207. Creative Ways to Grow Revenue for Your Nonprofit + Building Inclusive Narratives - Kimberly O'Neil
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Overview
Meet Kimberly. She's an award-winning professor, executive leader, and social good expert who served as the youngest African-American female city manager in U.S. history [insert standing ovation]. As a proponent of bringing socially good businesses, community and local governments, together she's fighting to increase impact awareness. We're talking through creative ways to bring in revenue via entrepreneurial tools and discussing inclusivity awareness. It's a convo good for the head and heart.
Today’s Guest
Kimberly O’Neil, Founder, The Giving Blueprint and Cause Studio
“Our hearts may have the best intentions when we’re looking at the social sector and community, but our welcoming intentions may be very offensive.”
Episode Transcript
Download Full Episode Transcript Here
Episode highlights
Kimberly’s story and journey to where she is today (3:43)
A history and overview of The Giving Blueprint (6:48)
Community based fundraising (11:00)
Our words matter: Our hearts may have the best intentions when we're looking at the social sector and community. But our welcoming intentions may be very offensive. (15:00)
Qualities leaders can embody to receive feedback (22:00)
Ethical storytelling (25:50)
Cause Studio and how Kimberly supports startup nonprofits (38:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Kimberly’s life (51:00)
Kimberly’s One Good Thing: Sleep is underrated. (56:00)
Powerful quotes
“Your voice is your currency, it is the greatest asset that you have in some people are not confident enough. Some people don't have the environment, some people haven't been taught, some people haven't been empowered. And so if my voice allows other people to find the way to utilize their voice, then that's my purpose right now, while I'm on Earth.” -Kimberly
“For many nonprofits, they don't even realize that within the first 12 months of existence, one out of every two nonprofits fail. So that means 50% of these new and emerging nonprofits are not going to be here anyway.” -Kimberly
“I share with smaller organizations, the power of network, the power of the community, the power of people that can see and feel your impact. And how do you get them to buy in to the organization? And then how do we build our social capital?” -Kimberly
“How do we make sure that as we approach fundraising, that we're not compromising our values, and we're chasing a check, and we're not focusing on our mission.” -Kimberly
“So for me, it's about tapping into this social capital that many people don't realize they have, nor do they realize that it is an opportunity to help sustain the organization a lot differently.” -Kimberly
“Our hearts may have the best intentions when we're looking at the social sector and community. But our welcoming intentions may be very offensive.” -Kimberly
“When you say “at risk” children, you're laying the blame on children for something they don't control, because you've labeled them.” -Kimberly
“I'm in a season of, I only want to do work that will allow me to position community and organizations and the things that matter to me, and a better light, even if I will not be here to see the end.” -Kimberly
“So the first one that I will say, is self care. Because if we are not taking care of ourselves, we may not be able to receive the information.” -Kimberly
“If you're just not in the right space, you don't have certain practices that you personally engage in. You may not hear the criticism that's really constructive. You just may take it as an attack.” -Kimberly
“Sometimes I think we operate from a place with blinders on. And as long as we can achieve the goals and the objectives that we set out, we don't really pay attention to we did it, but we didn't do it well.” -Kimberly
“How do we ensure that we're doing that and maintaining honor, for the people that we're serving, it's one thing when people are free and want to share.” -Kimberly
“That's what this education process is about. When we pay attention to our stakeholders. We're not all going to get it right, we're not. But when I get the lesson, I can no longer say I didn't know. That's where we have to shift and change.” -Kimberly
“By the end of 2022, my goal is to bring at least 250 Black LED nonprofits around the country to points of sustainability. And that sustainability is has an asterix because it's going to be defined not just by money, and it's also going to be based on what the organization's need.” -Kimberly
“So that's what Cause Studio was about just ensuring that we respect smaller nonprofits that need to be there. And we recognize the economic impact of the smaller nonprofits, because we also don't pay attention to that. Nonprofits are not just here to solve problems, nonprofits, keep taxpayers from paying a lot to take care of their communities, because if they all left, by tomorrow, who's going to take care of the community, the government? So we need to honor nonprofits for what they bring.” -Kimberly
“Nonprofits are just as powerful as corporations, the journey to getting there is just very different.” -Kimberly
“We have to pay attention to everybody that has something to say the loudest, and the quietest voices.” -Kimberly
“When people are authentic and giving back, the magic can happen and change within communities. And we have to always look for those people, because they are our guiding stars, and they will lead us authentically into what we need to change. But the ending is, are we ready to receive that? And if we are not, we have to do better.” -Kimberly
Connect with Kimberly
Website / LinkedIn / Instagram / Cause Studio / Giving Blueprint / Twitter
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