Jaren Harmon, Donor Engagement Specialist, joined the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne in November 2021. As part of the philanthropic services team, Jaren focuses on providing exceptional service to donors by making connections between donors’ charitable interests and needs in the community. Her goal is to help donors expand their philanthropy and shape their current and legacy goals. Jaren also works with Kiley Tate-Potts building the Community Foundation’s Youth Empowered Philanthropy (YEP) program, a new initiative in 2020 to connect youth to philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

Jaren is currently working on her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Purdue Fort Wayne and has her Certificate in Fundraising Management from the IU School of Philanthropy. She started her professional career as a Patient Care Tech at Dupont Hospital and Parkview Hospital. After realizing nursing might not be for her, she found a passion for nonprofit work when she became the Match Activities Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters. In this role, she helped strengthen the relationship between the mentors (aka Bigs) and children through free weekly programs. During Covid-19, she developed the Learning Pods program to support children who needed extra help with virtual learning. Jaren continues to volunteer at Big Brothers Big Sisters as a Big.

Jaren is a Fort Wayne native and lives here with her two dogs, Nina and Nyx. Nina is a Pitbull mix that loves to sleep and snack on bananas, and Nyx is a Cane Corso, a very large loving dog and the latest addition to the family. Jaren’s favorite thing to do is to get out and explore Fort Wayne, whether trying a new restaurant or checking out a new spot.