Courtney Spence on How Rejection Can Strengthen Fundraising Resolve

In Chapter 15 of 15 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How did the Duke University Administration help your organization get started?" Spence shares how she secured school administration financing to launch what would eventually become her non-profit Students of the World. Spence pitches the idea to several Duke University administration officials. Early rejection pushes Spence to refine her pitch and continue presenting it to potential investors. Ultimately, Spence connects with the Vice President of Student Affairs, receives financing, and goes back to those who had rejected the idea and ultimately finance the project.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How did the Duke University Administration help your organization get started?

Courtney Spence:  I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the Duke Administration, both for the people that said yes and for the people that said no.  I think I went on this journey my sophomore year and I tried to take a meeting with any person at Duke that would sit down and talk with me. Even if I didn’t think they were necessarily directly related to international documentary work and student activism and organizations.  I would take a meeting just to say, “Hey, let me tell you about this idea I have.  What do you think?”  And if it made sense for me to say, “Hey, would you – your office – would this be something you would invest in?” Or approach people for money, or who else should I speak to, or just for advice.  And we got a lot of “No’s” at the beginning and a lot of people were, I think sometimes, I think rightly so, administrations are a little bit hesitate to start up student organizations because they happen so frequently and because of turnover you see them die out once the founder graduates.  So, there is a hesitancy to invest heavily in sort of the crazier ideas initially, but I think by the people saying “No” it challenges you to go back and be like, “Do I really want to keep doing this? So, yes I do and yes I can.” 

And it also challenges you – “Well, what’s not quite right about this?  Why am I getting so many ‘No’s’ on this front?”  And then for us, it was a woman, Janet Dickerson, she was the Vice-President of Student Affairs at Duke at the time.  An incredible woman and I’ll never forget, we walked into her office – it was me and another student that was sort of co-founding the organization at that point.  We walked into Janet Dickerson’s office, told her what we wanted to do, had our little presentation and she said, “Yes.” When she said, “Yes.” She said, “Five thousand dollars.” “I’m going to set up a lunch meeting other related administrators and faculty members and sort of put their feet to the fire because I think this concept is new and kind of exciting.”  But what was really the most rewarding was there was a gentleman who had said, “No” you know that fall, so and you know, as we were trying to start the organization.  So, I went to him and he was like, “I think this is a great idea, but not one I think my office can invest in.”  I went back the following year and said, “Hey, so here’s what we did and this year we’re going to Cuba and is this something you want to be invested in?”  And he said, “Yes.”

How Prison Entrepreneurship Program Inspires Volunteer - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 3 of 14, "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author Nina Godiwalla volunteers at the Prison Entrepreneurship Program to teach convicted felons business and life skills necessary to successfully re-enter society. Through the process, Godiwalla unexpectedly learns from the prisoners, who share stories of mental transformation.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What did you learn teaching character building and relationship skills to inmates as part of the Prison Entrepreneur Program?

Nina Godiwalla: I actually wrote an article about that for the Houston Chronicle because I was really moved by the experience. We were brought in with the idea that we were business leaders and we were going to be teaching these inmates about how to run a business and I was really excited about that, I thought these people are going to be coming out very soon and regardless of what they’ve done, it’s not a conversation about what did you do in past, it’s ‘hey you’re going to be out and you’ll be out soon and what can we come in and teach you and how can we help you be successful when you come out?’

That was my impression going in and that was a lot of business people’s impression, I think there was about thirty of us at the time when I went and I was a little bit floored by the experience because it ended up the prisoners taught us, at least me, something much more significant and it was largely about building their own character and… what was amazing is… these people were just so happy, they had really gone through like a significant mind-shift and mental transformation through this program that they were experiencing and they came in and honestly, I’ll be honest they really inspired a bunch of business people and the business people were completely humbled walking in and thinking ‘what can I teach you’ was our attitude and I walked out that day and I thought these were people full of passion full of energy. I never expected to walk into a prison and have people that passionate and that was a transformational experience for me. And you could see that these people, the way they shared their stories and were very open, they had personally, several of the ones that spoke had gone through some very difficult times and really used those difficult experiences to transform in a very positive way.

Erik Michielsen: Can you remember like one of the stories that sticks with you most?

Nina Godiwalla: There’s one story because it’s so close to heart for a lot of business people is that, there was just a guy that, he was a sales guy and he’d gone out drinking and the way he explained it is ‘That’s what we did, I was in sales and we used go out, we were with clients we would drink, came home, I had a couple drinks that night, I was on the freeway and I probably didn’t see it fast enough but there was a parked car on the freeway on the side’ and he ran into the car and killed somebody. And he said ‘You know, I’ve been in sales for forty years’ and… I think for business people we expected… expect someone to just be murdering people just randomly all these, you know, ridiculous thoughts and fears that were going through our head and it was just, a lot of the stories were, you know, some guy put software on his wife’s computer or girlfriend’s computer and was in jail so. What was insightful is that a lot of people were in situations that it wouldn’t be crazy for someone that you, someone in our world to know somebody that might be in that situation and just to give people that opportunity, that second chance.

How Austin Leadership Group Creates Community Purpose - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 8 of 14 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author Nina Godiwalla joins Leadership Austin to apply her corporate experience in helping the local community. The experience exposes Godiwalla to new groups, which broadens her thinking. As a result, Godiwalla finds new ways to apply her passion to be responsible and accountable in her actions.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What has your involvement in Leadership Austin done to shape your sense of community responsibility and citizenship?

Nina Godiwalla: So the Leadership Austin brings together people that are passionate about seeing our community as bigger and passionate about making a difference in the community, so we have business -- people in the business world, people in the nonprofit world, artists, people in the political world and how do we all come together and learn from each other. For me specifically, for me it’s been a really interesting experience because one, I was not exposed to these people, I have very much been in corporate America for the majority of my professional life and those are the people I learned from, so for me, I feel like it’s allowed me to think much broader about completely different perspectives really.

I didn’t know what is was like to, what a lobbyist, what their life was like and for me I’m finding passion within all these different groups and I feel this complete responsibility of how do we come together and actually do something. And one great example is we had an education day and we had students actually come in from the high schools and tell us ‘this is what it’s like, this is what’s working for me in high school and this is what’s not’ and in central Texas there’s a lot of issues around education, in terms of they need to be brought up to different standards and so we got to hear from people that have these great experiences and people that are not. And Austin is described as somewhat segregated so if you live in certain parts of town you may never see other people from different socioeconomic classes and that kind of a thing. So you can chose to live in that world but Leadership Austin has taught me that’s not ok, it’s not ok to live in that world and it’s not ok just to be with your own kind of people.

And what I think is amazing what they’re doing is saying that there is some sort of accountability because one of the things I thought was great that they did in education class is say ‘Ok you can send your kids to that fantastic school, you can have your kids around all those other kids that way, but when your kid gets out there might not be a job for your kid and let us explain to you the business reason, the whole reason why that if you don’t pay attention to what’s happening in this other neighborhood it’s going to affect your life’. And on one hand I thought how unfortunate that we have to say that to people, that you have to be concerned because it’s going to affect your kid’s life, but if that’s what it is, that’s what it is. You know, if that’s what’s going to convince people that we’re all one and we need to figure out a way to work together and it’s amazing because people really do start to listen, it was like suddenly like ‘Oh really, my kid’s not going to have a job?’

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In Chapter 9 of 15, leadership philosopher and bootstrap business expert Bijoy Goswami learns to apply purpose, protocols, and social capital building an Austin-based entrepreneur community. As a grassroots organizer, Goswami prioritizes identity and applies social capital exchange to make participation worthwhile.

Why Environmental Causes Require Business Solutions - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 15 of 16, environmental management and green supply chain expert Andrew Hutson shares why corporate sustainability and environmental policy should be core corporate strategy initiatives. Hutson believes every existing problem has a potential business solution. It then comes down to finding a business case for this particular problem.

How Environmental Advocacy Passion Becomes Career - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 10 of 16 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, environmental management expert Andrew Hutson focuses his career on changing environmental behavior not only in the private sector, but also for the world's largest company, Wal-Mart. Hutson recognized early an opportunity existed beyond policy in the environment, specifically helping companies become more green through sustainable business practices. Hutson is part of the Environmental Defense Fund team collaborating with Wal-Mart to affect positive change for future generations around the globe.

Andrew Hutson: How Hiking in Honduras Inspires Corporate Sustainability Career

In Chapter 5 of 16, environmental management expert Andrew Hutson shares the experience that prompted his corporate sustainability career. Hutson returns to Honduras, where he had worked previously, to assist with Hurricane Mitch recovery efforts. While hiking, he learns about polluted pineapple grove irrigation drainage into the Bonita river. He finds the government turns a blind eye to corporations and asks himself "how do you get a company to change behavior for the better that will have an impact on people's lives?" This starts an academic odyssey that eventually lands Hutson at Wal-Mart providing environmental sustainability leadership on behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What did your return trip to Honduras post Hurricane Mitch do to shape your views on what the private sector can do to make an environmental impact on the world?

Andrew Hutson: I went back to Honduras, I had been there for this nature guide-training program that I was volunteering with and then I went home and almost immediately or a couple months after I had gotten home Hurricane Mitch hit and it was just absolute destruction and a couple of my friends had lost their homes. 

So I went down there, basically I was working as a waiter I was sort of between… I was doing nothing, so I went down there I was like ‘Look, I’ve got a couple of hands and can help you do what ever you need done.’ And so I went back down and I was with a friend looking at the site where he was building his new home and the next day we went out on a hike, he was a nature guide in Picabonito national park which is near the city of Los Cellas beautiful cloud forest. 

And we were hiking then on the way back you have to cross pineapple groves, like a pineapple plantation on the way back to the high way so we were walking through the pineapple plantation we were going to catch the bus to go back into town and if you look in the irrigation channels there’s all… kind of frothy and really full of pesticides and fertilizers and just really nasty stuff and I naively asked him ‘You know, where does this drain? Where does this go?’ and he said ‘Well this goes to the Bonito River.’ And I’d just been there the day before and I so I again, kind of naively, went again ‘Well that can’t be, you know there’s kids swimming there. I saw kids playing in the water I saw a woman washing her clothes.’ And he kind of shrugged his shoulders and went like ‘Yeah.’ And again on top of that I said ‘Well what does the government do about that?’ and he kind of looks at me and shook his head, he’s like ‘Man, this is Honduras, what do you think? You know, the fruit companies kind of run everything, there’s very little we can do.’ 

And so in my own head I was thinking ‘Well if the government's not going to do anything, either they’re unwilling or not capable of acting at something like this, how do you get a company then to change its behavior for the better that will have a real impact on people’s lives?’ And that was ultimately a question that sent me back to grad school and sent me on [laughs] almost decade long odyssey in graduate school to think about the answer to that question and I’m not sure I’ve answered it fully yet but I’m getting closer and its what I try to do every day.

How a Pulitzer Photographer Chat Redirected Career - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 4 of 16, environmental management expert Andrew Hutson meets Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Michael Williamson flying from Washington D.C. to Chicago. Hutson, then a business process consultant, finds inspiration in Williamson's project riding horses with Mexican mounted police doing drug control. That night Hutson invests time identifying and pursuing a purpose more aligned with his passions and interests. He goes on to earn a Public Policy PhD from University of North Carolina, join the Environmental Defense Fund, and help Wal-Mart to make its global supply chain more environmentally sustainable.

How Optimism Enables Achievement and Happiness - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 2 of 16, environmental management expert Andrew Hutson shares why he maintains a positive outlook amidst so much negative empirical data in his environmental work. The positive trends inspire and motivate Hutson to be more productive and enjoy the journey. He finds this approach syncs well with the Environmental Defense Fund (www.edf.org) culture where he works.

How Purpose and Ideals Change From 20s Into 30s - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 1 of 16, environmental management expert Andrew Hutson defines his aspiration to find success in ways that makes this world a better place than he found it. He details two very different perspectives. While in his 20s, Hutson takes a selfish or egocentric view to find purpose, direct career, and change the world, whereas in his 30s, Hutson finds more comfort in himself and sees his contribution as something more collective and outwardly focused.

How Socially Conscious Pet Business Helps African Orphans - Hattie Elliot

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Learning the Power of Human Touch at African Orphanage - Hattie Elliot

In Chapter 7 of 16, entrepreneur and connector Hattie Elliot volunteers at a South African orphanage. Holding the children teaches Hattie about the power of human touch and its affect on an infant's temperament. Elliot learns how African women hold babies constantly and sees its positive effect on children. The experience teaches Elliot to be more affectionate with friends and family.

How to Make a Career Transition into Broadcast Journalism - Kyung Yoon

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Myth Busting Model Minority Asian American Stereotypes - Kyung Yoon

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How Journalist Uses Skills to Help Elderly and Abused - Kyung Yoon

In Chapter 6 of 18, journalist and reporter Kyung Yoon uses her communications skills as a spokesperson representing battered Asian American women and isolated Korean elderly who are unable to ask for help. Yoon finds these moments have not only shaped her purpose in how she gives back, finding the process not an act of generosity, but an act of duty. Yoon is currently Executive Director at the Korean American Community Foundation (www.kacfny.org).

How Stay-At-Home Mom Became a Non-Profit Leader - Kyung Yoon

In Chapter 5 of 18, non-profit executive, spokesperson, and mother of two Kyung Yoon finds non-profit volunteer work a bridge between leaving the workforce to raise her children and returning to the workforce as Executive Director of Korean American Community Foundation (KACF). Yoon volunteers part-time with the New York Asian Women's Center and, over time KACF, before re-entering the workforce and taking the Executive Director position at KACF (www.kacfny.org).

How to Beat Poverty with Grassroots Community Efforts - Kyung Yoon

In Chapter 3 of 18, non-profit executive and spokesperson Kyung Yoon finds grassroots efforts are the best approach to building sustainable solutions to beat poverty. Yoon finds the grassroots element a common enabler at both the global poverty and local poverty level. When a community is given a voice in finding a solution, the solution does not feel imposed or top-down and is better supported by the people. Yoon is currently Executive Director at the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF).

Why to Prioritize Girls Education in Developing Countries - Kyung Yoon

In Chapter 2 of 18, non-profit executive and spokesperson Kyung Yoon decides to leave a broadcast news correspondent job with Fox News to lead international documentary production at the World Bank (www.worldbank.org). There, she produces films on the importance of educating girls in developing countries so that they may apply their education to make better choices. The result is a virtuous cycle that provides a generational impact to a family, a community, and an entire nation.