Developing Deeper Connections for Community Support:

Development Director Annie Herz

March 30, 2021


The current expansion of CSS Safe Spots in Eugene is an exciting and challenging opportunity at many levels. Everyone associated with CSS is working hard to make it happen. Approximately 90 residents will have new shelter and stability in their lives at one of the five new camps. It’s all quite amazing and has happened in a very short time.

 

Yet there is so much more to do, as the current crisis of homelessness and economic uncertainty continues to grow.

 

Annie Herz sees this challenge as an opportunity to expand the CSS model of community supported solutions. Annie serves as CSS Development Director, a position she moved into in January of this year.

 

“We’re ramping up as fast as we can, and it is exciting that we are doing it in a way that maintains our positive culture that’s been so successful,” says Annie.

 

Annie oversees fundraising and outreach for CSS, a big job for an organization that has relied on local donors for the vast majority of its funding. Recent grants from the City of Eugene and Lane County have funded the surge, but contributions from local donors have always been the heart and soul of CSS revenue and will continue to be well beyond the current expansion.

 

“I’m very excited to be cultivating connections with our donors and supporters who have been so generous with CSS,” she says. “This is such an amazing organization that does so much good work. I’m happy to be part of the mission of CSS that transforms lives for those without shelter and sometimes without a healthy community.”

Annie is part of a strong three-person Development team that includes Pujita Mayeda and Daisy Mills. Daisy keeps the wider community of supporters updated with social media communications, while Pujita works with Annie on development strategies and manages the many details associated with donor communications and database management.

 

The team also does extensive community outreach and a fair amount of behind the scenes work. This includes creating reports and other informational materials and videos.

 

Annie first came to CSS in 2019 as a volunteer on the Hut Crew. “I like to build things and wanted to learn more about the great work CSS was doing in the community,” she says. “So the Hut Crew was a perfect fit for me.” She has continued on the Hut Crew even after accepting the development position.

 

“I love building these Huts and want to stay connected to the crew,” she says.

 

Annie worked at the University of Oregon for over 20 years, where she served in positions related to conflict resolution, human resources, and leadership development. She left the UO to pursue a new professional path and is thrilled to have landed at CSS.

 

Annie is also part of the three-person CSS Leadership Team, along with Executive Director Tod Schneider and Operations Director Erik de Buhr. The team meets regularly to ensure coordinated leadership of current projects and to plan for future organizational directions.

 

“Annie is a perfect fit for CSS,” says Erik. “She has a great background for this work, and she’s very friendly and approachable. She really understands the culture we’ve been creating here the past eight years or so, and that’s really important.”

 

“I feel right at home with everyone at CSS,” Annie says. “It’s such a delight to be working here. It’s a pretty unique place in that everyone is valued equally, no matter what your job is.

 

“It’s such an amazing time of growth, and it is exciting to think about all of the ways we can partner with our donors and supporters as we navigate the possibilities for the future.”

News & Events

To stay connected to CSS, subscribe to our quarterly newsletter. If you are a member of the media who is seeking info, contact community@cssoregon.org.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Hope in a Difficult Time

October 31, 2025
As we move deeper into fall and prepare for the cold months ahead, we want to share an update on our work and a reflection on what this season means for our community. Recent policy changes and funding reductions across Oregon are already having consequences for people experiencing homelessness. New SNAP rules are e

Turning Art Into Income

October 30, 2025
Since the inception of the CSS workforce development program in 2024, it has become clear that not everyone is interested or able to work in a traditional workplace. It can be quite the challenge to locate jobs that are part time, supportive, accessible to folks with disabilities or criminal history, to name but a few

Warming Hearts with Welcome Totes

October 29, 2025
When someone moves, they may receive housewarming gifts to celebrate their new beginning, which can help a new house or apartment start to feel like a real home. Each person who moves into a Conestoga Hut receives something akin to a "Hut-warming" gift. “A welcome tote is given to new clients when they move into a Hu

Class aims to help unhoused people learn to make and sell their own art

October 27, 2025
Linda Southwood’s handmade jewelry, she said, is a part of her. Making her beaded bracelets and necklaces from reclaimed wood has been a relaxing constant for Southwood, 52, especially after her home burned down three years ago and she struggled to find housing. She’s a graduate of a new arts entrepreneurship progra

The Future: A New Building For CSS!

July 26, 2025
Because of your support, we’re growing into something bigger—two new spaces designed to better serve our unhoused neighbors. Community Supported Shelters is in the middle of an exciting transformation. After over a decade at our Grant Street location, we’ve purchased a new building that will allow us to bring our in

The Present: CSS to Make a Big Move

July 25, 2025
“Everyone will have desks,” declares Blake Burrell, CSS Director of Community Impact, anticipating the move of most of the CSS staff and programs from 1160 Grant Street to 2870 West 10th Place, a former Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles facility. The move will take place between now and the end of 2025.

The Past: A History of Heart at 1160 Grant

July 24, 2025
Erik de Buhr fell in love with the building at 1160 Grant long before there was a Community Supported Shelters. He was involved with a group that built things out of salvaged materials (Resurrected Refuse Action Team), including huts that would turn out to be precursors to the CSS Conestoga Huts. “I’d been eyeballing t

CSS is Now Operating the Nightingale Safe Spot

July 23, 2025
In partnership with the Nightingale Board of Directors and the City of Eugene, CSS is ensuring the Nightingale Safe Spot continues to operate in South Eugene. In the month of July, CSS officially began to operate the Nightingale Safe Spot Community in South Eugene. As the organization moves its home to our new building

Donor Spotlight: Eugene REALTORS® YPN

July 22, 2025
The Eugene REALTORS® Young Professionals Network had their yearly ‘Sip of Summer’ event to raise money for Community Supported Shelters. A good time was had by all with games, a raffle, BBQ, and great networking at Alton Baker Park. This was their 5th fundraiser for CSS, and they raised $3,300 this year to Adopt-a-Hut.

Volunteer Spotlight: UO Duck Corps

July 21, 2025
This summer, we've been collaborating with UO Duck Corps, who have been giving Hut exteriors some good scrubbing. Dustin (the staff member taking the selfie), says, "It's so encouraging to see a younger generation work against stereotypes about the unhoused and have such an interest in helping their community."
Show More