Hi, I'm Derekah Kingery!

I got into marketing almost by accident. I joined a friend's startup helping clients run crowdfunding campaigns and marketing for their projects and businesses. The more I worked with these small businesses and organizations, the more I kept running into the same roadblocks. The clients I worked with were passionate about what they did and had the capability and expertise to do it, but had no real strategy guiding their choices. They were scrappy and yet still kind of winging it. Trying to do marketing with or for them without that foundation made me feel like banging my head against the wall.

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What hooked me on this work was helping clients build their business foundations and see their businesses clearly. My brain is wired for alignment and for logical paths from A to B. In marketing this shows up in seeing how everything connects back to brand identity, values, and mission. That felt like a non-negotiable to me in my process. Since I love to see small businesses and mission-led/values-led organizations thrive, I knew I wanted to help create those logical paths with those who have been struggling to get by without them.

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Through Stonecatcher Marketing, I'm working towards a world where you don't have to be a corporation to thrive.

 

I partner with small business owners, nonprofits, and community organizations to build the foundations they need to make confident strategic decisions and do the work they love without burning out.

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Here's what that looks like in practice:

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Fundamentals - Sustainable results come from getting the basics solid first. Before we build anything else, we make sure the foundation is strong enough to hold it. That means you leave with a strategy that works with your capacity, not one that collapses the moment life gets busy.

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Authenticity - Your story, your voice, and your reasons for doing this work are your most powerful assets. My job is to help you use them. You don't need to pretend to be someone you aren't to be successful.

 

Intentionality - Every recommendation I make has a reason behind it. I don't make suggestions because they're trendy or because they worked for someone else's business, I make them because they fit your goals, your audience, and your bandwidth. You won't walk away with just a list of things to do; you'll walk away knowing why each one matters.

 

Transparency - You'll always know where we are, what I'm thinking, and why. I don't have a hidden agenda or a secret answer I'm steering you toward. What you see is what you get, and if anything is unclear, ask me.

 

Humility - You are the expert on your work. I bring strategy, structure, and outside perspective, but none of that replaces what you know. My job is to ask the right questions so your knowledge of your community, your clients, and your mission stays at the center of everything we build.

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I am a double graduate from Millikin University (Go Big Blue!). I studied Human Services and years later went on to earn my MBA. In between, I spent about ten years in ministry and higher education leadership, doing teaching, nonprofit leadership, and donor cultivation, including leading fundraising that drove a record-breaking annual giving year in my role as Associate Director of Annual Giving. I also bring three years of hands-on marketing contractor work, running funding campaigns, managing online communities, and handling social media across a range of clients and industries.

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Like most of my clients, I'm not a stranger to having to be scrappy and to long to do more than just get by. That scrappiness is part of what makes me, me and a great partner to those I work with.

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I grew up in Decatur, Illinois and moved to Ely in 2024 where I live with my lovely and talented wife. I'm an aunt to a wonderful crew of niblings who I love hanging out with. In Ely I mentor a high schooler, co-run a game club for middle and high schoolers, and co-lead a group for queer youth. I serve as Senior Warden at my church and as a substitute pastor at several area churches. Living in alignment with my faith, my choices, and how I exist in the world matters a lot to me, and that carries into how I do this work. I also love games (RPGs, board games, card games, video games) so hit me up if you want to play!

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Ready to work together? Book a free discovery call and we'll figure out where to start!

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