Jaye Lopez Van Soest, CFRE
Jaye is a development executive with over 25 years experience working with nonprofits and foundations to advocate for social and economic justice.
As Senior Director of Development, Jaye leads a team charged with engaging and inspiring foundations and donors to help advance Fair Food Network’s mission to connect people to the power of food to grow community health and wealth.
Previously, Jaye worked with the American Foundation for the Blind where she led development efforts to advocate for structural change to promote accessibility, equality, and opportunity for people who are blind or visually impaired. She also led development at Public Justice, which pursues high impact lawsuits to combat social and economic injustice, protect the Earth’s sustainability, and challenge predatory corporate conduct and government abuses. Her work also included development for University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, one of only six American Bar Association-accredited law schools at an HBCU in the nation. Jaye held frontline development positions at the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy, and the Human Rights Campaign.
Jaye is a past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Washington, DC Chapter (AFP DC) and served on the board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP Global).
Born and raised in suburban Los Angeles, Jaye graduated from the University of Southern California. She earned her initial CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) certification in 2010. She is based in Northern Virginia and lives with her spouse and two cuddly black Labrador Retriever mixes named Jack and Bella. She is a voracious reader and enjoys travel and opera and especially pairing those two things together.
In Her Own Words
What is your favorite quote?
Can I offer two? I’m giving two!!
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” Rumi
“From the start, words were more important to me than real life, and certainly more interesting.” Robert Gottlieb
Who is your favorite woman fundraiser or philanthropist of color?
Alice L. Ferris, MBA, CFRE, ACFRE, Foundering Partner
Photo Credit: GoalBusters Consulting
Alice L. Ferris, MBA, CFRE, ACFRE, Foundering Partner, GoalBusters Consulting, continues to inspire and teach me every time I interact with her. There is one caveat to my admiration; Alice seems to live more life in the same amount of time. She makes me feel a touch of onism (the awareness of how little of the world you’ll experience [in one’s lifetime]).
Regardless, she makes me aspirationally ponder how much more I could get done in a day. We do have one thing in common -- Alice was the “top cookie salesperson” in Girl Scouts in McFarland, Wisconsin. I was too in my hometown of La Puente, California.
Bonus question: Favorite Girl Scout cookie? It’s a toss-up between Samoas and Tagalongs!!
Has your work in development and advocacy inspired your passion to give back to the fundraising profession through volunteer service and mentorship?
I have this beautiful leather-bound notebook which has the following Bible verse engraved on it, “To whom much is given, much shall be required.” Luke 12:48.
I am mindful of how blessed I have been throughout my career. I also have been inspired by the volunteership of others. My volunteering ebbs and flows, but mentorship is an ongoing passion. I didn’t set out to do this, but I have ended up focusing my mentorship on women of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Some days it feels like falling in love all at once, as I hear the passion, the conviction of my colleagues when they talk about our work, our impact.
Where do you want to be in 3 years?
I plan to be exactly where I am, with the Fair Food Network. When I first entered into conversation with my Executive Director in late fall of 2020, she made it clear she was looking for a collaborative partner. Nine months into my tenure, I realized she wasn't joking! (I actually realized around the six-month marker.)
Every day I’m leaning into what I know, and challenging myself to stretch to become the leader this organization needs me to be. And I’m in love with the mission, the way we hope to change the world. Every day, I get to fall in love with my work all over again. Some days it’s like falling in love slowly, as I work to strengthen our culture of philanthropy, and improve systems and processes so we can more effectively engage with our donors, funders and investors. Some days it feels like falling in love all at once, as I hear the passion, the conviction of my colleagues when they talk about our work, our impact.
Do you have any advice for other women of color fundraisers–– whether they are in Canada, the United States, or the international WOC community at large?
Be very clear with your asks. Yes, I’m talking about asks related to fundraising, but I’m also referring to asks for support, mentorship, and sponsorship. Don’t just suggest getting together for coffee, provide date/time options. Don’t just ask to ‘pick’ someone’s brain; be explicit about what you hope to learn from someone and why. If you think someone gives incredible presentations, tell them! Let them know you’re interested in learning from them what are the keys to their successful presentation-style.
I also think it’s important — if feasible economically — to work with an executive/leadership and/or career coach. Don’t consider it an expense; look at it as an investment in yourself! Consider this in your negotiations when starting a new position — ask for three or six-months of leadership coaching.
The investment will likely be catalytic. I’ve worked with a career coach in the past. He helped me determine that going back to grad school wasn’t the right path for what I ultimately wanted to achieve careerwise. I have a very hard time saying ‘no’ to people. He helped me reframe it to focus on when to say ‘yes’. What was my criteria for saying yes? He helped me develop behaviors that encourage me to rely on the criteria I established for when to say yes. Saying no is still hard, but I feel more confident in my yeses — that whatever it is I am saying yes to is in my best interest as well as the best interest of the party asking.
