Better Together appoints Maria Hayes as chief financial officer

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Feb. 16, 2024 - PRLog -- Better Together, a nonprofit dedicated to families and children, has hired Maria Hayes as its chief financial officer.

In this position, Hayes will work alongside Better Together's CEO Megan Rose to oversee financial decisions, communication with key stakeholders and overall strategy for the organization. Hayes brings over two decades of financial expertise to her role and actively pursues continued education focusing on nonprofit financial management.

Hayes' deep affection for nonprofits began in 1998 when she joined a continuing care retirement community as its director of accounting. In 2002, she founded Maria P. Hayes CPA & Associates, PLLC, which primarily focused on services for nonprofits and churches. Most recently, Hayes was CFO for the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. She earned her master's degree in accounting from the University of South Florida and holds multiple certifications as a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and Certified Finance Manager.

"We are so excited for Maria to join our team and help us expand Better Together's impact across the state," said Megan Rose, CEO of Better Together. "Her experience working with nonprofits and churches will prove invaluable when furthering relationships with our partners."

Better Together helps parents who are going through a hard time to keep their kids out of foster care, find work and address the root causes of their struggle so that they can reunite as a family with the tools and support system to thrive. Established in Southwest Florida eight years ago, the nonprofit's programming has rapidly expanded to reach families in 24 counties across the state. To date, the program has served 9,000 children and kept 98% of children served through mentoring and hosting out of foster care, while helping nearly 42,000 job seekers find employment through church-based job fairs across 22 states.

To learn more about Better Together and its mission, visit BetterTogetherus.org.

ABOUT BETTER TOGETHER

Better Together is a nonprofit organization that helps parents going through a hard time keep their kids out of foster care, find work and address the root causes of their struggle so that they can reunite as a family with the tools and support system to thrive. A privately funded organization, Better Together is made up of volunteers who believe helping people help themselves is the best way to restore dignity and bring families together. Through the Better Families program, families are offered a preventive alternative to foster care while they get the help they need. To date, the program has kept 98% of children served out of foster care. The Better Jobs program was created to address the 76% of families that come to Better Together because of economic hardship tied to unemployment. In addition to community job fairs, the program offers job seekers coaching, guidance, support and encouragement through local church partners.