“When you’re passionate about the mission, it’s only natural you want to do whatever you can to help the organization to be successful and to progress forward,” states Christie Lewis, Vice President of Nonprofit Capacity Building for the Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s Nonprofit Resource Center (NPRC). She adds, “Success doesn’t happen by accident; the formula requires a vision for success, intentional collective efforts, proper planning and strong leadership with accountability.”

Christie practices what she preaches. Passion and success are integral to her everyday life. In the six years she’s been in Florida she’s been essential to the evolution of the NPRC where Christie launched her career as coordinator of programs. “Actually, “ she notes, “my duties also included budgeting, marketing, dealing with the PC. I handled all aspects. In the first year we only offered one workshop per month. Now some 600 – 700 individuals from nonprofit agencies in both Sarasota and Manatee Counties participate in our 70 programs annually.” The NPRC offers a myriad of services including board development counseling, consulting, a job bank, a lending library and leadership succession planning to the 1205 public charities registered. According to Christie, “NPRC began as the Human Service Planning Association for Education, was nurtured within the SCOPE incubator, and publicly merged with the Community Center of Sarasota County in July 2004.” 

During this evolution, Christie was elevated to vice president and was able to collaborate with other nonprofits on the design of the Leila and Michael Gompertz Center that houses the NPRC. Christie brings synergy for strategic planning through younger eyes and provides an entrepreneurial and responsive, rather than a reactive, planning approach. She credits the Community Foundation for embracing NPRC’s dedication to innovation, outreach training and partnering with others to enhance the community.

Passion and dedication drive Christie’s personal evolution as well. “I believe I was born with an ’old soul.’ I’m drawn to older individuals. I’m like a sponge wanting to absorb institutional knowledge and then sharing it, passing it on, always seeking mutually-beneficial relationships from which I can learn.” This affinity toward older individuals is what drew Christie to Sarasota after graduate school. Her journey required a lot of grit.

“Early on I learned that by working hard and staying focused on the end result you can reach your goals. ” Christie’s female family members were entrepreneurs—both her grandmother and mother operated their own businesses. “They taught me to pay attention to details and how to deal with people. From the age of 12 I worked in my mom’s new construction cleaning business, so I am grounded in a good work ethic.” By age 16, however, Christie moved from the family home and worked two jobs to support herself through high school. She also worked full time to pay her way while studying for her psychology degree at Purdue and her graduate degree in organizational psychology at Valdosta State.  Christie professes her pride in  “pulling myself out of a blue collar family cycle to enjoy being the person I’ve become, to have created my own life. I am the first in my family to earn a college degree, which has inspired other family members – even those older than I am – to go back to school.”

As for her work at the NPRC, “In these delicate economic times, nonprofits need diversified funding. Government and public support are decreasing, and, as much as we all love socializing at parties, events are very inefficient as fundraisers. We’ve got to use public resources more efficiently and not duplicate efforts. If a community underfunds a nonprofit, it may no longer be needed or it needs to be operated more efficiently. Actually, the term ‘nonprofit’ is a misnomer. Such organizations should realize profits to be reinvested in the carrying out of their missions. Nonprofits should be run as businesses.”

She counsels, “This process of change must be motivated, understood, managed and sustained. Words need to be turned into strategic and tactical actions that are prioritized and workable with benchmarks for accountability. The trend is toward more transparency in how nonprofits are being managed. The strongest nonprofits will have the greatest adaptive capacity, cultivate good donor stewardship and possess the ability to be proactive. How a nonprofit prepares for and manages the succession of its leadership will also determine its sustainability.” Although she subscribes to the “hope is not a strategy” school of thinking, Christie is positive about the future of nonprofits in greater Sarasota. “We just need to be efficient in how we invest, cultivate and nurture.”

Nurturing comes naturally to Christie. Her goal-driven management style incorporates the empowerment of employees through learning and training. She also encourages community involvement. Christie makes time for the Sarasota Women’s Alliance and serves as a board member of Girls, Inc.

Striving for work/life balance, Christie seeks the advice of an executive coach to carve time for herself. “I’m learning to set boundaries; balance the spiritual, physical, emotional, work and relationships. Being careful with my time commitments has forced me to understand that saying no to a request really means ‘not now.’”

To relax Christie turns to gardening by utilizing her 11,000 square foot property to nourish thousands of plants. “I burn off directed energy by nurturing my orchids, bamboo and succulents. I find symbolism in planting seeds and rejoice in growth and flourishing gardens. Working with my grandmother in her vegetable garden I learned to put my hands into the soil, finding that living things can develop with care.”

As part of her personal growth, Christie embarked on international travel while in her twenties. She went on a spiritual journey through Thailand that expanded her way of thinking while hiking through the rainforest. Christie was also chosen for a five-week Rotary Club cultural and professional exchange in Norway. “I stayed in private homes, immersed myself in the culture, kayaked through the fjords alongside immense tankers, went sledding and skiing.” Christie laughs, “You should have seen the Floridians shivering!”  She also studies Spanish, which helped when traveling through Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Mexico.

Other future plans include a lifelong goal to write a book. Christie began writing poetry at age 12 and continues the process by journaling. “I also want marriage and a family. I want to nurture a young life. And, at some point I’d like to play on a bigger stage with more influence in the nonprofit world, perhaps nationally. Life is an adventure and the future is unknown. I’d like to look back and have no regrets.”

Christie’s advice to other women: “Trust yourself. Find your voice. Understand what nurtures your soul and use this to find life’s purpose.”

STORY: Virginia Sirocky.
Photo: Barbara Banks