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

Katherine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Vanessa’s H.E.A.R.T. (Human Equality And Resource Team), Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the less fortunate communities in Baltimore City and surrounding counties in Maryland. The H.E.A.R.T. is a woman-led organization where our primary goal is to give back to the community we serve and to collaborate with like-minded organizations to maximize our outreach efforts. On any given day, approximately 1,600 men, women, and children experience homelessness in Baltimore City. This number does not account for individuals who may have shelter or a home but lack essential resources such as food, clothing, and other basic necessities. Many school children face challenges such as not having coats, shoes, school supplies, or even Christmas presents because their families can only afford rent and utilities. The reasons for these circumstances are varied, including mental health issues, substance abuse, lack of education, and limited resources. However, our focus is on providing support without judgment or questions. We aim to be a compassionate presence, offering assistance to those who may be at their lowest point, just as we would hope for someone to help us in a time of need. Our organization provides assistance through offering meals and essential items to those in need. Our community events include both stationary and mobile givebacks to broaden our reach within the less fortunate, homeless and low income populations. Typically, our stationary givebacks occur bi-monthly on the sidewalk of St. Vincent de Paul Church (Baltimore City). We have also partnered with organizations such as Baltimore Rescue Mission to provide food service and distribute aid. Our mobile givebacks take place throughout the city and counties, where we travel to areas where our friends live on the streets to distribute aid. Additionally, we set up in the Rosemont Community (Baltimore City) to provide aid to community members who are in need. Through these efforts, we have supported hundreds of individuals by providing hot and cold meals, snacks, clothing, hygiene products, socks, undergarments, tennis shoes, blankets, tents, hand warmers, gloves, hats, and more. We’ve partnered with Sussex Elementary School and Kenwood High School (Baltimore County Community Schools) to provide school supplies and other aid to children/youth in need. Also, we’ve partnered with the Baltimore City Police Department Northern District, “adopt a child for Christmas”program, “Ride Along” providing aid to those in need and “Warm Bags”. Additionally, we’ve built relationships with other nonprofits such as Positivity In Baltimore, TYIA, Instagiving, Born Into Silence, University of Baltimore, Aunt Becks, CLMBTWCLU, Faith With Works and more. We take pride in not only serving the community but also in fostering compassion, love, and respect for all individuals, regardless of their circumstances. We have formed meaningful bonds and relationships with the people we assist, emphasizing the importance of empathy and understanding in our mission.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Katherine Nichols, I am the wife to an amazing husband, Carnell Nichols, a serial entrepreneur and the youngest daughter to the late Vanessa Gross-Reed. She was not only my mother but also my greatest supporter and best friend. Her generosity and warmth touched everyone who knew her; she had a heart so big she would have given the clothes off her back to someone in need. Her influence profoundly shaped my passion and purpose. Her passing left a void that could never be filled, prompting me to honor her memory through meaningful actions, giving, and helping others. As the passionate Founder and Executive Director of Vanessa’s HEART, I’ve dedicated over 8 years to serving homeless and less fortunate individuals in Baltimore City and the surrounding areas. What sets me apart is my diverse background in management, customer service, photography/videography, and transportation has uniquely equipped me to address the needs of our community. With my management skills, I leverage my experience, and I lead our team with compassion and efficiency. I prioritize empathy and understanding in all interactions with my vast years of customer service experience. My photography/videography experience helps me capture the essence of our work and sharing our impact and my transportation experience ensures vital resources reach those who need them most. My attention to detail ensures that every initiative is executed flawlessly. I take great pride in organizing successful community giveback events, connecting with other like minded people/organizations, volunteering and serving the underserved community. There is a great deal involved in helping others and being of service, and I am profoundly grateful that God has chosen me to be a vessel for this purpose. He also gave me a supportive sister, Aundrea Brown who allowed me to keep our mother’s memory alive and who serves the community beside me. Running a nonprofit organization presents its challenges, but I approach every task with integrity and dedication, ensuring everything is done in decency and order, and always from the heart. I also have an amazing Board of Directors, Samantha Wallace and Kelly Townes-Parker, along with my board who’s support is much needed to complete every task at hand.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Running a nonprofit organization is undoubtedly challenging. From its inception to now, three years later, it has not become any easier. Essentially, I am a full-time employee who receives no monetary compensation, working tirelessly out of passion and commitment. Despite the abundance of resources available to guide the formation and maintenance of a 501(c)(3), fundraising, securing corporate sponsorships, and building relationships with other organizations, it ultimately falls on me to learn, apply, and ensure compliance and order. Due to the specific demographic we serve and our current limitations in offering additional services, we are often ineligible for government or city grants. Additionally, the high number of nonprofits with similar missions or more comprehensive services often results in our organization being overlooked or overshadowed in competition with others targeting more appealing demographics. While corporations appreciate and encourage our efforts, they frequently do not provide the financial assistance needed to sustain our operations. Our survival has largely depended on the generosity of our network of friends, family, a few supportive chain stores (Walmart, Weis, Sam’s Club, Wegmans) and small businesses (Ra Javar, Blu Vision Photography, MQ Fitness, ACE mobile detailing, SBC Professionals, Morning Star Storage and more) that believe in our cause and contribute both financially and through item donations. Initially, I was hesitant to solicit donations, but it has now become almost second nature due to our ongoing needs. Despite hearing “no” more often than “yes,” I remain steadfast in my belief in our mission. Every day, I work diligently to ensure that we have the necessary resources to make each event successful and to provide the help that our community so desperately needs.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons being the founder/executive director of Vanessa’s H.E.A.R.T. I had to unlearn was to “stop taking the word NO, so personally”. The word “NO” is really an unnecessary word and I would totally be ok if it was stricken from the dictionary or at least from the organizations I’ve asked to financially support us. I’ve been told “NO” a lot of times but this one particular “NO” from a great organization who shall remain nameless, really affected me. I was so excited, finally I located a corporation who’s sole purpose was to help nonprofit organizations financially and grant requests were being accepted on a rolling basis which means I didn’t miss the deadline to apply. However you had to send an email with a LOI (letter of intent) which would be reviewed and if accepted, you’re sent a link to the application. Although the application process was long, tedious and exhausting, I finally finished it. After submitting the application, I received an email stating “If you receive an email or any correspondence before May 1st, your application has been denied”. From that day until May 1st, I was holding my breath, hoping every time I checked my emails, that the organization didn’t contact me. To my delight, I didn’t receive an email from them until May 5th. Can you imagine how excited I was, only to read they were not giving us the grant. I was devastated and heartbroken, so much so I cried…..the ugly cry. I cried because I just knew it was a sure thing, I did my research, I wrote everything correctly, my organization qualified for it, we need this money, how are we going to help people without this money……you didn’t contact me until after the deadline. After I wiped my eyes, I had to realize it wasn’t them telling me “NO” it was them saying “not this time”. They didn’t know me personally to tell me “NO” simply because it was me, they told the organization “NO” because it wasn’t our time yet. We were a new organization, who just formed and we were a risk that they weren’t willing to take at that time. But I took it personally because I am so invested and attached to Vanessa’s HEART that I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. As the decision maker for our organization I have to say “NO” or decline invitations or requests from people/organizations who would have loved to receive a “YES” too but its always business…….never personal. It’s about being aligned and sometimes it’s just not a good fit. Now hearing “NO” isn’t as hard to hear, not because I’m no longer attached to the organization, but because I know what God has for me will be for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vanessasheart.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/vanessasheartorg?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessasheartinc?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VanessasHEARTOrg

Image Credits

Nick Flicks Photography