CHELSEA ELLIOTT
CHELSEA ELLIOTT RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1: You have a deep commitment to helping people in need. It is interesting that in our busy lives we all have the opportunity to walk away from helping others, and it is equally interesting that some people don’t take those steps away from others in need. What were the main factors in your life that encouraged you to walk toward people in need and devote a significant part of your life to helping others? Please elaborate some about each factor.
RESPONSE: “Care is the mother of all things.” My college ethics professor said this in class one day and it stuck for me. When we truly care about things, especially people, we take the extraordinary measure of doing right by them. For me, caring about equity in access to vision care for all human beings is what wakes me up every morning, care is my caffeine. Figure out what your caffeine is in this life and enjoy the ride.
Helping is healing. I lost my vision at the age of four. At four, you're superwoman! I didn’t miss not being able to see because my loss was gradual and we learn to accommodate when we lose our senses. Losing the actual eye at 15 was the bigger trauma for me. Foremost, the timing, 15, is a terrible point in a young person’s life to lose such a visible, and innately personal part of your body. The sadness hit me hard and quickly. It’s been 16 years, and my artificial eye is still the first thing I see when I look in the mirror. The beauty of getting older is learning to accept yourself, flaws and all, and moving past yourself to help others. Our work at half Helen is a healing source for me. Seeing the first smile on a child’s face when they can see the words in a book or see a friend’s face across the gym, is the best pill I can take for my own healing.
The company is good. When we are walking “our path” in this life, you meet all the people you need along the way. There have been hard times when I didn’t know where the funds would come from to meet the next challenge. In staying the course, life brings the most delightful surprises. Once, our bank account was low, really low. I felt for the first time that I was going to lose hH. I entered a pitch competition and was selected among a group of Austin’s most beloved nonprofit’s. Clearly the underdog! During rehearsal with the other groups the day of the pitch, I fumbled both run throughs. One of the other presenters, who was the foregone winner, told me, “Don’t be surprised if you don’t win any money, but try to have fun”. I went home to get dressed for the final pitch in front of 1,000 people, including the top philanthropists in Austin. My goal had shifted from winning to representing hH well enough as to not do damage to our little brand. When you let go and just walk your path, everything you need will come to you. hH was the grand prize winner that night, setting a record for the most money Philantropitch had awarded to one organization. We even won the Audience Favorite category! Phone calls from Program Officers from area foundations started the next morning. We haven’t worried about payroll since then. It freed us to focus on our mission. “Yea, you will walk through the valley of the shadow of death”, the most important part is to keep walking until you get to the other side.
QUESTION 2: When you first started your nonprofit, what were the main challenges? Please
explain the main challenges and how you overcame them. (A later question will ask about challenges you are facing now. This question focuses on the beginning of your nonprofit.)
RESPONSE: Money - Unless someone gives you start-up money, it will take you time to build up your credibility before foundations write you a check. The CNN Hero nodd helped immensely in this area. There aren’t that many CNN Heroes around, people will want to meet you and talk about that award! If you’re 22, it may take longer. I started hH in 2013 and received my first paycheck on January 31, 2018. Hit every networking event and build relationships, especially if they are serving food!
Relationships - Raising money equals building relationships. Program officers and donors are people, complete with families, pets, and interests. Remembering that “care is the mother of all things” - care about the people who may someday support you first. It takes time and effort to build relationships, but no funding comes without this important work.
Obstacles to implementation - Having a great idea of what needs to happen won’t necessarily make everyone clamor for your services. Using advanced photoscreening technology was permitted in regulations but only for children ages 3-5, however, some schools interpreted that as you’re not allowed to use it for older children even though the camera was designed for children as old as 18. We had to advocate for legislative changes before our services were fully accepted in Texas. The hiccup did cause me to go to Hawaii for two years, where they allowed me to screen kids of all ages. It was our work in Hawaii that caught the attention of the CNN Heroes Program….walk your path.
Capitalizing on wins – When CNN announced that I was one of the 25 CNN Heroes for 2015, it was a huge opportunity to leverage additional media. This is a good skill to have on your board of directors. Media is like fundraising, it is built on relationships. Having someone that can call a news director or editor on your behalf is important. Roy Spence of GSD&M fame saw my CNN Hero video and gave me a call. When Anderson Cooper retweeted the CNN announcement about half Helen, the phones started ringing from around the country…..I wasn’t prepared to capitalize on that moment! Once you are selected as a CNN Hero, talk to a media specialist before your video is created for ideas on how to best leverage this huge opportunity. The goal isn’t to win the top prize, the goal is to make the most of the video opportunity. Once a CNN camera crew arrives at your location, a clock starts ticking. CNN spends the same amount of time (down to the minute) with every Hero so that the process is fair. They craft the story, but you are the actor! It’s a fun ride, but leveraging it could serve your nonprofit even better! There will be many more opportunities, many that derive from the CNN Heroes Award. Be prepared to maximize all of them!
Media Interviews - One of the benefits of Roy Spence seeing my CNN Heroes video was that he asked one of his vendors, a multi-media firm to take half Helen on as a pro bono client. One of the firm’s executives joined the hH board of directors and spent the next two years beating me up (not literally) during media training sessions. Every time I used a filler word, “ugh”, “humm”
or heaven forbid, rambled - whack. She was merciless, however, I can spit out a usable sound bite perfectly!
QUESTION 3: What suggestions would you give to university students who are committed to helping others in need and are considering starting a nonprofit?
RESPONSE: Do some serious research and learn what other organizations are already doing to address the problem. You need to find the unique value proposition that your organization will bring to the table. However tempted you are to go it alone, don’t! Foundations are looking for complimenting nonprofits, not competing. They will choose the best foundation, which could mean an existing partner if you are doing the same things. They will consider a second grantee, if you are doing something that supplements the services they already fund. Always think through their eyes first! Conduct interviews with like-organization's leadership/program staff and learn the challenges they faced. Identify what holes exist in their service model.
Assess yourself first. Surround yourself with people who are experts in areas that you are weak. If you’re a health-based organization, have doctors on your board. If you don’t understand financial statements, learn them, but first, make sure you have a mentor on your board. Know yourself. If you are a visionary, then hire a team that does details. Complimenting not competing!
Know how you will feed yourself. I started hH at 22 in 2013, and paid myself for the first time on January 31, 2018. If you are in this for the long haul, know that the early days are meager and plan accordingly. It was cheaper to become a student at the University of Hawaii and have access to student housing than an apartment lease. I could work out there for free as well. Networking events with food were my lifeline! The road is long, however, you meet so many amazing people along the way. The Maui Lions Club was one of the best finds. They invited me out with their families, found guest housing when I visited other islands, and always, always fed me! I cherish their friendships to this day.
QUESTION 4: If a person wants to start a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, what suggestions do you have based on your experience doing this? Did you complete the paperwork yourself, or did you hire professionals? If you experienced any problems with this process, please share the problems and how they were resolved.
RESPONSE: You can go //IRS.gov/Forms and download Form 1023 and instructions for filing Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. My general advice is to be broad in your purpose for the non-profit organization. Think about what you see the organization tackling, not only this year, but in the next 10 years. If you expand the purpose or activities of your nonprofit at a later date, you will need to amend this filing. There may also be tax implications down the road. After the CNN Hero award, the demand for our services skyrocketed. Our pencil and paper method of tracking screening results was no longer feasible. Half Helen developed an app that allows us to track students through the vision and hearing process. When schools saw the app, they asked to purchase a license. We had to substantiate that this earned revenue tied into the purpose of our work, otherwise it would have been taxable income.
Where you may need help is the pre-work. Submitting the Form 1023 requires Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Financial Statements. At the time half Helen filled out the Form 1023, I had limited resources, so I used friends with knowledge in these areas to complete the process. There is a filing fee! Remember, as your founding documents change, i.e., you amend your Bylaws, a copy should be sent to the IRS as well as the Secretary of State where you incorporated.
QUESTION 5: The selection of members of the Board of Directors for a new nonprofit is important. What characteristics for Board members do you believe are important? What contributions by Board members do you believe should be expected? Did your Board members receive any training? If so, please identify that training.
RESPONSE: Board membership has changed over time at half Helen. As a start up, they were hands on and knee deep in the weeds with me. I literally sought them out based on their expertise in what the organization was approximating and to shore up any deficiency in my personal knowledge, i.e., eye practice leaders, strategic planners, data gurus, software engineers, and accountants. As your organization grows, you have different needs from your board members. For example, initially I needed a board member that understood software development as we were building out our app. When that board member’s term ended and the app was completed, we agreed that the organization needed someone with expertise in marketing software. As your organization grows, board members should be naturally moving towards oversight versus being an extension of your staff. Bless them all, but that is not the true purpose of a board.
Ideally, you want your board to be passionate about what you are doing, understand how to create/articulate the vision for the non-profit, possess knowledge that drives your mission, and introduce you to their network to raise funds.
QUESTION 6: Most nonprofits benefit greatly from the contributions of volunteers. Approximately how many volunteers do you have? Approximately how many paid staff do you have? Have you experienced any problems recruiting volunteers? If so, please share your experience. What suggestions do you have for recruiting volunteers?
RESPONSE: As a health-based organization, hH has to comply with HIPAA. Furthermore, all of the services that we provide have to be delivered by certified.licensed individuals. In short, maximizing volunteers to expand our service delivery can be challenging. Some foundations have asked about the use of volunteer doctors in our practice. Finding a one off doctor to volunteer their time is feasible, finding one everyday, not so much. hH does use volunteers to help with our fundraising events, i.e. the Junior League provided six food servers for our Glow Ball Night Golf Tournament, etc. We recently started using volunteers to help with Spanish translation in our mobile clinic and dispensing eyewear to patients. With minimal training, a volunteer can make adjustments to best fit classes. Additionally, pre-optometry students at the University of Texas are a great resource for internships. It helps them to work at optometry practice while earning credit. We normally pay them $12-15 per hour as they are in school full time and their interest is very targeted towards our organization.