Giving Rye is a feature series highlighting non-profits and community groups in and around the City of Rye. Today meet Victoria McMahon of 2029 Fundraising – Rye Professional Firefighters Inc.
Your Name: Victoria McMahon
Name of your organization: 2029 Fundraising – Rye Professional Firefighters Inc.
Your role: Vice President
MyRye.com: Tell us your organization’s mission:
McMahon: The purpose of our charity is to raise funds to support local causes and organizations on an as-needed basis while also reserving emergency funds to support the families of local firefighters during times of tragedy. The rolling grant application process allows local individuals and organizations to apply for grants and sponsorships on an as-needed basis. Each grant application is reviewed and voted on by our board of directors that is made up of both firefighters and residents of Rye.
How long have you operated in or around Rye?
McMahon: 2029 Fundraising is a 501(c)(3) formed by The Rye Professional Firefighters local 2029 Union in 2024.
What programming or work is the organization best known for?
McMahon: The proceeds we raised through our annual St. Patrick’s Day Ball in March have allowed us to support some of Rye’s most important community impact projects and organizations.
- Friends of Rye Nature Center – We donated $25,000 to fund a critical capital project: constructing a new driveway into the Nature Center which will allow access for emergency vehicles where there is currently none.
- Midland Elementary School’s Thrive Outside Campaign – We donated $10,000 to help the Midland PTO build a new playground and outdoor learning space.
- The Rye Free Reading Room – During our short time in operation we have donated $17,500 in sponsorships to fund library programming at the Rye Free Reading Room.
Many don’t realize that we also reserve a percentage of funds raised each year into an emergency fund for the families of firefighters in need under tragic or difficult circumstances.
While we always hope this emergency fund isn’t needed, our 501(c)(3) has already allocated $24,000 to support several firefighters and their families facing tragic circumstances in its short time of operation.
Looking forward to 2026, what will be your top initiatives?
McMahon: Our annual St. Patrick’s Day Ball will take place on Friday, March 13, 2026. This year we have had loads of interest from members of the Rye community who want to get involved and help us throw a really great party.
- Last March we raised net proceeds of over $100,000 and we’re excited for the annual Rye Professional Firefighters St. Patrick’s Day Ball 2026 to be bigger, better, and even more fun than our last one!
- With so much support and interest from our local community we are working on forming a development committee in 2026 to help support our fundraising and events.
Tell us about the population you serve and how they can get involved with your programming and services.
McMahon: The Rye Professional Firefighters, have dedicated their careers to protecting and serving the great City of Rye, particularly during extremely challenging and unforeseen crises and events, so when considering the mission behind the charity, it was important to them that this intrinsic principle of helping members of our community who need it, when they need it most, remained consistent – even if unexpected. The mission of our charity is to raise funds to support local organizations on an as-needed basis while also reserving emergency funds to support the families of local firefighters during times of tragedy.
Are you a 501(c)(3) non-profit with tax exempt status?
McMahon: Yes.
Looking back across 2025, what were your organization’s top achievements?
McMahon: I think our biggest achievement in 2025 was such a successful St. Patrick’s Day Ball. The event sold-out and we had an amazing result raising over $100,000 in net proceeds. Everyone enjoyed our Guinness bar and ‘split-the-G’ competition. Some lucky auction winners got to vacation in Donegal, Ireland this summer, and others won an impressive golf package that included foursomes at Winged Foot, Westchester Country Club, and The Apawamis Club. We had some high-profile guests in attendance too including Congressman George Latimer, who joined his wife, Robin Latimer, at the volunteer firefighters table. New York State Senator, Shelly Mayer, was also in attendance.
How can local residents support your organization?
McMahon: We would love to see as many people as possible at our St. Patrick’s Day Ball on Friday, March 13, 2026 at Harrison Meadows Country Club.
What local Rye residents and area businesses have been the longest, steadiest supporters of your organization?
McMahon: Susana Cronin of Houlihan Lawrence Rye has been a fantastic supporter of both my efforts to fundraise in our community and The Rye Professional Firefighters charity; she sponsored our roaming photobooth at the first St. Patrick’s Day Ball as well as the photobooth at the Rye Free Reading Room’s Novel Night event last year. Schuyler Grey Johnson of The Schoop sponsored decor and did a beautiful job turning the venue into a glamorous celebration of Irish culture. My husband, Paul McMahon has been a great supporter since I first became involved with 2029 Fundraising. He bid generously at our Cinco De Mayo party and he bought a corporate table at our St. Patrick’s Day Ball.
There are so many people who contributed both time and money towards this amazing cause. I wish I could mention everyone, but we might run out of word count!
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in your current role?
McMahon: I first got involved with the Rye Professional Firefighters’ fundraising efforts in late 2023. They had already run a successful Cinco De Mayo Fundraiser in May 2023 and were looking to involve some Rye residents in helping to plan their next one in May 2024. The firefighters were already in the process of registering a 501(c)(3) charity and once it was formed they asked me to join the board of directors as vice president.
Is the role full time or part time? Paid or volunteer?
McMahon: This is a volunteer role but is very much my passion. I spend a lot of time thinking of new ways to fundraise or how to make our parties more fun for our awesome community of supporters. I do project based work for my husband’s recruitment company but I have built a flexible schedule to allow myself to build a career in volunteerism while also being available for my family.
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
McMahon: Tenacious
Where did you grow up?
McMahon: I grew up in a seaside village called Malahide in North Co. Dublin, Ireland. After a stint in London, we moved to NYC in 2016 and then to Rye in 2021. Rye was such a no-brainer for us because the first time we visited we were struck by how similar it was to Malahide.
What principles guide you when you have to make a difficult decision?
McMahon: I lead with integrity and compassion, I have a strong sense of right and wrong and always try to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes if a decision I need to make will impact them. Innovation is also important to me, I don’t believe that just because something has always been done a specific way that we shouldn’t challenge the status quo and try new things.
Can you share a time when failure taught you more than success ever could?
McMahon: In every failure there’s an opportunity to learn and iterate for a better result the next time. At our Cinco De Mayo Party back in May 2024 we tried to take payments for live auction items and paddle raise donations using a card reader and Venmo. We recorded donor information using pen and paper. When we had signal issues with the reader and Venmo it became pretty clear that we made a mistake. We took that learning and built out a tech stack for recording live auction and paddle raise bids, taking payments, and managing contact information. Not only were we 100 times more efficient when collecting donations at the St. Patrick’s Day Ball, we now have a whole automated platform for donor management, marketing, and communications.
What excites you most about the future—for yourself or for the world?
McMahon: I’m pretty excited about AI technology. I use Chat GPT and other AI platforms to help me get more done, faster and with fewer resources.
Where do you live and how many years have you lived there?
McMahon: I live in the Rye Park neighborhood, it’s a lovely warm community. My neighbors are all lovely!
Thanks Victoria!
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