Sierrah Chavis

I would definitely say my children. I was a young mom, still in college when I had my first daughter, so for me, she pushed me to really want to do better and do more. I didn't have it all figured out. I don't think any new mom knows exactly what she's doing, and not enough books could tell you. She taught me a lot and pushed me to want more and to have more because I had someone that was dependent on me. I had my kids at different stages of my life, and I think all of them, at every stage, taught me something different and gave me more of a push and a drive to want to exceed and do it for them, especially for my daughters, because representation matters and kids watch everything you do. I want them to see an example of what they could become. That's honestly why I started Bossy Girl too, because there were so many girls that I was teaching that didn't have the best representation in their life. That's what life kind of dealt them with, so I wanted them to turn something that usually is negative - people associate bossy girls or being bossy with something negative - but I wanted to kind of flip it to have a different type of positive meaning. It doesn't have to be something that's so negative. It can honestly be something that people look up to, and we change that mindset of how you lead with intentionality and purpose and drive, and how you show up, and how you be responsible, and be honest, and lead with that integrity.

The one thing I would always say is life is going to throw you so many curveballs. Sometimes we can anticipate them, sometimes we can't, but even when you get knocked down, just keep going. My favorite line from Finding Nemo, Dory is, just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Even when you don't know, just keep going, just keep going. Life will give you some lemons, but make lemonade, get creative, and never stop seeking for new opportunities. I think this is what we call a popcorn generation - they want things fast and quick - but just always continue to grow and learn from those life lessons. Life happens, but just keep going.

Being a fundraiser and having my own nonprofit, but then also working for a huge nonprofit, fundraising is big right now. From grants to sponsorships to donor engagement, there's been a decline. The economy in itself has taken a drop, and a lot of people are just trying to save as much of their money and their coins, so they're not giving as they used to and probably not at the same level either that they could potentially give at. Grants are a smaller pool now to even seek those opportunities. You kind of have to know someone to know someone and kind of have an in now. For me, philanthropy is not about necessarily how much money you can raise. I mean, there is a dollar amount, obviously a goal that everyone has, but for me, it's about the relationship-building piece, because that's really critical and important to any success of any organization. The money will always come once you have those good relationships and rapport with the people that you're supporting and helping. I'm always intentional about who I'm building with, who I'm reaching, who I'm touching, because you never know what can come from that. I always just make sure that those relationships are at a standard that I'm happy with and that they're happy with. Money is always critical, especially right now in this climate and culture. Everybody needs something, and the need is sometimes much greater than what we can actually do, but I always try to lead and go in with intentionality and do the best I can do.

For me, it's leading with integrity, leading with honesty, and always being able to show up and be present. I think those, for me, is the integrity piece and the honesty piece, but also being able to lead with purpose and being able to show up when it matters the most.