The Hello Seven Foundation is on a mission to improve Black maternal health outcomes in the US.
It’s a project that Rachel and the Hello Seven team lovingly “launched ugly” in 2021, and just seven months ago, I was tasked with leading it to its destiny to be a powerful gap-closing, change-making, social-impact machine.
When I started this journey, there were only a few Google Docs to read through to get caught up on the Foundation’s activities to date. But with a background in operations and an undying passion for birth work and social impact, I was excited to build processes, install software, create policies, and develop a strategic plan.
As a result:
- We raised $68,000+ and funded $55,000+ in birth support services for 12 families in 2022.
- We developed a new voucher system, improving the application process for all stakeholders
- We filed our Form 990 with the IRS, acquired solicitation licenses in two states, secured insurance, and held two successful board meetings.
- We set up our social media pages as a verified nonprofit and started crafting content. (Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!)
- We have a beautiful new Notion teamspace that helps me keep my head on straight and creates transparency for board members and collaborators.
- We launched a new donation platform featuring new payment processors (Apple Pay and Paypal), employer donation matching, and a tool to make it easy to fundraise on our behalf.
- We got a gorgeous new brand (don’t you loooove the logo?) and we are getting ready to launch a new website in the next few weeks – stay tuned!
And now that the foundation for the Foundation has been laid, we’re going after this audacious goal all 2023:
Raise $1 million to serve thousands of families with doulas, night nurses, midwives, childcare, and other effective solutions to the Black maternal health crisis.
Yes, you read that right: $1 million. When I shared my annual plan for the Foundation with Rachel, my original fundraising goal was $500k – which I thought was a stretch given that we only raised $68k last year. But she said, “Let’s double it.”
Ha! My mind was blown into a completely new realm. A million dollars?? I felt a mix of shock and doubt with a sprinkle of fear.
I didn’t think we’d get there at first, but I was committed to trying. And Rachel could probably tell from the look on my face. She put her coaching cap on and reassured me that I would have her and the team’s support, and then started to spew off money-moves that took my visions to the next level.
I realized that this goal of becoming a seven-figure social-benefit business (aka nonprofit) isn’t just possible, it’s inevitable, and if it’s going to happen anywhere, it’ll happen here at Hello Seven.
We believe we should all be millionaires. And this mission is a through-line in all we do.
So, a few weeks later, Rachel helped expand my abundance mindset yet again.
At ROI: The Millionaire Summit, Hello Seven made a surprise donation to a holistic perinatal health center in Puerto Rico, Centro MAM. I had the honor of presenting this gift to the org’s leaders at ROI’s closing ceremony where they shared a few words about their work. The clinical director, Paloma, explained to the audience that essential goods are very hard to come by. What might cost people in the US $20 can cost $40+ for people living on the island.
I think that sparked something in Rachel’s mind.
A few seconds later, moments before we brought an oversized check on stage to surprise them with a $25,000 donation, she whispers in my ear, “Let’s double it.”
So we did. Right there on stage. Again – Mind. Blown.
I just remember thinking, this moment is the whole point. This is why we can, should, and will all be millionaires.
I’ll share more on that next week, but with these two experiences, I gained a new tool to help me think bigger. Was I thinking “small” before? I don’t think so. But, I wasn’t thinking as big as when I consider, what if I double it?
I routinely ask myself that question now, because how else will we ever achieve the unimaginable if we don’t imagine it?
The reality is, there’s a lot of work to do in the fight for better Black birth experiences, AND the reality is there’s a lot of money out there that wants to help. We doubled our goal so that we can double our impact, and it’s as simple as that.
I’m confident that the generational impact Hello Seven Foundation funding has on a family is the main reason it will be a seven-figure nonprofit. We’re putting every dollar donated towards our mission of supporting safer and happier birth experiences for our babies who need it the most… and something tells me that ✨ money energy ✨ is really attracted to this idea.
This is the first of a weekly newsletter series where I’ll be sharing the journey of building out this vision with you. Today, I encourage you to ask yourself: What if I double it?
With Peace and Love,
Shaelina Holmes
Executive Director
Hello Seven Foundation
hello@helloseven.org
