Out of the Box Tips to Run an Innovative Nonprofit

When it comes to running a nonprofit, many founders are comfortable staying “inside the box,” or rather not fully putting themselves out there in an authentic way. And in reality, not having the confidence to fully represent yourself is something that a lot of people struggle with, especially in a minority community. Imposter syndrome is a real thing.

For me, it’s taken some time. But being authentic means that I no longer have the fear and nerves that in the past accompanied any presentation where I was trying to impress someone by fitting into the appropriate box. These days, I strive to not just think “outside-the-box”, I want to blow the box up.

Empowering Youth and Giving Them The Tools to Succeed

One of the out-of-the-box approaches that our nonprofit, LEAD Center for Youth, employs to empower Black boys in the poverty-stricken Atlanta community is through our Ambassador program. The inspiration for our program came from Ambassador Andrew Young who was appointed as Ambassador to the United Nations in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. It was significant at the time because Ambassador Young was the first African American to hold this position, and it was a very powerful statement to entrust a Black man with this immense amount of power.

An ambassador goes places and learns things out in the world to bring back to their community to make it stronger. As UN Ambassador, Andrew Young played an important role in providing support to independence movements in South Africa, as part of Carter’s broader human rights agenda. Ambassador Young then went on to be the Mayor of Atlanta from 1982-1990, and with all he had learned through being an ambassador, he was able to play a significant role in Atlanta's growth and international presence.

Black boys come to our year round programming and they bring assets. Through working with them and believing in them, we pull out the assets they may not have even been aware of and we send them out into the world as a strong representation of Black Atlanta boys and men. The Ambassador program was our inaugural program, and it’s an example of the innovation that we strive for.

Interested in doing something similar, but not sure how to get started? I’ve provided some tips below to give you a jump start:

3 Tips for How to Think Outside the Box

1. Involve Your Participants in Your Fundraising Efforts

For us, it’s a non-negotiable that if you are benefitting from the services that we offer, then you also have some skin in the game. This doesn’t mean just showing up in the community and doing community service, it means actively sharing the program with sponsors and many of our LEAD Ambassadors are out in the community doing media interviews, public speaking, going out into affluent communities to coach children, and completing a variety of other outreach and fundraising efforts.

Many nonprofits don’t charge money for their services, but you can and should ask for support in other ways. This is another way to empower the next generation - give them responsibility and authority which in turn allows your community to stay on mission and save money.

2. Create a System for Alumni to Pay it Forward

For us, when you graduate from our organization, that doesn’t mean you are no longer a part of our community. In fact, most of our past Ambassadors and many past participants stay involved because they understand that our organization has a high level of influence and affluence that can be helpful to them in their adult lives.

We actively invest in our participants and many times as alumni, they truly understand the value of affluence and want to give back. But in order to leverage support from past participants, we have to actively engage with them.

One of the ways we engage with our alumni is through our annual Safe at Home Event. It’s a 7-inning, self-officiated baseball game where we bring together community leaders in law enforcement and education, with LEAD alumni. It’s a fun event that everyone looks forward to, and a great way to keep in touch with our alumni.

A lot of nonprofits can’t stay open if they don’t get support. Think about how you can create a system for those you’ve served in the past to give back now.

3. Don’t Shy Away from the Tough Issues

We serve an at-risk Black community. Four out of 5 black children in Atlanta live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. What’s worse—Atlanta ranks 50 out of the 50 most populous metros when it comes to upward mobility for low-income children. We would be doing the community a huge injustice if we didn’t tackle topics like racism and poverty head-on. We’re using sports to transform the lives of Black boys and girls, creating leaders of the future.

We’re converting their talent into skills to competitively play sports, AND developing their social emotional learning capacities to lead in any area they choose as adults. That includes exposing them to Black heritage by discussing slavery, civil rights, and racism to foster understanding, empathy and awareness. We’ve come a long way, and we’ve got a long way left to go.

Don’t shy away from the tough topics impacting your community. Discuss them often out in the open. Addressing them will make your work more impactful for your participants and more meaningful to you. 

C.J. Stewart understands the power of opportunities. Growing up in one of Atlanta's most dangerous housing projects, he used baseball as his path forward.

Today, the former Chicago Cubs outfielder and Amazon No. 1 Best Selling Author is co-founder (along with his wife, Kelli) and Chief Visionary Officer for the non-profit organization L.E.A.D. (Launch. Expose. Advise. Direct).

By using baseball as his guide, C.J. is providing life-changing opportunities for Atlanta's at-risk youth.

Through his efforts, young men are winning at the game of life by improving their social emotional learning (SEL) capacities. Ninety-two percent of youth in a single program cycle show growth in multiple SEL capacities, 75% reported gaining more supportive adults in their lives from LEAD programming (social capital) and 100% reported satisfaction and a willingness to invite a friend.

C.J. Profile Story | C.J. LinkedIn Profile | LEAD Website