Allison Cooley, an arts industry veteran, will lead fundraising at Waterville Creates as the nonprofit’s inaugural development director.
Working closely with the board and leadership team, Cooley will oversee major fundraising and donor relations “to take our development efforts to the next level,” said Shannon Haines, president and CEO of Waterville Creates.
The new role reflects both the organization’s expanding programming needs and the arts’ overall impact on Central Maine’s broader economy, according to Waterville Creates.
“In order to keep our programs accessible, we rely on grants, sponsorships, memberships and contributions from individuals,” Haines said. “Allison will help us to strategically grow these contributed revenue sources to ensure that we are able to fulfill our mission for generations to come.”
Previous roles
Cooley previously served as chief development officer at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Mass., and at the Cambridge, Mass.-based Longy School of Music, an affiliate of Bard College. She was also a senior individual giving officer at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Her earlier roles include positions with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras.
Waterville Creates, based at the downtown Paul J. Schupf Art Center, which opened in 2022, is staffed by 36 full- and part-time employees and had a 2025 operating budget of around $5 million. Haines was honored as a Mainebiz Outstanding Woman in Business in 2025.