Mn Fundraising Initiative has an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
Board of Directors & Officers
Monica Fisher
President
Term Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: monicaf@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
Kelly McElderry
Vice President
Term Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: kellym@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
Derek and I have been together for 17 years and live in Ramsey with our four children. Our oldest is Jack (15) loves playing basketball. Paisley (13) is very involved in dance. Maverick (9) and Hendrix (6) both play football and hockey.
My professional background has 20 years of experience of management in the restaurant, venue, and hospitality industry. Currently, I am a field sales manager for a Beer distributor. Throughout my career, I have focused on developing my teams to reach their full potential. I take the time to understand each person’s unique strengths and challenges to provide them with the right tools, coaching, and encouragement to grow into leaders themselves. As a leader, I know my own success comes from the success of those I lead, and I find great satisfaction in seeing my team’s flourish.
I have volunteered with MNFI for almost 4 years and entering my 3rd year as a member of the board. As a board member, I hope to bring a fresh perspective and energy to discussions and decision-making. While I have learned a lot in my first few years, I still have much to learn from the other board members who have been serving for longer. There is so much opportunity for MNFI to grow and innovate while remaining grounded in our mission.
Patti Cross
Treasurer
Term Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: pattic@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
I have worked as a Registered Nurse for over 30 years and have worked in various fields of medicine. On a daily basis, I am involved in many team decisions and am continuously advocating for my patients. I believe that hard work and determination is the key to making the life you want.
I started volunteering with an NPO about 4 years ago, and have very much enjoyed the people we have met and am grateful for the experiences we have been able to provide our children. As a parent, I try daily to instill a strong work ethic in my children, and I feel as adults we need to remind ourselves of the importance of working hard.
I want to be a member of the MNFI board to be involved in the decision-making that can expand the reach that our nonprofit grants can have across the broader Twin Cities community. I believe I can offer valuable insight from my nursing experience working with families, and other professionals in a collaborative way. I look forward to the exciting future of MNFI.
Chris Johnson
Secretary
Term Jan 2023 - Dec 2024
Contact Information
Email address: chrisj@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
My goal in being a member of the MNFI board is to be a voice for the volunteers. I have been volunteering since the Twins and Vikings played at the Dome and joined MNFI in June of 2019. I want to use my 15+ years of experience volunteering with NPO’s to help with our groups decision-making process and to help set expectations for our volunteers.
During the day I work for Bell Bank in the Mortgage department and manage a team of 5 managers and 53 loan processors/assistants. Each and every day I strive to be the best manager I can be. I am trust-worthy, honest and believe in coaching up my staff to be the best they can be.
I have 2 girls , Erin is 24 and Sarah is 21. Dance has been my whole life! Both of my girls have been involved in studio dance since the age of 3, continued dancing on the high school dance team and then on the University of Minnesota Duluth dance team through College Graduation. I was always involved at the studio working the front desk or applying rhinestones to costumes. When my girls were on the high school dance team I was also a volunteer member of the booster club. I worked with the coaching staff and parents to give the team the best season possible.
I have been married to my husband Brian for 28 years. When I am not volunteering we enjoy riding our motorcycle, spending time at the race track (drag racing) and hanging out with friends.
I look forward to working with our volunteers and the continued success of MNFI!
Forrest Pryde
Board Director
Term Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: forrestp@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
Hello MNFI!! My Name is Forrest Pryde I am married to Jamie Pryde who also volunteers, and we have a 13-year-old daughter named Morgan. Morgan is on the JV competition cheer team, school band, she is currently taking piano lessons, and tumbling classes for cheerleaders. My wife Jamie and I started volunteering in 2015 first with a different NP then with MNFI. We heard about this opportunity through another family that volunteered and thought why not give it a try. Combined, we have worked close to 1000 events at 17 different venues. We have raised funds for everything from school supplies and field trips to cheer nationals’ fees and registrations. Being part of a volunteer organization has allowed us to say “yes” to a lot more than we otherwise would have. I decided to run for the MNFI board in 2024 because I wanted to give back and I wanted to have my voice heard. If I wanted to make changes or be part of what makes MNFI great, then I had to step up and do my part.
Jamie Johnson
Board Director
Term Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: jamiej@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
Kevin Schmitt
Board Director
Term Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: kevins@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
I currently live in Cottage Grove with my wife, Jessica. I have 5 children in various stages of life. My oldest son, Briar (28), is in the Air Force and currently stationed in South Dakota. My oldest daughter, Rosie (24), is living in Minneapolis and tackling life! My #3, Jayne (22), is in her senior year at the University of Oregon studying Environmental Studies. Currently at home my son, Maddox (12), is very involved in soccer, cross country and track, and my daughter, Lily (11), is in a dance studio 7 days a week.
My professional career started with 8 years of active-duty Air Force where I was stationed in Missouri, Virginia, and South Korea along with various deployments. I started my current professional path in 2006 as a project scheduler for an engineering and technology company, specializing in defense contracts. At this point, I work at home for a company based in the UK.
When I am not working or volunteering with MNFI, I am either on a soccer field (coaching my 12- year-old son’s team) or at the dance studio as a member of the Prop Dads! I am also currently on the board of the Cottage Grove United Soccer Club as the Tournaments Director and Vice President.
I began my volunteering with MNFI in 2021 with the Halloween Vikings game! I have never volunteered with another organization. I really like the people here and hope to continue to volunteer with this group for years to come! I was fortunate to have joined the board this year and hope to continue to use my life and career experiences to positively contribute to MNFI! With the changing landscape of volunteering with the ever-changing AI, I hope to help find creative ways to keep our organization growing! Thank you to all our volunteers for making this such a wonderful experience!
Tim Laughlin
Board Director
Term Jan 2025 - Dec 2027
Contact Information
Email address: timl@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
I currently serve as manager of digital channels for Xcel Energy. In my position, I oversee day-to-day operations and develop content for our customer-facing website, email and notifications. Xcel Energy is a publicly traded, regulated, Fortune 500 company that provides electric and gas services to 4.2 million customers across eight states. I also serve as acting president of the Digital Utilities Customer Experience Consortium, a national organization of utilities that specializes in and focuses on digital improvements and best practices. Prior to Xcel Energy, I worked at a number of Minnesota’s largest advertising and public relations firms, providing counsel for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson, Cargill and General Mills.
My wife, Tina, and I are parents to three amazing children: Sam (20), Max (18) and Olivia (16). We live in St. Paul and continue to be active in our community.
Vince Hull
Board Director
Term Jan 2025 - Dec 2027
Contact Information
Email address: vinceh@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
I’ve had the privilege of working in the medical device industry for over 30 years for a variety of companies ranging in size from tens of employees to Fortune 500 companies. Educated as an Engineer, I’ve worked in areas of research, product development, and manufacturing; also spending time outside of engineering in the areas of marketing and program management. I started my career as an individual contributor and progressed through increased responsibilities, culminating in the leadership of a large multimillion dollar research and development facility responsible for the creation of medical and diagnostic devices.
Melissa, my wife, and I live with our two children, McKenna and Declan, in Ham Lake. I’m also blessed to have two older sons, Tony and Chris, who are busy raising their own families in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Most of our time now is spent chasing after McKenna in dance and Declan in either baseball, football, or basketball. Our whole family are huge sports fans, thus making volunteering at the various local venues enjoyable. When I’m not watching McKenna dance or coach Declan in his various sports, I try to sneak in a round or two in at several of the local area golf courses.
I began volunteering with an NPO many years ago through a local dance studio. I chose to end that opportunity when there was a change in management. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to MNFI a few years back and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity. Where else can you go to all the events you love for free? I look forward to continuing to volunteer through MNFI, helping to get my sports-fix.
Our Staff
Martin Cross
CEO
Term Jan 2023 - Jan 2025
Contact Information
Email address: info@ mnfundraisinginitiative.org
In 2016, my wife Patti and I finally took the advice of a friend and joined an NPO group that specialized in fundraising via volunteer work. In 2019, after a lot of soul-searching, we decided to leave this group and start searching for an NPO group that offered everything we were looking for. We realized very quickly that this group did not exist, and, on June 2nd, 2019 we decided to open MNFI. My goal as a board member is to build the most welcoming, transparent, and professional NPO group in MN.
Outside of volunteering, I am the owner and operator of several businesses. I believe as a small business owner, I have a unique perspective to offer MNFI and its Board. As a Board member, I can use my business knowledge and expertise to help guide the organization in a forward-thinking direction. I see MNFI as an NPO that has huge growth potential, which will expand its grant outreach to the larger MN community.
Stacy Schelkoph
Grant Specialist
Term Mar 2025 - Dec 2025
Contact Information
Email address: stacys@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
I am currently the Director of a Contact Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis where I manage 65 staff. Our focus is on helping customers with Savings Bonds and Marketable securities purchases and redemptions. My day is filled with work on Strategic Direction, Staff Career Development, and Exploring Technologies to deploy.
I am interested in becoming a board member for MNFI because I would like to further apply my business knowledge to a non-profit that supports the community that I live in. As a previous board member for a High School Booster club, my experience helped me get the team everything they needed for a successful season. MNFI helps some of the same people, helping enrich the lives of our youth helps us all prepare them for becoming responsible young adults ready to become the new workforce.
Jessica Musta
COO
Term Jan 2022 - Dec 2024
Contact Information
Email address: jessicam@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
I have been volunteering with Non-Profits since 2018 and joined MNFI in 2019. Prior to volunteering with Non-Profits and MNFI, I was the Bloomington Fastpitch Tournament director from 2015 to 2018. As a Tournament Director, I worked within our community to provide youth softball teams with opportunities to compete competitively along with raising funds to support the softball organization.
Professionally, my background is in Operations Management and Legal Project Management. My experience in these areas provides insight into making positive board decisions that impact our volunteer opportunities and venue experiences.
As a board member with MNFI, my goals are to ensure that we have good relationships with our venues, volunteers have access to training, and that the organization remains fiscally responsible to continue to provide grant opportunities.
I have seen first-hand the grant opportunities that MNFI has been able to offer and I’m excited to be a part of this growing and evolving organization.
Advisory Committee
We are currently looking for volunteers willing to help in this committee. Click here for more information.
The following individuals have generously donated their passion, time, and talents to support MNFI
- Amond Neuville (Founding Board Member)
- Angie Keay
- Elizabeth DiGrazia
- Jana Kachmarek
- Heather Murphy
- Jessica Musta
- Joe Kubiatowicz
- Martin Cross (Founding Board Member)
- Miranda Oliver
- Stacy Schelkoph
Email – info@mnfundraisinginitiative.org
Call – 763-575-7585
A Non-Profit you can trust
When you give to MNFI, 96% of every dollar goes straight to our mission.
Scan here to donate to MNFI
When you give to MNFI, 96% of every dollar goes straight to our mission.
A Non-Profit you can trust
Scan here to donate to MNFI
A Non-Profit you can trust
When you give to MNFI, 96% of every dollar goes straight to our mission.
Scan here to donate to MNFI
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