OTC Foundation hires fundraising director

Ozarks Technical Community College's fundraising arm hired a new director of development.

Danielle Wise started last month at the OTC Foundation, according to a news release issued Feb. 19.

Wise is in charge of creating a development program for the foundation, including oversight of major gifts and community engagement. She's also leading private donation fundraising for the $40 million, 120,000-square-foot Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing that's under construction at the corner of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue.

“I have a passion for fundraising that makes an impact on our most vulnerable citizens,” Wise said in the release. “I’m looking forward to working with donors who understand the immense, positive influence an education can have on an individual’s life.”

As director of development, Wise succeeds Amy Bacon, who was named executive director of the foundation in July 2019, said OTC spokesperson Mark Miller. When Bacon additionally took on the chief of staff role for OTC in January 2020, the foundation began to seek a new director of development, Miller said. Wise's salary is $72,500, he said.

Wise joined OTC from The Arc of the Ozarks, where she had served as director of development and marketing since 2014, according to the release. She's also the former president of the Ozarks Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

OTC’s annual report indicates the foundation’s fund balance was $6.8 million at the end of 2020.