“If I am not for myself, then who will be? If I am only for myself, than what am I?”~ The great teacher, Hillel~
Portland native Della Rae is the founder of DonorsResource.org, an online nonprofit organization that connects individuals and businesses that want to donate “stuff” to nonprofits in need. Della launched this organization in 2007, after more than a decade in the insurance and finance industry, three years on the board of the North Portland Nurse Practitioners Clinic, and six years as head of Sisters of the Community, which she cofounded with her sister, Deborah Waggoner.
Through Sisters of the Community, the parent organization of DonorsResource.org, Della and Deborah distributed more than 20,000 items in just 18 months—an experience that showed Della the need for an online form of the organization. And that need was substantial, considering that in its first year of operation, DonorsResource.org registered 240 nonprofits and claimed more than 7,000 items for distribution.
But Della did not quit while she was ahead. Just two years following the remarkable debut of DonorsResrouce.org, she launched TimeandStuff.org, another registered trademark of Sisters of the Community and an online collaborative organization with HandsOn Greater Portland, a local affiliate of the national nonprofit group HandsOn Network. Just two years after that, Della created an innovative youth learning project in which students from Riverdale High School assume leadership roles at DonorsResource.org to help with everything from program coordination to development and marketing.
For this work and more, Della has received numerous professional awards. They include include the 2007 Regence BlueCross BlueShield Hero Award, the 2008 Portland Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award, the 2008 Safeco Foundation National Hero Award, the 2009 Delta Sigma Theta Woman of Excellence Community Service Award, and the 2009 Symetra Community Champion Award. Della also remains active as a board member of Sisters of the Community, a member of The Six Masters and chair of the Wild Women Society Committee.
The small actions of many deliver great outcomes for all—this is the vision that drives Della Rae in all that she does to engage the people of this community to act in concert to achieve the common good. www.DellaRae.net
