She has led the organization to hitting their fundraising goals each year as CEO. Koglman had this to say about her award, “I am so excited to be named the 2021 Fundraiser of the Year. In a year where the common theme was complain and cancel, we embarked on a journey of conquer and claim victory. Our community was depending on us to do just that! Thank you RAISE for this incredible honor.”

The two other winners were: William Miller, Chief Executive Officer for Kean University Foundation- Union, New Jersey, Nathan Smith, Vice President of Philanthropy for RAIN, Inc.- Charlotte, North Carolina

The Innovative Nonprofit of the Year Award recognizes two organizations that uniquely push themselves, inspire others, and consistently reach for new heights by implementing new ideas.

Food Outreach, Inc. St. Louis Missouri
JDRF Storyteller of the Year- New York, New York

The Storyteller of the Year Award recognizes two organizations for excellence in communicating their purpose through branding, narrative, and promotion that informs the mind and moves the heart.

Stray Rescue of St. Louis- St. Louis, Missouri
Canine Companions- Santa Rosa, California

Winners were selected by a committee of fundraising experts, OneCause customer advisory board members, and a panel of past Raise Award winners. In addition to the award recognition, winners receive a cash donation to their mission on behalf of OneCause.

To find out more about the Raise Awards, please visit: https://www.onecause.com/raise/awards/.

About OneCause®
OneCause creates user-friendly fundraising software that helps nonprofits engage donors, raise more money and save valuable time and resources. Our full suite of cloud-based fundraising solutions has powered 6,000 organizations, well over 38,000 fundraising events, and helped nonprofits raise more than $3 billion. OneCause has been recognized by Inc. Best in Business, is a TechPoint MIRA award winner for Pandemic Pivot of the Year, Mobile Technology Excellence & Innovation, and a Stevie® Award winner for excellence and innovation in Customer Service.

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Books and Balance: Cultivating Mental Well-being Through Reading

By Kayley Cox • May 12, 2025

Growing up, I had a complicated relationship with reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading various chapter books or series, ranging from the Arthur to The Baby Sitter’s Club to A Child Called “It” series. But once I reached middle school, many of the English classes I attended had required reading for the course, and the requirement meant reading was no longer an option, but rather it was mandatory, and to take notes, and to be tested on the material! The required reading lists often burned me out, leaving me disinterested in picking up a book for pleasure. I would go through phases of wanting to read more, but the enthusiasm was often short-lived. As an adult I have really tried to be intentional with reading. As someone who has made a New Year’s Resolution to “read more” the last 6 years, I have really tried to focus on finding what genres interest me because when I do, I do in fact “read more,” and I like it! It also makes me happy. I feel like I have more to talk about in conversations and enjoy the dialogue reading a book brings, along with the mental break it provides me from daily life. As a parent of two young children, I have really tried to make it a priority to foster a love of reading in my kids. I encourage them to choose the books we read, and to take it a step further, I have also been intentional that my children also SEE me reading. Reading books for my own enjoyment. I want them to remember that reading isn't just something we do together, but also something we can do for ourselves. It’s a form of self-care and can really help our health-our MENTAL health. Literacy plays a critical role in children's mental well-being. Research from Scholastic and the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience highlights the powerful influence of books and literacy on mental health. It shows that a love of reading can boost self-esteem, increase empathy, and mitigate anxiety and depression. Reading can introduce children to different types of people from all walks of life, and not only that, introducing children to different points of view, perspectives, ideas and ways of life. This exploration can foster creativity and imagination and innovation – traits that are needed for our community to evolve and grow. And this exploration can provide an opportunity to show that no matter your thoughts, you are not alone in them. By modeling reading, I hope to instill in my children the understanding that books, while educational tools, are also powerful allies in maintaining mental health. Our brain, just like anything else in the body, needs exercise. And we have the power to put the book down or keep turning the page. Whether it’s going to library to pick out our selections, or borrowing books through the Libby app, I challenge you to give yourself a moment of escape with a side of perspective that a good book can bring. Then, track your progress through Wayne County Public Library’s Beanstack app to follow your book journey. This action has truly helped me prioritize reading for my mental well-being while also instilling the love of reading in my children so they too can create a balance for their own mental health.