Arkansas Business

Jamie Higgins

Jamie Higgins’ experiences with nonprofits in high school shaped the trajectory of his career.

Organizations like Future Business Leaders of America and Family Career & Community Leaders of America “really molded me into who I am,” Higgins said.

Higgins has worked in the nonprofit sector ever since he completed a public relations degree from Harding University in Searcy in 2005. He worked for the Arkansas Foodbank Network in Little Rock, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Pulaski Technical College Foundation in North Little Rock, before he accepted his current job as director of development for the Petit Jean Youth Foundation.

Higgins has run the foundation, which is the fundraising arm of Community Service Inc. in Morrilton, since 2010. CSI is an organization that provides mental health, substance abuse and other assistance for children, regardless of their ability to pay.

As the sole employee of the foundation, Higgins is responsible for overseeing its budget and fundraising, marketing for CSI and recruiting board members for the foundation.

He said he likes the varied responsibilities of working in nonprofits and enjoys seeing “directly how my job can affect other people.”