High Impact Philanthropy: Becky Fawcett Of Helpusadopt.org On How To Leave A Lasting Legacy With A Successful & Effective Nonprofit Organization
An Interview with Karen Mangia
You can’t be afraid of failure. The other phrase I hear frequently as an entrepreneur and a non profit founder is “It can’t be done.” I always say, one of the most important things I do every day is tune out the naysayers, tune out the noise as I answered earlier. Sometimes when you are building out a large idea, your first approach to some of the smaller pieces might not be exactly right. But that gets you to the next step and you can fine tune. Some see this as failure, I see it as part of the build. I’m still here 18 years later, and the brick by brick strategy I began with has taken form and continues to grow even larger.
For someone who wants to set aside money to establish a Philanthropic Foundation or Fund, what does it take to make sure your resources are being impactful and truly effective? In this interview series, called “How To Create Philanthropy That Leaves a Lasting Legacy” we are visiting with founders and leaders of Philanthropic Foundations, Charitable Organizations, and Non-Profit Organizations, to talk about the steps they took to create sustainable success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Becky Fawcett.
Becky Fawcett is founder and president of www.helpusadopt.org, a national 501 © (3) financial grant program that helps couples/individuals (regardless of ethnicity, gender, marital status, race, religion or sexual orientation) with the cost of their adoptions by awarding grants up to $30,000. Becky has helped build over 1,000 families and has given over $10 million dollars in grants since founding the organization in 2007 after 5 rounds of IVF, 3 pregnancies, 3 miscarriages and $82,000 spent only to say the word ADOPTION and her life was forever changed. Becky resides in NYC along with her two daughters and this year giving $3 million in grants alone…and if you ask her, she is only just getting started.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about a ‘top of mind’ topic. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Can you please tell us about one or two life experiences that most shaped who you are today?
There are two significant experiences that have shaped me into who I am today. First, I am infertile and a failed IVF patient. Second, I adopted my daughters as newborns. Jane is almost 20 and Brooke is almost 16. Facing infertility at 31 years old and then facing the reality that IVF was not going to work for me was devastating at the time. If I am honest with you, I never thought I would be whole after that. The thought of adopting back in 2005 was terrifying (mostly because NO ONE talked about it), but the thought of not being a mother was even worse. The second I held my first baby, Jane, I understood what motherhood was really all about and was consumed with thinking how I could possibly help those behind me in this process. Helpusadopt.org was founded in 2007, but it was in 2009, when I met my second baby, Brooke, that I knew this organization was to become my lifelong mission.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? We would love to hear a few stories or examples.
The term, ‘Successful Leader’ I can’t say that I think of myself that way but if that definition is someone who sees the goal, faces challenges head on and takes action, I’d say yes that is who I am. The other day a donor asked me when I really knew that I had created something great with Helpusadopt.org. “The minute I wrote the business plan,” I told them. I didn’t even have a name at that point, but in my gut I knew. I had done enough research to know that I didn’t see an adoption grant program like what I just created on paper. Because of that gut instinct, I believed from the start. With that belief and my personal adoption struggle and story, I knew I could get others to believe too.
I hear a lot of great speakers talk about one of the biggest challenges is when to start. People delay that leap because they don’t think they are prepared enough. Once I wrote the business plan, I didn’t hesitate or look back. I jumped right in, didn’t worry about failure, and only thought about what I could possibly achieve. I think that alone makes a successful leader.
You want three things?
1. The ability to believe in my own ability.
2. The ability to tune out the noise — -because everyone will tell you why something can’t be done — 18 years later some still try to tell me things can’t be done and I’m still not listening.
3. I am willing to do the work. I am amazed every day by those who want the glory without putting in the work. Everyday, I wake up and just put in the hours, no matter what it entails. I know my daughters see what I do and that’s the most important thing to me. As for everyone else, I’m not sure if they see the actual hours involved, but I don’t need anyone to see my actual hours. It truly doesn’t matter, as long as we are all working towards the same goal.
What’s the most interesting discovery you’ve made since you started leading your organization?
Since I started Helpusadopt.org (2007) I certainly can’t pick only 1 interesting thing I have discovered, I think I have discovered a few things that are all very important in the growth of myself as a leader:
1. How generous people can truly be.
2. How misunderstood the adoption community is and adoption in general.
3. How negative the stigmas are that are associated with adoption and that it really isn’t being talked about in the right way.
4. It’s really so very easy to help other people — -but you have to want to help, you have to actually want to do the work!
Can you please tell our readers more about how you or your organization intends to make a significant social impact?
Out of the gate in 2007, I knew in my heart that if Helpusadopt.org could make the difference in the life of one child it would make a significant social impact. I think where I see the world differently is that sometimes people think too big out of the gate — putting that end of the road goal out of reach. The approach I took in building Helpusadopt.org was brick by brick. If every day I could help one person, then that day was a success. Over the past 18 years some days it’s been more, some days it’s one and some days (no matter how valiant the effort) it’s zero! The significant social change that Helpusadopt.org has created and still has to create is multi -faceted:
1. Our grant program, by the end of 2025, will have helped to build over 1000 families since our launch in 2007.
2. We have changed the way Americans think about adoption through our vocal advocacy work.
3. We have brought great awareness to a topic often shrouded by shame, secrecy and silence.
4. We have helped underserved communities in the adoption world through our advocacy and grant work.
What makes you feel passionate about this cause more than any other?
What makes me feel passionate about Helpusadopt.org more than any other? My daughters Jane and Brooke. As a mom by adoption, and one who had help affording adoption twice, it’s not that hard to get out of bed everyday to advocate and raise money for those behind me. Without adoption I wouldn’t have my children and they wouldn’t have me. In addition to that I know that we are doing work that others aren’t doing and that is what I want to do in this world. I want to break the barriers that others see as insurmountable.
Without naming names, could you share a story about an individual who benefitted from your initiatives?
The amount of people who have benefitted from the work of Helpusadopt.org is too great to count. First, we start with the families we award the grants to, then you add in the children they bring home. Because of our grant program, people become grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, cousins and more. Next, if we think about the life long journey of the adoptee and everyone they will impact in their life it’s something that is honestly hard to quantify. To pick one story would be impossible. Many are outlined on our website at https://www.helpusadopt.org/our-families.
We all want to help and to live a life of purpose. What are three actions anyone could take to help address the root cause of the problem you’re trying to solve?
I interact with many people who come to me asking how they can have a life of purpose and truly help others. To many the idea is too large to grasp. Through the platform we have created at Helpusadopt.org it is so easy to help the community that we serve — -consistency is the key.
1. You can donate. Large or small amounts, every dollar counts and big or small, there is value in every donation. Some even do a small recurring gift every month with us and by the end of the year, it’s not a small annual gift. Think about skipping that one cup of coffee per week multiplied by 4 weeks set up as a monthly donation, that helps to make a difference.
2. Tell someone about our child welfare and family building work, post on social media, make an introduction. Great things happen from organic conversations — -I see that magic daily.
3. Help us raise money in some way, it doesn’t have to be extremely large donations (not every large donation starts out large) the point is to reach new groups of people through other people reaching out. We’ve got many easy ways to get involved this way.
Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things You Need To Create A Successful & Effective Nonprofit That Leaves A Lasting Legacy?” Please share a story or example for each.
1. 150% dedication. A never give up attitude, no matter how challenging it gets.
2. A no fear factor. One of the most frequently heard words in my life as an entrepreneur and a non profit founder is “NO”. You have to believe your mission in your bones every day. In my brain, no simply means not yet. Occasionally it really does mean “no” and the person will give you a real and meaningful reason as to why and that usually becomes something useful in itself.
3. You can’t be afraid of failure. The other phrase I hear frequently as an entrepreneur and a non profit founder is “It can’t be done.” I always say, one of the most important things I do every day is tune out the naysayers, tune out the noise as I answered earlier. Sometimes when you are building out a large idea, your first approach to some of the smaller pieces might not be exactly right. But that gets you to the next step and you can fine tune. Some see this as failure, I see it as part of the build. I’m still here 18 years later, and the brick by brick strategy I began with has taken form and continues to grow even larger.
4. The ability to inspire others. If you create something that doesn’t exist exactly the way you’ve built it and show the world how your solution to a multilayered problem can change things, then the right people start listening. You have to be willing to be out there, vocal and exposed. Again, many will say to your face and behind your back that it can’t be done and you have to be willing to go the road alone if need be. Once others see you making a difference, you will inspire them to join.
5. The willingness to be disliked or disagreed with sometimes. This just comes with the territory of putting yourself out there. The territory of fundraising can be a hard one, that’s a fact. It’s OK because I know what I am doing, I know what I have created and I know what it means in the bigger picture of change.
If you want to challenge any of the work at Helpusadopt.org then I can’t stop you, but my question always back to these people is: what would you do differently and why? I was one of five children and my father always told us, “you’re allowed to complain, but only if your complaint is accompanied by a possible solution.” These are words I live by.
How has the pandemic changed your definition of success?
The pandemic brought us all into uncharted waters on so many levels. From my perspective as a non-profit leader, it showed me that our mission is strong, our donors are loyal supporters and our work is pure. It also showcased numbers 1–5 mentioned above. Everyone had an opinion. Some opinions weren’t kind. I needed to get Helpusadopt.org through this unprecedented time in one piece and that meant keeping our grant program together and keeping my employees intact and confident that we would come out the other side successfully.
How do you get inspired after an inevitable setback?
Everyone has setbacks and they sting. I always say that obstacles in life come with two options: you can throw in the towel or you can say this is not what is taking me down, I won’t let it. I prefer the latter. In any career you need to have the ability to shift gears, pivot and keep going — -and again, like with almost everything, tune out the naysayers who say it can’t be done. When my girls are struggling with something and they tell me they can’t get through it or over it, I often say that maybe they should go around it instead. Sometimes it takes an untravelled road to get past a setback and if nothing seems to be working at the exact moment you just need to take yourself out of the situation for a minute. If it gets to that point, I always opt for a walk through New York City with my dog Lou.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world who you would like to talk to, to share the idea behind your non-profit? He, she, or they might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
There are so many people that I want to share Helpusaodpt.org with because I know our work is different and that we offer transparency and clear impactful results that are unique to our world. If you could bring Steve Jobs back to life that would be great — -for many reasons — -but Steve, as an adoptee, might have really cared about what we are doing.
I might say the next person that would be amazing to reach is Millie Bobbie Brown and her recent breaking news announcement adopting a baby girl. Having a powerful voice like hers in the younger generation to speak about adoption could be an all-time game changer in the way adoption is perceived. A chance to connect with her and hearing about this journey as well as watching her personal experience grow as a mom would be a dream for helping to promote the idea of adoption.
I think Simone Biles, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Judge or Hoda Kotb are all faces of adoption that are the best of the best in their respective industries, we think of them as the GOAT and being able to humanize their experience can help relate it to others to also connect with and share. Any time adoptees in that level of spotlight can speak to adoption can only help elevate our initiatives even more, November is National Adoption Awareness month, what a dream it would be if any of those names with their enormous social media reach and platforms could talk about HelpUsAdopt.org, I would be forever grateful.
You’re doing important work. How can our readers follow your progress online?
HUA
Website: helpusadopt.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpusadopt.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpusadopt/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/helpusadopt-org/posts/?feedView=all
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helpusadopt
Becky Fawcett
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/becky.s.fawcett/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becky.fawcett/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-fawcett-2418bb1/
Thank you for a meaningful conversation. We wish you continued success with your mission.
About The Interviewer: Karen Mangia is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career. As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she helps individuals and organizations define, design and deliver the future. Discover her proven strategies to access your own success in her fourth book Success from Anywhere and by connecting with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
High Impact Philanthropy: Becky Fawcett On How To Leave A Lasting Legacy With A was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.