We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angela Burgess a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angela , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

Winston Churchill famously said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” When I started my company, Broad Oaks Consulting, I knew that giving back would be part of our mission. We exist to help nonprofits raise more money with confidence. I am of the firm belief that you cannot ask someone to do something that you are not willing to do yourself. Therefore, a minimum of 5% of gross proceeds from Broad Oaks Consulting and 10% of all book proceeds from my best-selling book, “Are You On the Right Bus? Navigating Change on the Road to Success,” go to nonprofits that better our community.

Funds go to clients we support, but also to causes about which we care. When I think of every major societal issue we have – natural disasters, homelessness, poverty, mental health, education disparity, food insecurity, etc. – it’s not big corporations or the government who are actively (and effectively) working to solve these issues ; it’s nonprofits. It’s people getting up every day saying, “We can do better,” and choosing to dedicate their time, talent, and treasure to making our communities safer, more equitable, and more vibrant places to live and work.

I also look at revenue sources of nonprofits as well as their outcomes. Nonprofits that are privately funded, meaning they receive no state or government funding, have a tendency to have better outcomes because they can custom tailor their programs to meet the individual needs of those they serve, whereas nonprofits that are largely state or government funded are restricted on how the funds can be used.

Privately funded nonprofits also have to work harder to raise funds year after year, so they have a tendency to be better stewards of donated funds.

At the end of the day, it comes down to 2 criteria:

1) Are they doing work that you believe in and want to support?
2) Are their outcomes measurable and impactful?

Angela , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a businesswoman and entrepreneur who strives to leave the world a little better than I found it each day.

I’m the President and CEO of Broad Oaks Consulting, a boutique firm dedicated to helping nonprofits of all sizes break through fundraising barriers and raise more money with confidence so they can focus on the real work: making the world a better place.

What makes Broad Oaks Consulting unique is 1) our approach to helping nonprofits achieve success and; 2) my background.

Running a successful nonprofit is not dissimilar to running a successful business. With rare experience in the financial services industry and nonprofit leadership, we help nonprofits run like other successful businesses.

I’ve had the unique experience of working in both wealth management and asset protection, as well as nonprofit development and leadership. For more than two decades, we have helped financial and philanthropic advisors grow their businesses. Our training, coaching, and leadership of nonprofit teams and the advisors who serve them have led to raising hundreds of million of dollars for their businesses and missions.

I began my decade long career in wealth management with Principal Financial Group (now Principal) and at 27, I became the Assistant Branch Office Manager in the 19th largest retail brokerage office for Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley) in the United States. At that time, there were 220 managers in the firm. I was the 19th woman hired to the management team, and the youngest of all 220.

In my early 30’s I began thinking that I wanted my life to mean more. I wanted to leave work every day knowing that I didn’t just help people accumulate more wealth, but that the time and energy I shared would help make the world just a little better.

In 2011, I left my successful corporate career to be the Director of Philanthropy at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls in Chicago, IL. My background in wealth management and wealth and estate transfer planning was the perfect way to connect people and their money with a great mission, and their program grew substantially during my tenure. But after 7 years being captive to one nonprofit, I was again ready to do more. I wanted to teach more nonprofits how to experience radical success, and thus, Broad Oaks Consulting was born.

Our unique approach to consulting has led to our clients doubling their donations from private sources within one year of completing our signature, Laying a Foundation for Growth, program. We continue to innovate, add services and opportunities for our clients, and respond to the fundraising landscape with timely and needed tools and information. Being on the cusp of a breakthrough without clarity on how to get there can be frustrating. Our tried and true processes allow nonprofits to spend more time focusing their energy on the positive impact they desire to make in the world. With a map in hand, they can proactively move ahead so they know exactly how to grow.

I am incredibly proud of the custom solutions we create for nonprofit and in some cases, for-profit organizations. We help organizations identify their issues, which are often structural, and empower their people to achieve beyond what they ever thought possible. Seeing our clients thrive and expand their reach is the greatest reward imaginable. Seeing their people grow into confident leaders is truly indescribable.

I am also proud that I published my first book, “Are You on the Right Bus? Navigating Change on the Road to Success” in September 2023. The notes, reviews, and comments I’ve received sharing how this motivational autobiography has caused them to rethink their lives, their careers, and how they run their businesses fill my heart with so much joy. I set out to empower people to embrace their inherent gifts to benefit the world and to see that actually happen is perhaps my greatest achievement thus far.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The list of books and people that have inspired me to think outside the box, scale my business, and lead my team is long and always growing!

Having the courage to embrace your dreams and market yourself as an expert in your field is daunting. No one has done more to help me break through this mental barrier than Dorie Clark. Her book, “The Long Game” was eye-opening and pivotal in my decision to fire all but 2 of my clients in 2021 so that I could rebuild my business to better serve my clients and scale my business. Her other books, “Entrepreneurial You” and “Reinventing You” are also great reads for anyone who is ready to embrace a new chapter in their life, but unsure of what they want to do or how to begin.

Dorie doesn’t just talk about her own path to success, she provides you with a manual on how to get there. I also participate in Dorie’s Recognized Expert Course, which is an online course that teaches you how – step by step – to become a recognized expert in your chosen field of endeavor. Her books and information on all her courses can be found at dorieclark.com

Once you know what you want to do, you must figure out how to tell your story in a way that clearly states your purpose and inspires people to action. Donald Miller’s “Building a Story Brand” is your best friend. We, as humans, process the world through story. From your website to your email drip campaign, your social media, and your client interactions, an effectively told story will help you grow your business more than any other single marketing tool. His online resources and book can be found at storybrand.com

To continue to run your business you must engage in client acquisition, or sales. I learned to sell with a program called “Integrity Selling for the 21st Century,” by Ron Willingham. This needs based approach to selling not only resonated with my values, but took the guesswork out of the sales process. I’m here to help people solve problems, not make money by selling a product or service. Rather than trying to sell my prospective clients on the services I’ve created, I listen to their challenges, evaluating whether what I have to offer can solve their problems. If my solutions are not the right fit, I do my best to refer them elsewhere. While “selling away” may be difficult at times financially, the goodwill it creates always comes back tenfold. Integrity Selling products and services continue to evolve and can be found at integritysolutions.com

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like growing my business is a continual exercise in pivoting. I launched my business in 2018 and grew it rather quickly. I felt like I was just getting some great traction when the pandemic hit. A few of my contracts came to an abrupt end with wallets tightening and uncertainty looming.

In April, 2020, the Executive Director at one of my clients, RaiseUp Families, accepted a position elsewhere. I was the only person who knew the organization as well as she did, and so together we created a plan to present hiring me as the Interim Executive Director for the organization to the Board of Directors. Because they were experiencing financial difficulty at the time, I reduced my monthly fee by 25% to make the offer more enticing.

The board voted to bring me on, but only for as long as it took to merge the organization with another and close it down. Instead, I doubled their revenue.

I stayed on as ED for nearly four years – arguably longer than I should have – as it distracted me from growing my client base at Broad Oaks Consulting. However, for 4 years I used RaiseUp Families as a testing ground for fundraising and marketing innovation. In that time, the organization:

1) Expanded Board of Directors by 50%
2) Doubled the number of families (clients) being served
3) Client outcomes improved by 100% (average income increase in signature 9-month HandUp program went from 35% – 71%)
4) Client graduation rate improved from 80% to 91%
5) Revenue growth from $450,000 to $1,000,015 (donations from private sources)

Not only that, but my other clients benefited from everything I tested there, growing their revenue by anywhere from 20-100% each year.

On March 1, 2024, I passed the baton to the next ED who will lead the organization through its next growth phase and I am, once again, pivoting to a renewed focus on growing my client base through Broad Oaks.

Remember that every pivot you are forced to make can actually be an opportunity to hone your craft. Success is not linear!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://broadoaksconsulting.com
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• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broadoaksconsulting/
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Image Credits
Chris Gillett and FemForce