Nonprofit Guidance

Madison Shorey ’25 calls it perfect timing. After running a field hockey club with her dad in their hometown of Belfast, Maine, the two decided to launch a nonprofit, BBE Sports, offering accessible youth sports to rural communities throughout the state. Just as the nonprofit was getting its start, Shorey met a Stonehill mentor who would help her with each step along the way.

“I was taking the Roles of Not-for-Profit Organizations in the U.S. course when BBE Sports obtained its 501(c)(3). Early in the semester, a panel of guest speakers presented on various aspects of nonprofit work,” says Shorey, a psychology major with a business minor. Marie (Kehoe) Kelly ’00 was one of those guest speakers.

The director of corporate, foundation and donor relations at Stonehill, Kelly shared her experiences with grant writing and mentioned that she often works with student interns. Shorey didn’t miss a beat. At the end of class, she introduced herself to Kelly and asked about interning.

“I knew from the beginning that Madison was serious about nonprofit work, so we built an internship from the ground up where she could learn everything from writing an annual fund appeal letter and planning donor events to marketing on social media and managing a budget,” says Kelly, who majored in both English and psychology when she was a Stonehill student. “It was practical because it was important that Madison could apply the lessons directly to BBE Sports.”

Trying to establish a nonprofit from a distance was no easy task. Shorey, a field hockey goalie for the Skyhawks, and her dad communicated daily. “There were so many unknowns for us. Marie’s mentorship helped me with every aspect as we were building out BBE Sports,” says Shorey. “We now have expanded to five programs in just a few months.”

After graduation, Shorey plans to further develop BBE Sports—which stands for Be Better Every day—and earn a graduate degree in psychology. She feels prepared to do both.

“Stonehill focuses on the entire person,” Shorey says. “I knew I wanted to be open to a lot of different opportunities—sports, volunteering, clubs, this internship. My whole experience as a student set me up for life after graduation.”

[Illustration by Rachel Idzerda.]