Advisory Board Member • Donor
Fran Codispoti is a natural-born connector and when she gets excited about a project, it will occupy space in her brain and in her heart for a long time. When she was asked to share her fundraising expertise with FCE’s ED and Board Chair, she was immediately inspired by the organization’s core values: “FCE provides the community where students and their families learn to trust each other and support each other.” In 2003, FCE’s development efforts were typical of a young nonprofit: on the back burner with donations coming mostly from friends of staff. Fran brought a level of professional fundraising to FCE’s early development efforts; she has been open and thoughtful about introducing friends to FCE and encouraging the practice in others. Sixteen years later, Fran continues to advocate for FCE to a community of partners and donors.
Fran has been honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Silicon Valley Chapter as Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser, by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and Palo Alto Weekly with the Tall Trees Award for Outstanding Citizen Volunteer, and by Avenidas with a Lifetime of Achievement award for her contributions to the community. And all this time, it seemed like FCE alone had all of Fran’s attention!