Big Brothers Big Sisters Announces New Chief Development Officer

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Sept. 1, 2016 - PRLog -- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire, the largest local one-to-one youth mentoring organization, has promoted Sloane Keane to the newly created role of chief development officer.

"This is an incredibly significant elevation for Sloane and I am very excited for what lies ahead," says Melissa Beck, chief executive officer. "This is a tribute to her strategic and concentrated focus not only on stewarding donors and board members, but taking an active responsibility for all of the revenue as we continue down the road to serving 4,000 children."

Since joining Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2013 as the director of fund development, Keane has helped double revenue from $2.6 million to well over $5 million. These funds have allowed the organization to increase the number of youth served to more than 3,000 annually, while also strengthening the quality and longevity of existing matches.

Keane works closely with Beck to raise funds in support of the agency's goal to serve an additional 1,000 children by 2019.

"I started my journey as a Big Sister. This is not just my job, it is my passion," says Keane, a Newport Beach resident. "As we continue to grow, it will be more crucial than ever that we have strong financial foundation that will allow us to focus on recruitment and retention of our mentors."

One of the national organization's leading agencies in the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire provided more than 3,000 children facing adversity with professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships in 2015. Ninety-eight percent of children in the program graduated high school on time, 90 percent enrolled in college, and 100 percent said their mentors were their biggest influence on pursuing a higher education. For more information, visit ocbigs.org.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire

Big Brothers Big Sisters believes that with the support of a caring mentor, every child has the ability to achieve his or her full potential. It is the nation's largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring organization, serving a quarter-million children annually. Based in Santa Ana, Calif., the Orange County agency was incorporated in 1958 and works as a local extension of the national effort to make professionally supported, one-to-one matches between mentors ("Bigs") and children ("Littles") facing adversity. Together with the Inland Empire agency, which opened its doors in 2013, the local organization served more than 3,000 children in 2015 through programs that improve the odds of youth performing better in school and avoiding violence and illegal activities. For more information, visit ocbigs.org (http://www.ocbigs.org/).