We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tonya Scherf. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tonya below.

Alright, Tonya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I feel being successful is more than just making money and/or a name for yourself in one’s chosen field. Success, for me, has really come from a deeper place of happiness in what I’m doing. When you believe, whole-heartedly, in your work, you bring another level of success to that.
When I was younger, success to me meant ‘climbing the corporate ladder’ and consistent ‘advancement of titles’, etc. Even as I rose up through the ranks, so to speak, I always felt there had to be more. It wasn’t until I allowed myself to dive into a field that was not only tough, but also not very glamorous that I realized I had passion for something like never before. That passion gave way to happiness and fighting for change in my respective field. Seeing the difference I could make in someone else’s life is what made me feel successful. They say money doesn’t buy happiness. I also feel that salary, titles, etc.. is not what makes someone truly successful either. Success comes from the passion one feels and how that passion is used to help push us to really make something different. In my case of working in nonprofit, I feel the most successful when I help others.

Tonya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I found my way to the nonprofit sector after a 4 year career in advertising & marketing. Now with more than 20 years of professional experience in a variety of leadership roles, I feel that “service to others” has always been my true passion. My non-profit experience includes the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where some of my responsibilities included running that chapter’s largest fundraising event, the MS Bike-To-The-Bay, serving as their PR Director, and eventually as their Director of Chapter Programs & Services. While working with NMSS, I really ‘found my place’, learning that social services work was not only what I loved, but where I belonged. My non-profit experience was further enhanced by working with the United Way, as the Executive Director of Camp Courageous & The Arc and more recently as the Executive Director of Food for Thought Toledo.

A few of the things I’m most proud of is my involvment with the merger between the Arc of Lucas County and Camp Courageous, growing programming for Camp Courageous by 150%, doubling the amount of sponsorship for fundraising events. But more importantly, I’m most proud of the difference I’ve made in the lives of the clients I’ve served over the years. Whether it was helping them navigate a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, find food in their area, or complete the paperwork so they could get disability; I love knowing I have helped someone in need.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing staff can be very challenging particularly when there are so many different personalities. I have found the most success with managing comes from being a good listener. Maybe it’s from my past years as a bartender but I find I can get a read on someone pretty quickly. Really listening and getting to know my staff individually has helped me know what each person needs. I try to tailor each staff member’s job to showcase their strengths as well as give them opportunities to grow. I have an open-door policy and am always open to hearing new ideas, different points of view, as well as feedback (good or bad).
Always being honest with my staff has helped us develop trust with one another. I make it a point to celebrate all the successes and wins. I find that reminding each staff member of how important they are to the team and how we all play a pivotal role in the success of the organization is key to maintaining high morale.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

A nonprofit organization is very different from our corporate, for-profit friends. We are expected to provide resources to clients where there is a gap in services. But we’re expected to do this work for less pay while always fighting to keep our funding. This is no safety net for a nonprofit. A nonprofit organization closing not only means our employees are out of a job but it also means our clients, who rely very much on our services, will go without. There have been a few times over the past 10 years that we have been afraid we weren’t going to make it due to cuts in corporate funding, cuts in grants, etc.. Our job is to take the money we raise and put it right back into the community in the form of programs and services for those we serve. Doing that leaves very little to stash away for a rainy day. I guess I would love to tell people that when they find a cause they believe in and want to support to remember that no donation is too small (or too big, lol). Every dollar adds up and each and every dollar raised helps us continue providing life saving services to our neighbors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.feedtoledo.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feedtoledo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feedtoledo