Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura Bonnell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Laura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?
When my daughter Molly was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (3 months after she was born in 1994) I reached out to the CF Foundation for support, education and answers to common questions when raising a child with a deadly disease. In 1994 their answer was, “We are a fundraising entity, we can’t help you. Ask your doctor.” Their answer made me mad, annoyed and left me in disbelief. They were the only umbrella organization for CF. They didn’t even refer me to smaller independent Foundations. This was the moment I decided to start a Foundation to help parents navigate a life with cystic fibrosis, and to raise awareness about the disease. (I am happy to report that since my first encounter with CFF they have grown and changed to better meet parent needs).
I was mentally buried in Molly’s diagnoses, and trying to figure out what it all meant. I knew I couldn’t start my Foundation yet. My husband and I were both working full time and still processing the diagnosis, and all that it would mean to our family.
At the time Molly was diagnosed, Joe and I were also thinking about our future. Could we have more kids? We wanted 6 kids, but that was no longer our reality with a 1 in 4 chance with each pregnancy that we could have a second child with CF. We were still processing the disease when I thought it was a good idea to speak at the CF Foundations Tennis Auction Ball. I was a local celebrity (a news reporter at the all news radio station) and the CFF asked me to share my story. At one point I started crying, then I pulled myself together, and finished my talk. Parents were so moved by the grief I expressed about the diagnosis and by my story. This was my second reminder that I had the voice (and the platform with 1 million listeners at the Detroit radio station) to share my story, and educate others.
In August of 2010 I finally had the time to start my Foundation. In 2011, after begging Costco to put an article in their magazine about CF (I begged for a year with emails and phone calls) they did https://
It was these little steps that got the Foundation to where it is today as it continues to grow.
The process to start the Foundation was grueling. I had no idea what I was doing. None. So I just took it step by step. What do I do first? I put together a Board of Directors. I needed By-Laws, so I asked an attorney to do some pro bono work. The next step was to get recognition from my city and state so that I could get a federal tax ID. That was a long process, with many challenges. So many challenges and twists and turns over the years, including most recently, the pandemic.
Laura, 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?
Growing up with a Dad who was an attorney, and a Mother who was a sculptor I had creativity and goals in my blood. At a young age I read the newspaper and as many books as I could get my hands on. My Dad was the President of our city’s school board and ran for office, so I also understood and paid attention to politics. By the age of 12 years old I knew that I wanted to be a news reporter because I honestly believed I could do it better than the people I saw on TV. My first job was delivering the local newspaper (I believe I was the first girl to be a carrier for that particular paper). I had already witnessed anti semitism first hand when my grandfather was called a kike by one of my kindergarten classmates. I will never forget the look on my grandfather’s face. He was horrified, sad and tears were running down his face. A grown man who escaped antisemitism, immigrating to the U.S from Austria. He was moved to tears by a 5 year old. That moment was burned in my brain as he turned to walk back to our house in tears wearing his prayer shawl and yamaka. That’s when my advocacy brain connected, and probably why I still advocate today for rights for people with rare disease.
I went to college because I thought I needed the education to get the job I wanted. In my case, I was wrong (but it was a great learning experience). University did not make me a journalist, it didn’t prepare me or even train me. I learned life skills and how to pay for college, but journalism, I learned this on my own. I went to work at the local cable station and learned more there than in any University class. I left Michigan State University for Northern Michigan University (my senior year because I got a job in radio). I finished my degree at NMU (I was better suited for a small college). I wrote for the local newspaper and a local radio station. Then I got a TV news reporting job in Green Bay, Wisconsin. From Wisconsin I moved back to Michigan and started my dream job at WWJ radio. I worked at WWJ (all news) and WJR (talk radio) my entire career, even after I started my Foundation. I also wrote for The Detroit News, The Jewish News, Metro Parent magazine, The Daily Tribune, and more. I continued my career in radio and TV until 2019 (just before the pandemic) when I started working on my Foundation full time. I covered so many stories over 25 years in Detroit (from Rosa Parks to Jack Kevorkian, rock stars and politicians). It was getting boring. I just wanted to do stories about the CF community and work on my foundation full time. It was finally time.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Life is about pivoting, constantly. I tell this to my daughters all the time: have a back up plan, or have the strength to know you can always pivot.
I have endless examples of pivoting, but the one story that may be best for this writing is fundraising during a pandemic. The world shut down in March of 2020. At the time we hoped everything would be okay in three months? So we weren’t canceling our biggest gala yet that was coming up in September. By May it was clear that we could not have an in person event anytime soon.
I hired a video crew and planned a live event for that event date in September. I asked my banker husband to be the auctioneer for the life auction and worked to put together pre-packaged videos. I even had my girls record a short skit from England to Detroit, Molly and Emily made the signature drink for the event (people were given the ingredients after they paid full price for their tickets). It was an incredible event. People had home parties and sent in pictures. September of 2020 was our most successful fundraiser to date and the live portion was done in our backyard!
It changed the way a lot of people decided to fundraise, but for us it was a reminder about how many different ways we could meet people and get them engaged.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
Persistence for me is the key to financial success. I don’t like fundraising honestly, but it is obviously, unavoidable. We get a good portion of our funding from pharmaceutical companies. Their funding allows The Bonnell Foundation: Living with cystic fibrosis to start new programs, and financially support other programs. To be clear, I am always transparent about this, and will hold anyone accountable, regardless of sponsorships.
I constantly stay in touch with representatives for each company. As it is with all business, if they don’t know who you are, I don’t think they would give much thought to investing with you. I start talking to donors in November or December about their budget for the following year (that’s the pharma budget timeline). Because of my persistence we sometimes get more funding than other non profits like mine, or we get funding others don’t get.
An example is also loyalty. One of the representatives from pharma was fired. She was an incredible person and I believe was wrongly let go. We recently began a program (I deleted the In Spanish part because people might know who she is) with my Foundation that she was a critical part of making it successful. She was devastated and called me to tell me what happened. She was crying and I went into, “How can I help you?” mode. Some may think that was unprofessional of her, but I throw that out the window. We’re all humans, just trying to make it in this crazy, hard world. I reached out to every pharma person I knew. She ended up getting hired by one of the companies I connected her with. She of course did this on her own, but I am grateful that I was able to connect her. We remain good friends. She has told me that she is committed to my Foundation (even though she was hired to help a different disease). She introduced me to another colleague in a different department and that colleague gave my Foundation a huge grant (no foul play here. There is a fire wall of separation. It was a legit grant). It was the connections and loyalty that made the difference.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebonnellfoundation.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonnellfoundation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebonnellfoundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/15559230/admin/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoadmapToCF
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxPDZTZt3hBuyomkxLFttNw
- Other: Tik Tok: @thebonnellfoundation Threads: bonnellfoundation
Image Credits
Laura Bonnell