Donna Marino
Senior Vice President/Catholic Charities Division Director

Donna has 35 years of Development experience including over 20 years serving the Catholic Church. She is a native of Connecticut, and served in senior management positions with two religious orders: the Religious of the Sacred of Mary in New York and the Sisters of Mercy in Connecticut as a college advancement officer responsible for annual, capital and endowment fundraising campaigns. Her Diocesan and parish experience includes distinguished service as the Executive Director of Development for the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, where, as a member of the Bishop’s senior leadership team. She managed the Annual Bishop’s Appeal and a comprehensive major gifts program, which, resulted in the highest average annual fund gift of all dioceses nationwide.


Donna is well known in the community as a mentor to many young development professionals and has presented at numerous fundraising and board development conferences.


In 2007, Donna and her family relocated to Phoenix, AZ where she served as the President and CEO of the Catholic Community Foundation, the ninth largest Catholic foundation in the United States with assets of $50 million and 300 funds under management for the benefit of 93 parishes, 24 missions and 35 Catholic Schools. Her most recent position before joining Greater Mission was with Catholic Education Arizona, where, as President and CEO she managed a comprehensive annual scholarship campaign of $18 million in gifts from corporations and individuals benefitting 6,000 K-12 students at Catholic schools in Arizona.

Donna is an active, high profile volunteer, having served on over 11 Boards of Directors since relocating to Phoenix. She is well known in the community as a mentor to many young development professionals and has presented at numerous fundraising and board development conferences. She received a 4 year scholarship to Boston University from which she received a Bachelor of Science degree. In addition, she is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s prestigious Executive Leadership program: Strategic Perspectives in Non- Profit Management. Donna resides in Scottsdale, AZ and is a parishioner at Our Lady of Joy parish in Carefree, AZ. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and visiting Mexico.