People

The work of NCGives is done both through local and statewide partnerships and through its central office staff:

Donna Chavis Executive Director

Donna Chavis , Executive Director of NCGives, is committed to the health and well-being of the nonprofit sector and the role it plays in the common good for all. She has served the sector in a number of capacities over the past 35 years. Among her leadership roles, she has held the seat of chair or co-chair of the board for the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, the Fund for Southern Communities, the Changemakers Fund, Robeson Health Care Corporation, Wildacres Leadership Initiative and the NC Center for Nonprofits. Donna has also served on the governing body of the Presbyterian Hunger Program Committee, the UCC Commission for Racial Justice, and the Planning Committee of the First National People of Color Environmental Justice Summit. She currently sits as the chair of the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities childhood obesity initiative and vice-chair of the board of Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina. Immediately prior to her position with NCGives, she served as the chief operating officers of the Center for Community Action, a nonprofit based in Lumberton, NC that she co-founded in 1980. Donna is a member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina and resides with her family in the ancestral home of Pembroke, NC. Donna graduated from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke with a BS in Math and Psychology.

Dan E. Moore Founder

Dan helps people and organizations increase their capacity to achieve their goals, especially through strategic giving and fund raising. All of this work draws upon his almost 20 years at the Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. As Vice President for Programs, he provided leadership to the following areas: philanthropy and volunteerism, Latin American and Caribbean programming, food systems and rural development, information and communications technology, leadership grant making, the Kellogg National Leadership Program, and the Kellogg International Leadership Program. Before going to Kellogg, Dr. Moore was a faculty member at Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His bachelor's degree is from The Ohio State University, Columbus. His master's and Ph.D. degrees in sociology were earned at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Melinda McKee Public Relations & Communications Director

Melinda first joined the NCGives team through the Public Allies fellowship program before coming on staff in 2008. Prior to coming to NCGives, she worked with volunteers and clients at the Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina as a Faith Ministries Associate. Melinda graduated from Campbell University, where she studied Mass Communications and Spanish. In her free time, she volunteers as a women’s self-defense instructor, blogs about the role of technology in our lives, and plays the cello.

Arlene Ugbaja Program Coordinator

During her tenure as an administrator in government, university and nonprofit settings, Arlene worked extensively with NCGives’ primary populations of women, people of color and young people. She spent most of her professional career as an academic advisor at NC State University and administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also worked at the NC Council on the Status of Women. Most recently, Arlene served as Director of Programs at a community development corporation in Culver City, CA before joining NCGives. Arlene volunteers for a number of causes and is presently putting her new knowledge of the sector to work by organizing a giving circle. Arlene is a graduate of South Carolina State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

NCGives Advisory Board Members

NCGives is advised by a group of individuals selected with consideration for diversity in all its dimensions. This board represents the audiences of NCGives, the geography of North Carolina, a range of involvement in the nonprofit sector and, most importantly, a demonstrated commitment to leadership in promoting inclusive giving.

Mr. Jay Chaudhuri (Wake County)
Ms. Mickey Locklear (Edgecombe County)
Ms. Mercedes Rodriguez (Cumberland County)
Mr. Ray Rogers (Pitt County)
Ms. Annette Taylor (Durham County)
Dr. Eugene Wright, Jr.* (Cumberland County)