TV news anchor shifts to helping nonprofits shine — and raise more funds

Some five years ago, Hallie Peilet Young was highly qualified to land a job in fundraising at a Sarasota nonprofit, The Haven, that provides essential services and support for children, teens and adults with disabilities and their families. The high-energy, award-winning TV anchor, with a soft spot for heartwarming news stories, had a lot of what The Haven’s CEO, Brad Jones, was looking for — especially in being able to articulate a message in a concise and compelling way. 

But Young was missing a key component for the fundraising gig: she had never actually done any fundraising. 

Photo by Mark Wemple

“Brad realized fundraising was really storytelling,” she says, “and he took a shot on me.” 

That was turning point No. 1 for Young. A Chicago native, she was an evening anchor and medical reporter for SNN in Sarasota for four years at the start of her career. She won two Telly Awards and was nominated for an Emmy. She had a niche in skillfully telling heartfelt stories of people around town going through difficult life obstacles.

But the pandemic led Young to rethink her career trajectory, and she pursued some nonprofit work. That led to The Haven — and soon after she took the job, it led to her putting together the organization’s first-ever fundraising gala in its 70-year history. She created an emotional mission moment video and led a touching “bid from the heart” on stage. “I had budgeted that we’d (raise) $25,000 because I had no idea what to expect,” she says. 

The Haven blew past that to more than $200,000, and for Young, it was turning point No. 2. “It went so well,” she says, “that that’s when I got the feeling that there was something more there.” 

That something is a company she co-founded in early 2025, with business partner and mentor Jennifer Downes, called From the Heart Fundraising. The company does what its name says, in using “the power of connection and storytelling to elevate fundraising,” through events and galas with auctions and more.

From the Heart has grown quickly in its first two years. Through September, it had handled about 70 events in 2026, more than double 2025. And notably, says Sara Howe, senior director of advancement at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties, who nominated Young for the 40 Under 40 award, she has “empowered nonprofits across our region to dream bigger and achieve more.”

Young says her mentor, Downes, is a big part of not only the company’s success, but her success as a businesswoman, entrepreneur and even expectant mother. Young says Downes is a go-to voice for issues and challenges, big and small, and for developing systems and processes that have helped streamline operations at From the Heart.

Both Young and Downes have earned Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS) designations, the latter of which are rare in Florida, and even rarer for women. And while that has helped Young, another lynchpin to her success with From the Heart harkens back to her TV days: to get better at something, few things beat just doing that something. “Just doing reps and reps,” Young says when asked how she has gotten so comfortable on stage with such high stakes. “More than anything it’s real world experience. You have to get up on the stage and do it.”