Prospect Development for Small Fundraising Shops - Monthly Brown Bag Lunch and Learn

Ashley Estes

Prospect Development Manager, Houston Food Bank

Ashley Estes currently serves as the Prospect Development Manager at the Houston Food Bank. She has 11 years of fundraising experience in the Houston non-profit community. She began her development career at the Houston Food Bank in 2008 as the organization’s first ever Manager of Corporate Partnerships. Here, she developed a strategic corporate partnership program and managed the Community Events Coordinator who was responsible for 8 major, annual events. In 2013, she moved to Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) where she served as the Assistant Director of Resource Development, soliciting and managing private foundation and government grants. After a year and a half at LSLA, Ashley was recruited to South Texas College of Law Houston (STCLH) as the Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations. In her four years at STCLH, she grew the grant program more than 350% and implemented a formalized corporate partnership program. In February 2019, Ashley returned to the Food Bank to work with the major gifts team as the Prospect Development Manager. In her current role, she works closely with the gift officers to manage their donor portfolios, conducts regular screenings to identify new prospects, provides in-depth prospect research, and compiles analytical reports to help guide the work of the major gifts team. Ashley is a native Houstonian. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Baylor University and a law degree from the University of Houston. She currently lives in the Near Northside with her husband, Andrew, and their dog, June.