The Community Foundation welcomed Stacye Trout in February as the new Development Director. Trout previously worked at the Community Foundation from 2012-2016 as the Regional Health Director to fight childhood obesity throughout the 11-county region, partnering with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“Stacye demonstrated her leadership abilities with the Community Foundation when she led our nationally-recognized efforts to reduce childhood obesity in our region. She also has provided leadership for other organizations in DeSoto County and throughout our region. We are excited to welcome her back in this expanded role to connect people who care with causes that matter to our region’s quality of life,” said Community Foundation President Tom Pittman.
Trout previously worked with Delta Magazine as the Special Projects Director, implementing a digital media plan, special marketing projects, and coordinating the Mississippi Secretary of State Bicentennial Book. She then joined the advancement team in community engagement at The Baddour Center, leading fundraising and volunteer efforts in support of residents living with intellectual disabilities.
Growing up in New Mexico, Trout holds a business degree from New Mexico State University, where she proudly represented the school as an Aggie cheerleader from 2003 – 2006. After college, she joined Southwest Airlines Flight Operations, headquartered in Dallas, scheduling pilots in accordance to the FAA. While there, she volunteered with the LUV Classic Golf Tournament in Dallas, as well as the Fort Worth Ronald McDonald House, Battered Women’s Shelter of Dallas, and was a flight operations ambassador for the Orlando base.
Since making Mississippi home, Trout has served on the boards of Leadership DeSoto, Junior Auxiliary of DeSoto County, Charleston Main Street Association, and is a former President of the DeSoto Arts Council. She is married to Cal Trout, from Charleston, Mississippi, and they have one daughter, Ava.
“Stacye is a tremendously valuable addition to the Community Foundation’s team. We are very fortunate to have her professional skillset to help us achieve our Strategic Plan goal of raising our total assets to $50 million. We anticipate her work will greatly support our effort to create a culture of philanthropy in Northwest Mississippi,” said Keith Fulcher, Community Foundation Executive Vice President.
Since 2002, the Foundation has expanded to serve 11 counties, made grants of more than $27 million to 800+ charitable organizations, organized nationally recognized programs in health and education, and developed total net assets of more than $20 million.
As Development Director, Trout will be responsible for developing and stewarding donors. “I’m delighted to join the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi again. This organization does tremendous work in our 11-county region. I’ve been fortunate to have worked under Tom Pittman’s guidance and I’m excited to use that experience to continue moving our region forward, now with Keith Fulcher,” said Stacye Trout.
The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi manages 240 donor-established funds. Established in 2002 with a generous grant from the Maddox Foundation, the Community Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 charitable organization. The Foundation serves Bolivar, Coahoma, DeSoto, Leflore, Marshall, Panola, Quitman, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, and Tunica counties. A board of 19 volunteer civic leaders governs the Community Foundation. Learn more about the Community Foundation at www.cfnm.org or call 662.449.5002. Follow the Community Foundation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CFNM315/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CFNM_2002.