Enrique Ball, Vice President for Development and Marketing, Public Allies

Background: Born in Venezuela, Mr. Ball, 44, came to the United States when he was 12. In November he began his new role at the Milwaukee group, which promotes community service in part by a 10-month training program that prepares young people in 21 cities to become nonprofit leaders. Mr. Ball previously served as director of development for Pro Mujer International, a nonprofit lender in New York that supplies microcredit internationally.

Why he says he is a good fund raiser: Early in Mr. Ball’s career, he worked as a community organizer for the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. “Community organizing is not just good for training for presidents—it’s also good training for fund raisers,” he says. “It really does teach you to listen to people and find out what’s important to them.”

Education: Earned a bachelor’s degree in international development from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., in 1989.

His goals: Public Allies recently added programs in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Fla., and Washington, and Mr. Ball hopes to help find new money to finance growth. At the top of his to-do list: talk to the organization’s alumni to learn what difference Public Allies has made in their lives and careers. “It’s the personal stories that are going to inspire additional support,” he says.

Salary: He declined to reveal it. The charity’s annual budget is $14-million.

Book he’s currently reading: From the Closet to the Courtroom: Five LGBT Rights Lawsuits That Have Changed Our Nation, by Carlos A. Ball, his brother.