By BNG Staff
Natalie Aho has been named director of engagement and annual giving at Baptist News Global. She served previously as interactive communications specialist, a part-time, contracted position she has held since 2011.
Natalie Aho
Executive Director and Publisher David Wilkinson said the newly-created, “hybrid position” combines Aho’s expertise and experience in digital communication and social media strategy with a new assignment of planning and directing annual giving strategies to support the news organization’s day-to-day operations.
“Natalie has consistently demonstrated a commitment to BNG’s mission and a passion for strengthening our unique role as an independent, faith-based news organization amid a changing landscape for religious journalism,” Wilkinson said. “The expansion of her role reflects the outstanding quality of her work and the exciting potential for her and for BNG in growing the financial support needed to sustain our ministry.”
Aho’s full-time assignment began June 1. Her responsibilities for annual giving include developing communication, marketing and fundraising strategies and planning and leading donor-focused events. She will continue to devote approximately half her time to audience engagement and social media strategy. She will work out of her home office in Oxford, North Carolina, and BNG’s administrative offices in Winston-Salem.
Aho said she’s eager to help BNG expand its reach and influence and to grow the financial investment in the organization’s mission through the generosity of donors who value an autonomous and trustworthy source of news and opinion.
“Every day at baptistnews.com we host conversations that matter,” she said. “Our goal is to interpret Christianity and culture through compelling journalism that informs and motivates people of faith to make a difference in the world.
“Although the majority of our readers and supporters are Baptist Christians,” she added, “our reach extends to the broader religious world. We are also focused on creating effective ways to connect with those who identify as Christian but now sit outside the church, and with those who are spiritual but not religious.”
BNG provides all its content free of charge, depending on contributions and earnings from endowment for more than 90 percent of its operating budget. Aho will work alongside Wilkinson and the board of directors to grow the annual fund as the organization’s primary means of financial support.
Aho earned a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and a master of science in interactive media from Quinnipiac University in New Haven, Connecticut. She and her husband, Chris, pastor of Oxford Baptist Church, have two sons.