Ep. 201: From Pinterest Board to Panama: How One Founder Fundraised Before She Had Proof
EPISODE 201
From Pinterest Board to Panama: How One Founder Fundraised Before She Had Proof
About the Episode:
What does it look like to fundraise tens of thousands of dollars before a single wall is built?
In this episode, I sit down with Louise Henry, founder of Tim's Club, a nonprofit community space in Panama being built from scratch to support individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. Inspired by her younger brother Tim, Louise spent years building an online business first so she could dedicate herself to bringing this vision to life. We dig into how she transferred her entrepreneurial and email marketing skills to nonprofit fundraising, how she uses Pinterest vision boards to hold belief before there's evidence, what a hard hat tour does for donor trust, and how her monthly progress reports keep international supporters connected and coming back. This is a conversation about clarity, courage, and what it really means to fundraise before you have proof, and it's one of my favorites.
Topics:
Building a nonprofit capital campaign from scratch (land, structures, and programming) in Panama
How entrepreneurial and email marketing skills transfer directly to nonprofit fundraising
Using Pinterest vision boards to hold donor belief before there's tangible proof
Creative low-lift campaigns: stepping stone sponsorships, bench naming, product bundles, and peer-to-peer
Why hard hat tours are one of the most underused donor engagement tools
Monthly progress reports and live workshops as donor retention and connection tools
It’s not your stories—it’s how you’re telling them. If your amazing work isn’t getting the attention (and donations) it deserves, it’s time for a messaging shift. The Brave Fundraiser’s Guide guide gives you 10 done-for-you donor prompts to make your message impossible to ignore. Get it for free here! https://christinaedwards.krtra.com/t/xKuLs6tOiPZa
Christina’s Favorite Takeaways:
“How much each month am I connecting with new people and telling them about Tim's club and telling them enough where they understand what it is?” Louise Henry
“Because I had an online business, I was comfortable in selling. But I wasn't comfortable in asking for help; that felt very different.” Louise Henry
“For the founder, the hard part is just holding on for that initial phase when you truly don't have much proof yet. It's just like holding on through that phase.” Louise Henry
“I'm just a representative. I'm asking you to help these people over here. Do you want to be a part of it? Look at this impact we can have.” Louise Henry
“You can work incredibly hard and still do nothing that grows your organization's funding pipeline, and that's where the burnout comes in.” Christina
“A win is a win is a win. Even if you're like, we moved the needle here a little; milestones are milestones.” Christina
“There’s always something I can do.”
ABOUT Louise:
Louise Henry is an online business strategist and the founder of Tim’s Club, a non-profit building an inclusive community space for individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities in Panama. Inspired by her younger brother, Tim, she’s on a mission to create a place where people can grow, connect, and belong. She believes in using business as a tool for real-world impact – and is actively bringing that vision to life through Tim’s Club.
Connect with Louise:
Instagram: @timscluborg
Episode Resources:
Fundraise Up - digital fundraising platform for online giving
FREE Resources from Splendid Consulting:
How to Work with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
Double Your Donations - Raise More From Your Laptop Without Chasing Grants or Galas
Easy Emails For Impact™ - Turn Your Inbox into an Income Stream
Donations on Demand: Build a $5K Email Campaign System in 30 min/week
Connect with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
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*Links may be affiliate links which means I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Christina Edwards 0:04
All right, we have a very special guest today. I am, this has been, this conversation has been a long time coming, so I'm super excited. My son on my calendar. I'm like, yay. We get to talk to Louise today. So I'm so excited to introduce everyone to Louise Henry. She is the founder of Tim's club. And we are, we have been working together, or had worked together several years ago, and we are one of the one of the clients that got to meet in real life. So we will dig into that today as well. But let's start Louise by telling everybody about your organization and the work you
Christina Edwards 0:36
do
Louise Henry 0:36
for sure. So I'm the founder of Tim's club. It is a nonprofit community space in the making. We are currently building right now, and the whole purpose of it is to support individuals with intellectual disabilities by
Christina Edwards 0:50
teaching them important life and employment skills. And we knew each other a little bit, or I felt like I knew you through the online business world, and I remember getting an email where you were talking about Tim's club, like, the beginnings of Tim's club, and that's really when we started connecting, and so much has happened since then. But I would love it if you would just tell people a little bit about your backstory. Like, you know you knew Tim's Club was a dream of yours for So, long, so let's, like, loop everybody into that.
Louise Henry 1:23
Yeah, for sure. Okay, so Tim's club has literally been a dream of mine for so long, like, since I was eight years old, I knew that I was going to do something like this. It's inspired by my younger brother, Tim, who is amazing. He is so much fun. He also has severe autism and is nonverbal. So growing up, I of course, saw all of the challenges associated with that. I saw how challenging that was for my family. I mean, my parents were full time caregivers, and, yeah, it was really like, Okay, I think we need to, well, we were always worried about his future and what that would look like. There was some support, you know, he was able to go to school, for example, and get some assistance at school. But often what happens is, after you finish school, there's nothing, there's no support, no programs. So, yeah, we started dreaming that up. And then finally, after many years of getting established, I built an online business first so that I could be in the position to then be able to dedicate my time to this. And yeah, we finally got to the point of being able to bring it to life. So we moved to Panama, got established here, registered as a nonprofit, and then Christina reached out and has since taught me everything that I know about building a nonprofit. It's been incredible. And so, yeah, since that point, it's it's become really exciting. We've been building our community. We purchased a beautiful piece of property, that is, it's huge. I mean, it's so beautiful. It's 2200 meters squared. It backs onto a farm with all these mountains in the background. It's just like the exact dream space that I would have hoped for, for a program like this, we were really wanting there, it to be, you know, so calm and peaceful with so much time in nature and outdoors. So we found that, and that already that was very exciting, but we had the plans of what we wanted to build. So we wanted to build an outdoor movement space for any wellness classes, exercise and just truly time outside. So we wanted to get that. We wanted to build classrooms so that we could host a day program for people with disabilities as well. As you know, I think it's important for people to know with this project, it's really it's for the whole community. The point is that everyone is going to be able to use this space for all of our classes, for art, music learning. And then we plan on having a cafe as well, and the cafe is really great, because that brings people together, that brings the whole community together, and helps with, you know, one of our key pillars, which is inclusion and community, and it also allows us to teach life and employment skills within that space, within that container. So that's the goal of what we're building, and already, we've already almost completed our outdoor movement space, and we're currently building our classrooms right now.
Christina Edwards 4:29
You really bring, and even just in the way you're talking about it, you really bring, like, your entrepreneurial mindset and and business strategy to building this organization. And I think it's really, really helped you. One of the things that I want to dig into is you're a Pinterest user, like, and you've kind of shared that behind the scenes of like, you do a lot of Pinterest boards, vision boards, and the sort of technical term for a lot of our listeners right now, they're probably thinking, Oh, wow, she had to, like, right out of the gate. Like, fundraise and do, like a capital campaign, because, you know, you bought the property, and then you're building from scratch. Y'all like leveling the property and then building each structure from scratch. And you use this Pinterest board, I think, to like, really hold that vision of what it will be, what it will be, even when you didn't have evidence yet. So will you talk about just that practice, even or or what that looks like for you? Because when you're fundraising, and you're not fundraising $1,000 at a time, you're fundraising for 10s of 1000s of dollars at a time, these big chunks, how do you hold that kind of, that belief, that positivity, before you have proof yet, before you've hit those milestones.
Louise Henry 5:43
Great, great question. I love that you brought up Pinterest and yeah, that truly has been such a practice. I've used it for so many years now. Of you know, for my business, for my personal life, and now for Tim's club, like naturally, it's just, it's such an inspiring space. It's so fun. I would encourage everyone, like, whatever project you're working on right now, create a specific board for that project, and you'll just be amazed at, you know, what is already created, what is already out there, what you can, you know, gather from from other people. And so, yeah, I've always used it, so I have, you know, a specific vision board for the outdoor movement space. I have a vision board for the cafe, a vision board for the classrooms, and it's helped so much. It's also helped me being able to share it with others, because rather than me just saying, like, Oh yeah, it's kind of going to be like this show, exact visuals. So it's been very helpful from that sense, but also, yeah, it just has given me that clarity of, okay, I know exactly what I'm building, and all I have to do is keep going until it happens. And you know, it's definitely been way harder than I thought it was going to be, you know, I think you see already established nonprofits, and you think, Oh, you're just gonna start this and, you know, it's all gonna quickly come into place, and it hasn't, but I think I was just, I've been so sure, and I've known for so long. I mean, I told my husband on our first date, like, 12 years ago, that I was doing this. So, you know, I've always been very certain in that, and I figured if I just kept going, that eventually it was gonna happen,
Christina Edwards 7:18
and it has, like, there, I feel like there's maybe, like a real you did, or a story where it was, like your Pinterest board of the outdoor space, of like, you, you know, what you had been visualizing, and then, like, holy crap. It's basically, it's it's there. It's now pinnable. It's now, like pinnable. It's this beautiful, gorgeous VISTA. And I really think there's something to be said for that, you started to touch on it too, of like using that actually helps you in in fundraising conversations and donor conversations. So instead of going to a donor, sort of talking about, again, like there's nothing tangible yet, there was a long time where you didn't have the land yet you had maybe this property, or this property, or we've got the land. But again, it's grass and dirt and an idea. And when you can show people this is what it's going to look like, or this is what the space will look like, they start to like, walk alongside with you and start to you're nodding along. So I feel like they're nodding along too. Yeah,
Louise Henry 8:12
yeah, exactly, exactly. So yeah. I think if people aren't using that yet, it could just be so helpful for communicating ideas. I mean, we use it for everything. Christina helped us with our annual fundraiser, for example, which is a garden party. So you can bet you that there is a board for that as well. And then that's how we, like, made it into a special event.
Christina Edwards 8:34
Yeah, I think, I think that there's one of the skill sets you that really transferred over and helped you be so successful. And in what, what feels to me like a short amount of time, was the online business owner. And so this is that skill set that I'm like, ooh, I wonder what it would be like if more founders and fundraisers actually did this, like, I'm thinking of like three different clients right now who are fundraising for for for acquiring a property, acquiring land, for doing renovations. And I'm like, I bet they don't have a Pinterest board going. They totally should, because there is something about like, being able to see what it could be that gets people really, really excited about it. Yeah,
Louise Henry 9:13
exactly.
Christina Edwards 9:15
So let's talk about what fundraising kind of looked like before we started working together, and then you I remember starting that annual garden party, like, walk us through where you've been, where you are today.
Louise Henry 9:28
So Christina reached out right at the beginning, which was really, I just like, there's been a few moments throughout this journey where I just feel it's the universe, like having my back, supporting the project, and bringing the right people on board. So, yeah, you really, you were there right from the beginning, so I didn't know much. I mean, like for example, you got us using fundraise up so that we even had a proper website optimized for fundraising. You, yeah, really taught me all all sorts of different campaigns. Like. Yeah, starting with peer to peer campaigns. For example,
Christina Edwards 10:02
yes, yeah. I remember as soon as I read that you were in Panama, I was like, what? Because I have so much family down there that I got even it was like another layer of excitement, where I was just writing that email, going, oh my gosh, we have to talk. So you have your annual garden party. Which are you now on your third annual third this year,
Louise Henry 10:20
exactly. We're on our third, which is wild. So the first year, it was just like, Okay, here's the idea, this is what we're planning. And so I had, like, visuals, you know, visuals printed out from the getting
Christina Edwards 10:34
those early supporters, yeah,
Louise Henry 10:36
yeah. So, and that was amazing that, you know, so many people from the community came out and they were excited about what we were building. Then the second year, I was able to say, Okay, we purchased the land. We purchased the land in full. It's ours, like locked in, and it's perfect. And now this year, it's so exciting because we're going to host it at Tim's club, and we actually have one of the structures already done. And I don't know if I even told you this yet, Christina and by this year's garden party, which is about a little over a month from now, yeah, we should have the classrooms built as well.
Christina Edwards 11:11
Oh my god, yeah, you're like, behind the scenes tour. While we're here, it's happening. Oh my gosh, I think too. Like, what's really interesting about you is you had and continue to leverage your existing family friends, which is what we do in the beginning, as founders, right? Family friends, people you know inside your circle, maybe your online business, right? So people you know through work as your sort of early supporters, early adopters, and also your community in Panama. So you've been, you've been working like two very different audiences. What has that been like to navigate and getting the community, locally involved, supported, excited? What does that process been like?
Louise Henry 11:57
Yeah, so the online business side has been, has been very helpful. So that's where we started. So we started by leveraging that mostly. I mean, there was, you know, initial, of course, little campaigns with friends and family. But remember, remember when you helped me organize the bundle where we got other business owners? Yeah, so we've had, like, we've really done a bunch of different creative campaigns, and that has been really enjoyable. And I think, like, kept it, you know, kept it alive and kept it fresh. Yeah, exactly fresh. Great word for it. So, yeah. So those skills did transfer over. I will say that definitely helped me out. Like, just the importance of email marketing, for example, the importance of those touch points to already know, like, Okay, this is important that we need to prioritize that. That really helped. But yeah, so we started with campaigns like that, where we would, you know, have entrepreneurs on board and selling a product that all proceeds would go to Tim's club. That was really helpful. I've done a lot as well of because I have an online business and because I have digital products, I could just go, Okay, I'm selling this product this month, and All proceeds go to Tim's club, yep. So that really helped us with that initial Exactly, yeah. And then it was like, Okay, we need to expand beyond that. So it's really been very just like connection. I mean, I think for both of them, it's okay. How much each month Am I connecting with new people and telling them about Tim's club and telling them enough where they understand what it is. So same with, you know, with the in person community. So just being more present, going out to events, telling everyone, having my little cards available, like, and just be talking
Christina Edwards 13:48
about it, yes, yeah, talking about it.
Louise Henry 13:50
And
Christina Edwards 13:51
the community is pumped, partly because I think really smart that you're doing this community cafe. It's so smart because, again, people with and without intellectual disabilities, it's going to be hub it's going to be like the place to be, and it will naturally like the amount of awareness you'll get from that advocacy, you'll get from that supporters income. Like, it's just a smart model. I really, really like it for what you're doing when you were talking, my mind went to one of the really smart things that you do. I think that is a really relatively low lift, but high impact for that connection piece is your monthly giver. So people who are giving every single month, you send them an email that's like a recap email of like, what we did, what we're doing, and it's so good because it's, and I would imagine there were moments where you're like, Christina, I don't have anything to say between this month and last month doesn't feel like a lot has moved. Yeah, you're nodding. But to us, to the people receiving the email, a win is a win is a win. Like, even if you're like, we move the needle here. We. I remember like we met with our architect. We found an architect like milestones or milestones. We have a coffee meetup happening, so talk to me about the importance of just those monthly emails in staying connected. Because you have a local component to your supporters, but you also have an international component, where I would imagine lots of your supporters maybe haven't even been to Panama yet. Yeah,
Louise Henry 15:26
yeah, no, there's many that have not been to Panama. And it was actually funny. So So every month we do our monthly progress report where we're giving, you know, an update on what has happened. And then I also do a monthly live workshop where I'm able to connect with our with our monthly contributors, which is amazing. And on the last one, a few of them were like, well, can we come to the garden party? Like, where in the US? But can we come? So I was like, absolutely. So I'm literally working on a Panama travel guide. This week, it will be Tim's club travel guide. Here's how it works. If you want to come for a visit, here's all our places we recommend. So that, yeah, that was just too funny. How
Christina Edwards 16:07
cool is that? Because if you're, if you're in the states, like, it's really, this is the conversation I was having with my son. It's a very easy flight to Panama, so like, you it probably didn't even occur to you. You're like, actually, yes, you can come, yes, come, come, come, yeah, yeah. And the fact that, like, a monthly donor who is in, I'm gonna say New York, I'm just gonna pick a random place, would be like, yes, I want to come to to Panama to visit this because they've been following along those, like, kind of tentpole moments, those milestones throughout, they want to see it too. They're really excited to see it. So I think that's just the beginning of of more of those where people are like, can we have a visit? Can we have a tour? We're coming. We want to check it out. That's so cool,
Louise Henry 16:47
exactly. And actually, that's one thing that has been so helpful is, you know, and maybe even I could have done it earlier, but I went and visited a program in the US, and they were like, You really need to be doing hard hat tours. And I hadn't, like heard that expression yet. And so, you know, now that we've started construction, then I started doing them, I'm like, oh, I should have been doing this way earlier. It is just the most helpful thing for people to actually be standing on the land. Seeing it in person is way different than just seeing photos and like, they stand on it. And the words I get are, this is so magical. And they just like, instantly understand the full the full vision. So I'm like, oh, I should have been so for anybody else doing a project, start those as early as you can.
Christina Edwards 17:38
Do a hard hat tour. Don't assume people don't want to do it. And I'm thinking of people who are like, well, we're just renovating our structure, or we're just adding on to do it. Do it, do it, do it. Do a hard hat tour. I'm having a memory of, like, let's see, have to do math, at least 11 years ago, of me being on a hard hat tour for a client. And you're right, I remember it. I remember like, wearing it. I remember, like, literally wearing the hard hat, making sure I had like, appropriate shoes on. They told us ahead of time, you know, and construction happening everywhere, and being able to they had like, like tile swatches, being able to see, oh, this is going there. This is going there. And I remember that I'm sure, like, that memory is like, popping up because it was so different and unique. And yeah, I think that's a really smart piece. Yeah,
Louise Henry 18:25
what?
Christina Edwards 18:26
What else has come up as far as fundraising that you're like that worked for us. We want to replicate that. What comes to mind?
Louise Henry 18:33
Okay, so what we're doing right now, which I think is really cool, is allowing people to sponsor a specific item that will be forever displayed at Tim's club. For example, we started with our stepping stone campaign. So that's a stone, and you can put, you know, your family name, or you can put a message on it, or both. So that's amazing. We've done that now we also, because we are, you know, actively building. We're doing where you can sponsor a bench, and so it's just like a really special way for people to honor a loved one or their family, and like part of Tim's club forever. So that has been quite of like a quite a great fundraiser, I would say. So we also have, we have flower beds that we're doing niches, stepping stones, and then, of course, to have people's names on the actual buildings as well for larger donors. Yeah,
Christina Edwards 19:30
I'm thinking about some of those initial conversations we had and where you are today too. Of people who don't necessarily have a connection to your cause, right? Maybe they have never been in Panama, so they don't have a connection to how amazing the country is. They don't have a connection to somebody with intellectual disabilities. How have you taken them from really problem unaware to problem aware to then donor? What does that look. Like for you?
Louise Henry 20:01
Yeah. I mean, I think connecting it to big picture of what a world that is kinder and more inclusive, what that does for everyone. So I think that has been a way to bring people along, you know, like, once people understand the problem more and how limited opportunity there is. Then, you know, they're like, Okay, I understand. So that has been one way. And then what else? What was the question again, how I got, how I got people on board,
Christina Edwards 20:37
yeah, how taking them really from, you know, not really connected to the cause, because maybe they don't have a personal connection to people with intellectual disabilities, to going, like, oh my gosh, yes, yes. Not only, like, yes. Do I want to donate? I want to get involved. Because I know that's happened with a lot of your supporters, yeah.
Louise Henry 20:56
So that's happened with a lot of people. I think it's been about telling the very specific stories like very specific, okay, I met this family, for example, and they receive $20 they have a severely disabled young adult, and they were receiving $20 from the government every three months, for example. So little stories like that, I think, has been away. And then also, you know, through, through the events and having people like, meet people and understand, yeah, how amazing it is for for them to be in a welcoming and loving environment, that's been really helpful
Christina Edwards 21:36
as well.
Christina Edwards 21:36
I'm going to add one more, which is for your monthly giving program, when you teach your workshops, one of the things that you do is you give the progress update, like, say you're teaching a workshop on give me, give me a workshop idea like goals, mail
Louise Henry 21:51
marketing,
Christina Edwards 21:52
email marketing, before she gets into y'all, before she gets into the email marketing workshop portion, she's giving people a progress update. She's like, Hey, here's a little behind the scenes. Here's like, a little insider thing. Here's what we're working on. She may go into a little bit more of the problem aware piece. And I think that that is really helping to, like, bring people in as well, to to the mission, to the vision, to the connection. And ultimately, the reason why I want to underscore that is I see a lot of founders who make the mistake of thinking Christina, I've already said it. They already know they're here because they know about Tim's club. That's how they got they're on this list in the first place. But we need that, like, repetition, yeah, like, we also need, we need repetition. And we also need, like, where are we going together? So you're really, really good about talking about it. So whether it's online or in person, this is going to sound like a funny question. Why are you so good at talking about it? Is it because, going back to the Pinterest, because you're like, dang it, this is happening, and so I'm going to fundraise for it. Is it because it's top of mind? Like, what? What would you say is, like, the superpower and just like bringing it up and talking about it all the
Louise Henry 23:01
time. I think because it's it's so important to me, and it's like, it's just, it just goes so deep, so it's more of an issue of, like, you know, I'm talking about it too much, like,
Christina Edwards 23:11
never, never, never.
Louise Henry 23:13
Yeah, no. It's just, it's so important to me. And I think because I have that clarity, yeah, purpose, so it just feels, it feels very natural to be just working it into conversation all the time, bringing it up like, that's what I'm spending so much of my you know, if I'm not working on my business, then my free time is is going to this. So you
Christina Edwards 23:36
don't have to tell this story, but if you want to, it's reminding me of, you're taking your dog for a walk on the beach. This is like early days, and you end up having a conversation with another beach goer who ends up giving you a major, major gift, like a significant donation. And I think that is that lived experience of just like, it's just part of me,
Louise Henry 24:01
yeah,
Christina Edwards 24:01
would you share that a little bit
Louise Henry 24:03
well? And that's so funny, because that happened very early, like, very early on, I was not comfortable yet, you know, asking for donations, and this, this hadn't happened. So it was so funny. You know, it happened so soon after I started coaching with Christina, and I was just like, oh yeah, I was walking the beach, and happened to meet a neighbor and told him what we're building. And literally on the spot, I think this was also very cool of him. Just on the spot, he was like, I love that I want to help.
Christina Edwards 24:36
I love that I want to help. That's it. That's it.
Louise Henry 24:39
I'm giving you a donation. So, so that was so cool.
Christina Edwards 24:42
How okay, I love that you said, and I wasn't that comfortable then. So now, are you more comfortable asking for money? How has your comfort level, your confidence, expanded? What does that look like now?
Louise Henry 24:53
Yeah, a lot more a lot more comfortable. Like I think I was, because I had the online business, I was comfortable in selling. But I wasn't comfortable. And just like asking for help that felt very different, but over over time and with repetition exactly, I feel more comfortable with it now. And also I feel like, well, I'm just asking on behalf of this project, like this is I am asking for you to help these people over here. So now that I've connected it to that, I feel like you're like, Oh, I'm just a representative. And yeah, there are so many people that we're going to be able to help. And also it feels so good for people to get involved and to be part of it. So hi, I'm this representative. Do you want to be a part of it? Look at this impact we can have, and that's that's made it a lot easier. Oh,
Christina Edwards 25:43
that's so good. I love the word representative. I use sometimes the word vessel, like, I'm a vessel for this great outcome over here. Representative is a good swap, too. If like, vessel doesn't resonate, I'm guiding you over here, but yeah, like, it's, it's towards this greater cause over here. So as you look forward through or look at like the next, this year, the next few years, what does Tim's club look like? What does life look like? What's that? What's on the newest Pinterest board?
Louise Henry 26:10
Yeah, well, it's very clear. To share it with everyone. Okay, so, you know, ideally, the classrooms will be done at least the you know, the core structure will be done within the next month and a half. And then the next big goal after that will be to fundraise for the cafe. Even before that, once we have classrooms and we already have our outdoor movement space, we can already start some programming. So I'm so excited about that. Like, yeah, to go beyond, of course, we've been hosting some events here and there, but I'd like to create, you know, some programming that's consistent, that's on a weekly basis. You know, it doesn't have to be full time or anything to start with, but we can, you know, start doing a Tuesday art class for everyone. So that's really exciting. So I think that's the way I'm going to order it, actually, where classes and programming is going to start as soon as possible. So within the next few months, we're going to start that, and then behind the scenes, you know, I will be working on fundraising for the cafe, because I think, yeah, as you said, that's just going to draw so many people to our project. And that's the whole point of it. The point is that it is a self sustaining project where we have funds raised from yoga classes, from art classes, and from the cafe that then all go back into to be able to help more people. So yeah, that's what I'd be doing behind the scenes. And then yeah, I mean, I'll just be so happy to see people attending and benefiting from it already this year, but then we are building up to, okay, we have a full time day program where we have, you know, people coming Monday to Friday and, yeah, just just getting, that's
Christina Edwards 27:52
the, like, long term vision, right? That's like the 10 year vision is, it's a full time, like Monday through Friday day program for adults with a rocking and rolling coffee shop cafe. It's like, it's a hub. It's a hub Exactly.
Christina Edwards 28:05
It's
Christina Edwards 28:06
happening exactly.
Louise Henry 28:07
And I see that happening quite quickly, honestly,
Christina Edwards 28:09
yeah, like, actually, that's not the 10 year vision. That's like, y'all, it's moving fast. And maybe we should talk about that is, I think I've seen, like, a, I don't know, like a graphic of this before, like, when you are in the founder stage and you are building, it's like, a lot, it's like, slow up, and then it's fast. You're nodding, do you know what I'm trying to like,
Christina Edwards 28:31
it's like,
Louise Henry 28:32
Absolutely, like, it has felt difficult. It's felt difficult slow, and it's felt like, okay. And I think because obviously, like, our goals were quite high as well. It's not like, you know, it needed, I needed to fundraise a lot so, but yeah, it felt, it felt like, okay, you know, just keep going. Like, keep pushing. But then once it was like, okay, we can, we can build this first structure. It has sped up so quickly. So I think there's that, there's that reassuring point for everyone. But like, no, it's going to get to that point where then it becomes much faster. So that's why, yeah, in terms of timeline, I'm really seeing the next phases happen happen quite quickly. So I think we'll get to that full time program.
Christina Edwards 29:15
Yeah, you have then proof for your donors. You're like, look at what we've already created. Now let's go into phase two. Let's go and so you end up seeing sort of a compound effect from that. Yeah, yeah,
Louise Henry 29:25
exactly. It sort of starts to snowball. Everybody you know can even more be on board. They're seeing more significant progress. So I think for the founder, the hard part is just holding on for that initial phase when you know, like when you're trying to get something off the ground, and you truly, you don't have much proof yet. It's just like holding on through that phase.
Christina Edwards 29:47
Yep, totally agree. It's true in any business for profit or nonprofit, totally true. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you wanted to make sure that you shared as we sort of move into. Final questions.
Louise Henry 30:01
I mean, I think, you know, I think for those that are just listening to the podcast, I think I just want them to know how much I've learned from you and how they should get into your programs. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, like truly, truly, so many, so many lessons learned, so many fundraisers that have happened, like little tweaks that she's given me that have totally changed the success of a campaign. So I think just, just reach out, get in a program, get the support. You don't have to do it alone, and it's going to become so much easier and faster if you get if you get actual support. So No, but I think other than that, we've,
Christina Edwards 30:40
yeah, I think we hit it. And I think that you don't have to do it alone is really smart, because you do have a small team for your business, and I think that has helped you roll out things very, very quick, and you were very coachable. I will say this to everyone. If I was like, Hey, let's try this. What if we do this this way? You were very willing to try. And I think that that is why I see a lot of founders who are zero to year five, who don't really move the needle. They don't move the needle, and you have moved that needle quickly. It may not have felt as quick in certain stages, but very, very quick for a lot of comparison to a lot of nonprofits. And I think that that has to do with the fact that you're like forward momentum. Let's go. I will take the coaching. Let's go. So we ask every guest on the podcast if they would share a thought they like to think on purpose, Mantra, affirmation, just something that guides them forward. Will you share one with us?
Louise Henry 31:35
For sure, I think one that I come back to all the time, and that really helps me is there's always something I can do. So let's say I'm sitting there and I'm feeling stuck, or things aren't moving as fast as I would like. There's still, there's a million things that I could do that day that would make a significant impact. It's like, okay, well, I could reach out to somebody new. I could, you know, send this email over here. I could do this promotion, like it kind of helps me. Anytime I'm feeling stuck or like I'm not making progress. I'm like, Okay, well, what is that thing that I could do today? So that's something,
Christina Edwards 32:06
one thing, yes, amazing. And where do you want to connect with people? Where's your Instagram is probably your place. Yeah, tell everyone where they can find you.
Louise Henry 32:15
Yeah. So Instagram is Tim's club org. I would love to hear from you, so send me a message there. Also email like, if you want to get those monthly progress reports, you can sign up for our email list at Tims club.org, and that. I think that's been really fun, and that's been a really great place to connect with people. So there, you can sign up for the progress reports, and then, you know, we can email back and forth there as well.
Christina Edwards 32:41
Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. It's always so fun to see you. And I don't know Panama in the next in the next year, I'm gonna put it out there. I would love to see you again. Panama. We
Louise Henry 32:52
didn't even talk about how you came to visit.
Christina Edwards 32:54
Oh, we didn't even talk about that. You guys, I came to visit. It was amazing. It's such a fun place. You've you've planted roots, and yeah, like, I was talking to my son a few weeks ago, and we were talking about how much we loved it there, and then I was showing him pictures of all of the progress, and he was so excited. And then he was like, ready to book a ticket. And I'm like, hang on, we got to plan this around a holiday.
Louise Henry 33:20
Well, receiving the voice note from him letting me know that he was proud of me was the cutest thing in the world. So there's
Christina Edwards 33:30
his he's a sweetheart. Y'all. He's so sweet, and he really meant it, like he's so proud of you. And my daughter is very connected to your dog, so she's always just like the dog and your car, the Jeep, very Oh
Louise Henry 33:43
yeah, it's very cool. Yes,
Christina Edwards 33:45
yeah. So we'll manifest it to happen in the next year ish, we'll say,
Louise Henry 33:49
love it. I would love to come see it. So,
Christina Edwards 33:51
oh my gosh, I have to Yes,
Christina Edwards 33:53
yeah.
Christina Edwards 33:54
Thank you. Thank you.