After 45 Years, the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund Imagines its Future: Board Member Amy Daley’s Vision
Updated: Oct 2
When Amy Daley moved to the Lakes Region full time, one of her goals was to become more involved in the community.
It did not take long for her to find a place where she felt she could make an impact.
Daley became involved with the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund after meeting Executive Director Jennifer Kelley, and she quickly found herself drawn to the organization’s broad reach and focus on children, families, and education.
“What I love about the Fund is that it’s almost like a one-stop shop,” Daley said. “You’re helping so many organizations throughout the area.”
Today, Daley serves on the Children’s Fund Board of Directors, Community Engagement Committee, and Business Relations Committee. In those roles, she has already become involved in several of the organization’s events and fundraising initiatives, including Christmas in July and Best of the Lakes.
The Community Engagement Committee helps plan, promote, and support events while also serving as a visible face for the Fund throughout the Lakes Region.
For Daley, a major focus is making those events as professional, exciting, and accessible as possible.
She sees online auctions and virtual participation as important tools for expanding the Fund’s reach beyond those who can physically attend an event.
Rather than limiting participation to the people in the room, Daley wants events to reach people throughout the region and beyond.
She also wants to continue bringing new ideas and new people into the organization.
Since becoming more involved, Daley said one of the biggest surprises has been learning just how much work happens behind the scenes.
She was especially struck by the fact that the Children’s Fund operates with only one employee and relies heavily on volunteers.
“Everyone wants to make it happen,” she said. “They want to do what’s right by their neighbors.”
Joining the board also gave her a closer look at the number of nonprofits receiving support from the Fund and how many children and families those organizations collectively serve.
“It’s incredible how many people we serve,” Daley said.
That impact has been growing for 45 years.
The Children’s Auction began in 1981, when Warren Bailey organized a one-day auction from a van in downtown Laconia to raise money for local children and families. What started as a grassroots effort has grown into a regional tradition and eventually led to the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund, which has distributed more than $10 million to more than 150 nonprofits aligned with its mission.
For Daley, the organization’s 45th anniversary is an opportunity to honor those roots while also thinking about what comes next.
Daley said the milestone should be used as a launching point.
“We want to highlight this anniversary and show how deep our roots have been,” she said. “But we also want to keep growing those roots.”
One of her biggest goals for this year is ambitious: she wants to see the Children’s Fund, reach the $1 million mark.
Daley said she wants the organization to continue surpassing its goals so it can support even more nonprofits and expand its impact throughout the Lakes Region.
But she believes that growth should extend beyond fundraising totals.
Over the next five to ten years, Daley would like to see the Children’s Fund reach more communities geographically.
She said some towns may not have the same level of awareness of the Fund or may not currently be as connected to its resources. Looking closely at where donations come from and where funding is distributed could help identify opportunities to expand that reach.
Daley would also like to bring more industries and businesses into the organization’s network.
While many sectors are already represented, she believes there are still groups that could become more involved as donors, volunteers, and partners.
Another priority is engaging younger generations.
Daley sees colleges and educational institutions throughout the region as potential partners in introducing students and young adults to the Fund’s mission.
“If we can expand that base and reach all demographics, that helps with the long-term future of the organization,” she said.
Technology will also play an important role.
The December Auction already incorporates online bidding and streaming, but Daley believes the organization needs to continue evolving.
She hopes younger volunteers will help introduce new ideas and technologies that make the Auction increasingly virtual, accessible, and engaging.
Plans for a new online auction platform next year could be one step in that direction.
For Daley, carrying the Children’s Fund into its next decade means combining the community spirit that has sustained it for 45 years with a willingness to grow.
The roots are already strong.
Now, she wants to help make sure they continue reaching farther.
The detail that surprised me most was learning that the Children’s Fund operates with just one employee while relying heavily on volunteers, especially considering that it has distributed more than $10 million to over 150 nonprofits since the original 1981 auction. I also found Amy Daley’s focus on bringing younger generations into the organisation interesting, particularly her idea of connecting with colleges and educational institutions, because long-term community involvement often depends on people finding a meaningful way to participate at different stages of life; even something as separate as HND Assignment Helper in UK reflects how education can intersect with people’s wider experiences and responsibilities. I’m curious whether the planned online auction platform will also make it easier for younger…