One Woman's Journey To Making A Difference And Helping Others Succeed – Interview With Taimere Wood
Taimere Wood is a leader in the nonprofit industry arming sector leaders with high-performance practices to ensure sustainability. She is the Founder & CEO of Back Office Support Solutions (B.O.S.S. Nonprofit Consulting), a consulting firm helping nonprofits and philanthropies change what's achievable in social impact. Before starting her company, Taimere continues to work in the nonprofit industry after 11+ years.
Taimere Wood, Nonprofit Professional
How did you become passionate about the nonprofit industry and dedicating your career to service?
My journey in the nonprofit industry started in 2009 while obtaining my Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice at Clark Atlanta University. I've always understood that it's everyone's responsibility to give back to the community and knew early on that volunteering would be a vital stepping stone for my career. I started as an administrative volunteer for a public safety foundation and quickly moved into a paid position supporting their anonymous crime tip line. Before leaving the organization in 2015, my passion grew for the nonprofit industry and I knew my career would become community-service driven.
She moved on to become the Director of Operations & Development for a prestige mental health organization making strides to destigmatize education and resources for treatment access as well as destigmatizing attitudes. Tell us more about who you serve. Do you help specific nonprofits based on their mission, size, etc.?
Back Office Support Solutions was created to help nonprofit leaders turn their ideas into a sustainable organization and those needing strategy to scale their established organization – and everyone in between! I pride myself in meeting the client where they are to establish a path to success during our partnership. I have helped organizations with missions including but not limited to mental health education, breastfeeding advocacy, youth development & mentoring and so many others. The goal of B.O.S.S. is to help others make the change they want to see in their community.
Since its inception in 2020, I am proud to say that I have helped more than 15 organizations through short and long-term projects including tax exemption status, program development, fundraising strategy, operations, policies & procedures, etc. You mentioned you help some people transition their ideas into sustainable organizations. How easy is it to start a nonprofit?
On the contrary, starting a nonprofit is not easy. The perception most people have is a nonprofit has access to easy tax-free money. Most nonprofits fail within their first 10 years for a multitude of reasons like lack of funding, lack of strategy, poor leadership, etc. I like to make sure my clients that want to start a nonprofit have done their research identified gaps where their organization can fit, and have the passion to see it through. Passion is what motivates people to start a nonprofit but need to know that you still need a business plan, strategic plan, evidenced-based programs, fundraising & marketing strategies, and resources to obtain the goals of the organization.
If someone wants to start a nonprofit, my initial advice is don't. There are millions of nonprofits worldwide and hundreds of them may have the same mission so what would set your organization apart? If you have done your research and identified a gap in service where your organization could fit, volunteer for a similar organization to confirm. Volunteering can help you identify if setting up a nonprofit is the best way to proceed and also identify potential programming that can fill the gap in service from established organizations. At this stage, some people will decide not to pursue a nonprofit because of the competition from established organizations. Funding is one of the pillars of sustainability for a nonprofit and competition can make or break you so is it worth it?
If you have made it this far, that's where B.O.S.S. Nonprofit Consulting comes in.
So what makes B.O.S.S. Nonprofit Consulting unique from similar consulting firms?
Through my nonprofit experience, I have had the opportunity to work in every department of an organization including administration, programming, marketing/communications, fundraising, and operations/compliance. This provides a unique perspective of services I can provide by ensuring the strategy makes sense to everyone within the organization despite their role or respective department.
That is amazing! Your work was just recently recognized for your efforts.
Yes! I recently received an International Business Elite 40 Under 40 Award in Las Vegas during Women's History Month. It is an amazing feeling to have worked so hard and be recognized for the impact I'm making not for nonprofit leaders but the community they serve as well.
Thank you for your time Taimere! Is there anything you would like to share with the Brainz Community?
I believe it is everyone's responsibility to give back to the community. We are all a village of people despite our differences and it's everyone's responsibility to ensure everyone has access to the same resources and opportunities. Even if you aren't interested in setting up a nonprofit, I encourage everyone to volunteer when they can and/or contribute to a worthy organization no matter how big or small.
