Native Midlander’s passion is fundraising for local nonprofitsNovember 06, 2024

Tim Jakel, Jr., remembers growing up in Midland, attending seven different elementary schools and graduating from Midland High School in 2010.  

“There were many times when my mother couldn’t afford a place to live, so we moved around a lot,” Jakel recalled.  “We even lived in a women’s shelter for a while.  

“For a few years, I didn’t have much consistency in my life as a young child, except for the after-school program at the Midland Boys & Girls Club.  No matter what school I attended, every afternoon I would go to the Boys & Girls Club.  That’s where I met some of my best friends.  

“There were other Midland nonprofit organizations that helped us out, as well.  I believe that’s what gave me my passion for working in the nonprofit sector.”

Jakel is currently Director of Development and Donor Engagement for Casa de Amigos, one of the nonprofit agencies that he said assisted his family when he was a child.  He has been with the local social services organization for less than a year, but he hit the ground running to raise funds for Casa de Amigos.  

“While I’ve always wanted to be involved in the Midland nonprofit community, I really didn’t know what that would look like until I started volunteering with the Make-a-Wish Foundation,” Jakel explained.  “At the time, I was working as a marketing representative for My Community Federal Credit Union, and they encouraged me to get involved in the community.  So, I coordinated the annual local Make-A-Wish golf tournament for several years.  We increased funds generated from the golf tournament from $5,000 to $85,000.  That gave me the bug for fundraising.

“I owe a lot of my fundraising skills to my grandmother Rafaela Vejar.  I lived with her from the time I was in the 6th grade until I graduated from high school.  She was just under 5 feet tall, but I knew I better do what she said.  She never took ‘no’ for an answer and taught me to do the same!”

While Jakel has been working in the Midland nonprofit sector for over 14 years, he thought his career would take another direction when he was playing football as an offensive tackle for the Midland High Bulldogs.  

“I fractured my sternum during my senior year in high school,” he said.  “Before that happened, I was hoping to attend college on a football scholarship.  I then pivoted and made what I believe to be one of the better decisions of my life:  I enrolled at Midland College.  From 2010-2013,  I worked full-time during the day and attended night classes.  I would get off work at 5:30, drive to Midland College, quickly eat a sandwich in my car and go to class from 6:00-9:00 most evenings.  Even though I was extremely tired and busy, I had so much fun and have very fond memories of my time at Midland College.

“On the weekends and in the evenings when I didn’t have class, I went to the MC Fitness Center and played basketball with some of the guys on the MC Basketball team.  In fact, I have a souvenir from those pick-up basketball games. I broke my finger, and I just taped it with scotch tape and kept on playing.  Now I can’t get that finger to lay flat, so every time I look at it, I remember those great times at Midland College!”

Jakel graduated from Midland College with an associate degree in Business and now gives back to Midland College as vice president of the Midland College Alumni & Former Students Association.  

After graduating from MC, he continued his education taking online classes from Colorado State University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree majoring in Business Marketing.  He also recently completed the Nonprofit Management Center’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership Course.

During the time Jakel was attending Midland College, he worked as an intern for My Community Federal Credit Union and continued employment there for a total of seven years. He then found a place in nonprofit development as the Senior Development Manager for Distinguished Events with the Midland Chapter of the American Cancer Society.  

“Working at the American Cancer Society enabled me to learn in-depth about fundraising and donor stewardship,” he explained.  “I was also able to attend American Cancer Society galas all over the nation and see behind the scenes.  That’s where I really learned how to build fundraising teams and coordinate events.”

For three years in a row, Jakel coordinated the annual Cattle Baron’s Ball.  In 2019, the last year he coordinated the event, the gala raised close to $1 million and had the lowest expense rate of any American Cancer Society event in the nation. 

“My goal for 2020 was to go above the $1 million mark, but I never got a chance because of the COVID Pandemic,” Jakel said.

After the Pandemic, he accepted a job as the Development Director for the Boys & Girls Club of the Permian Basin, an organization that held happy childhood memories for him.  

“That’s where I finally met my event goal of raising over $1 million,” he stated.  “We raised over $1.4 million with the help of our wonderful entertainer Jay Leno.”  

Earlier this year, after being highly recommended by several prominent community members, Casa de Amigos offered Jakel his current position, where in the first few months of employment, he helped raise over $160,000.  

His family life also keeps him busy.  He and his wife Courtney have been married for 5 ½ years.  The couple have a 4-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son together. Their blended family also consists of a 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.  A favorite vacation spot is the Fort Davis area, where Jakel said he is able to “unplug” for a bit. 

Even though he broke a finger playing basketball when he was attending Midland College, Jakel still enjoys the sport, usually playing with his brother Michael at the Midland YMCA, another local nonprofit organization that Jakel proudly promotes.

“I’ll always be in the nonprofit sector,” he said.  ““Without the amazing volunteers and community support, these beautiful organizations that help so many people would not exist, and my job and purpose would not exist.  I want to wake up every morning and know that I’m doing something that genuinely helps people in this community!”