5 Years of GenerousAF

About 5 years ago, I had a dream that I pursued one of my wildest dreams from childhood… to become an angel investor. I literally woke up that morning after the dream, and thought, “Ok, let’s do this!” I had no idea what ‘this’ was going to become, how ‘this’ was gonna to come to be, nor what exactly ‘this’ would do? …other than inspire people to be Good, Kind & Generous to others. I had already been volunteering much of my time between several local nonprofits, donating my own money, and assisting with their fundraising efforts. So, why not? I was already doing angel-like activities, with the little that I had… Why not share with others how they can also do the same?

My mom always taught me to be kind to people no matter what, “…Because we never know what people are going through… Or what they had already been through, to cross paths with you today… so just be kind.” I always remembered her quick sayings like, “A little ‘Kindness’ goes a long way — A bit of Kindness can have such a deep positive impact on others that you may never know — Every little bit, makes all the difference!”

About 4 years ago, I met with some acquaintances to start a micro-vc fund. We thought up a whole marketing campaign; even hatching together a script of a spoof commercial for the launch. Funny enough, we went our separate ways just a few weeks later, as the holidays approached. I was kind of bummed how things fell apart, and the way people distanced themselves from the project we were all working on. I thought, “Well maybe it’s just the holidays, and people have other stuff more important going on?

I thought again about my dream I had a few months prior. I began thinking about how all the synchronicities in the universe can line things up for you, if you’re paying attention… “Maybe, I can do something with this momentum of the commercial?” So, I booked some time at a co-working space, and paid some friends, who paid some other friends to film this commercial idea. We loosely kept the script to the same idea, and changed a couple things as we went along. We wrapped after two long 12-hour+ days of production. We were all buzzing with a kind of freewill of excitement. I was unsure if, how, or when we would release the finished commercial, since the holidays were approaching that week. All I knew for sure was that this was becoming a real thing, and not just an idea on paper anymore.

3 years ago, 2018, I started a new full-time role within my corporate life. Looking back, I laugh with amazement at how I managed a full-time project management corporate job, volunteering with 4+ nonprofits, playing in 2 rock n roll bands, taking leadership coaching lessons, wrapping up a Post-Bacc, and working on GenerousAF all at the same time. My calendar was full. Again, I was new to the VC world, other than the philanthropy I was accustomed to doing… I remember scheduling calls with the local community-circle-fund, and asking them questions about starting syndicates and donor-advised funds. Learning as I went, I knew I didn’t want to pay someone to manage my philanthropic account to fundraise with… I just wanted to write checks to worthy causes. Why is this so hard to do? Why is there so much red tape?

At the end of 2018, I somehow got accepted to a Masters in Business Administration program online. I joke about how it was an accident, because I didn’t actually plan to go to business school. I was planning to return to graduate school for engineering or computer science, and I just happened to apply for this program as well, and was accepted with a partial scholarship. Usually when I apply for things for shits & giggles, I not only get the job, but it ends up placing me exactly in the direction I had in my heart to go in. So, there’s that. 😂

So now 2 years ago, 2019, I’m wrapping up my MBA, and we have to do a capstone project to demonstrate that we understand everything we learned about business. Well, why not just do this GenerousAF idea as may faux company? Wait… wait, wait… Is this a faux company? What if I just make it a real company, since I’m already doing the work, and already researching how to expand, and all the things needed to do the thing on a larger scale? Hmm… my brain starts revving up and I say, “Yes, why the f**k not?”

I found a lawfirm specializing in nonprofits to help me with all the initial legal filings and trademark. I hack together a simple Wordpress website and official email. And so I also write up a full business plan. Executive overview, SWOT, marketing, competitive analysis, financial forecast and planned business model, the whole shebang! I ask a few people to be on my soon-to-not-be-so-faux-anymore board of directors, and then I am blessed with the top 2 people I respect so much, and think so highly of, to join the board. I go through about 7 revisions of the business plan, being properly scrutinized… erhmm, I mean graded by PhD-level business professors… until finally… yes… it is approved. I pass my capstone, and I graduate with a Masters in Business.

GenerousAF Foundation now became a real 501c3 nonprofit entity!

And then 2020 arrives, and coco-pinacolada shuts everything down as we know it. The markets crash, gas prices and real estate sky-rockets, then plummets? Then rises again?! The world as I knew it was upside down. What am I going to do with this nonprofit that was all about connecting people to do good things together? How am I going to run workshops, and hackathons, and all the other in-person things I had planned as part of the business model? I wasn’t alone in my frustration. The very nonprofits I worked with, whether as a board member or volunteer, were all experiencing the same challenges. Just like all the for-profit businesses that relied on in-person activities, had to pivot their business model to something that could accommodate operational expenses, while providing an offering to their customers.

I personally felt stuck. I had just started GenerousAF Foundation, and couldn’t move forward with the original plan… so it was time for GenerousAF to pivot as well. During this time in 2020, I picked up a contract gig at my favorite mega-corporate-company, to keep the lights on and the bills paid. Thankfully it was an easy transition for my role to continue working from home. I decided to redirect focus on building an app for GenerousAF since it was something I could contract out… and was worth building in the meantime, while everyone was figuring out life during coco-pizza-time.

Entering late 2020, the state of the world had not improved much. And… Well turns out contracting out to build an app costs a lot of money that I didn’t have the budget for! 😅 My contract gig paid well, but had also turned into a nearly soul-crushing phenomenon of 100-hour weeks. Anyone that understands project management and production, will understand the kind of mental and emotional gymnastics I faced during this period. I say period, because in late spring of 2021, I had enough, and decided not to renew my contract. I just walked away. I had to if I were to keep living a life worth living. I completed my contract to the very last day — Giving it my all 100% up to the very last day. Making sure of a smooth transition delegating all projects in good hands. It was bittersweet because I was proud of the work I contributed to, but the true price I had to pay to participate was not worth it. I had zer0 time to dedicate to GenerousAF, the nonprofits I worked with, much less my friends or family.

Oh yeah, I had been accepted into a new graduate program late 2020, and was studying for a doctorate in Psychology.

2021, I cut my metaphorical strings to the corporate world, and liberated myself into going full-time with GenerousAF Foundation. By summer of 2021, I re-evaluated everything I learned so far about what it would take to do this. I made more calls; I sought out more coaching; I researched more about banking bureaucratic gatekeeping, that are called regulations by US organizations like State-Agencies, the SEC and FINRA. Everyone I spoke to about the roadmap, and the problems I wanted to solve all said the same things:

“Oh, that sounds great! I love it!”
“Wow. That is a really tough problem to solve — but would be great if it was solved!”
“I wish you the best of luck!”

It’s a mix of feeling inspired and encouraged to continue, and an equally heartbreaking reality-check, of being in-over-your-head for something too big for any one person brave enough to take on. I’m not into complying with the status-quo because it just doesn’t work for a Black, Queer, 1st Generation-American Woman to survive and thrive in Tech — to fall-in-line with expectations of whatever the hell people think a black woman is ‘supposed’ to be? F**k all that, seriously.

We cannot innovate by agreeing to familiarities. We have to break rules to create breakthroughs! Not just in technology, but in all facets of life, love and philanthropy.

At this point I knew that in order to be profitable as a business, GenerousAF Foundation would need to pivot yet again. It’s still just me, Ripley, doing all the things, from product development, app development, program development, community joint ventures, fundraising, to general business development. I had to take inventory again about why I started GenerousAF Foundation 5 years ago.

All I want to do is what I’ve already been doing, but within a container, or incubator for others to do the same.

• I want to write grants for community-driven initiatives, so they are supported in doing what they do, for their community.
• I want to connect nonprofits to other nonprofits they may not know of, and create joint programming that benefit both communities.
• I want to bridge underutilized resources to nonprofits that can make the best use of those resources.
• I want to show people how easy it is to be kind, and GenerousAF.
• I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. There is room for all of us in philanthropy. I just want to create a tool for what I think is missing: to put it succinctly —Connecting & Bridging of resources with ease .

So, here we are, 2022.

What is GenerousAF Foundation up to now?

It’s still currently just me.

• Yes, I definitely need to hire staff… which means I need a budget to do so. I am currently generating capital to fill that budget, with a board meeting check-in deadline of end of February 2022 to see where we are at, and what we can do with what we have.
• Yes, I am currently working on the app. Much of the wireframing has been completed, and I am literally re-learning how to code, to build a working MVP. Research has shown me that it’s more cost-effective to hire FT devs when there is a working product. Research over the past year has also pushed me to pivot the app concept several times… Today, it is at a design that makes sense, has profit-potential, and a sensible software-versioning roadmap.
• Yes, I am still partnering with several community initiatives, some local and some international collectives. Previous local initiatives like The Wanda Project, has developed into Mama Wanda’s Garden School. These are the types of projects GenerousAF Foundation is committed to supporting the growth of.
• Yes, I am working on publishing case studies of the impact GenerousAF Foundation has made through its contribution of time and donations. Likely will be posted as a medium article.
• Yes, I am aware of the lack of social media posts. The truth is, my attention and energy is directed solely into the actual work of partner developments, educational programming, and app programming. My own personal social media accounts are also not active… so until GenerousAF has hired a dedicated Social Media manager, only very intentional posts will be shared.

In closing…

It’s challenging to avoid getting swept into FOMO of the momentum of trends, and expectations for what a startup should look like. GenerousAF Foundation is my legacy of Philanthropy. It started with me and my vision of showing others how easy it is to be kind and generous to others. It’s important to me to maintain the vision and mission of this organization. If that means I need more time to sort things out, find the right people, to research, to pivot, to learn from mistakes and grow from them… so be it.

GenerousAF Foundation is not on anyone’s timeline. This is for the long haul. There is no desire to rush, as long as we do things as intended. There is only the example of kindness and generosity… making it easier for others to do the same.

Be Kind.
Be Generous.
And if you are brave enough, be GenerousAF!

Cheers to another 5 years!
With Gratitude,

-Ripley

Founder, Executive Director or GenerousAF Foundation
www.GenerousAF.org