From the Basement to the C-Suite: How Mind Your Mission CEO Connie Bobo is Transforming Nonprofits

Can you imagine being laid off more than once, struggling to make ends meet, and being left in the lurch by companies you once trusted? For entrepreneur Connie Bobo, those challenges have all been part and parcel of her journey.

There was a time Bobo had just $27 in her pocket, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. She’s had to live at home, borrow money, move many times, but through it all, a vision drove her—the goal to help her community and lead them to a successful future.

Making the plunge into entrepreneurship with nothing but that $27 was a challenge, but in a few years, she had managed to become a trail-blazing entrepreneur, using her life experiences to help churches and nonprofits do the same.

Finding Her Mission

It can be challenging to remain inspired enough to find your true purpose, but Bobo’s hardships only spurred her on. Now, she does it all—she’s a church consultant, professional development instructor, serial entrepreneur, nonprofit coach. Diving into entrepreneurship can be daunting, but for Bobo, it presented itself as her true calling.

“I was chosen to carry out this mission,” said Bobo. “I take that very seriously and I want to give to other people who are, in turn, giving to others. That’s what it’s about.”

So many of us want to help others, but who helps those who are in the business of helping others? That’s what Bobo found she wanted to do, helping entrepreneurs, leaders, and nonprofit organizations to move forward and flourish, so they’re no longer held back by fear or means in their efforts to serve others. Nonprofits and churches help to heal, feed and shelter millions and much like they inspire the rest of the world, they inspired her too, and she knew how important their role was in society.

Helping Her Clients Flourish

Resources, lack of a good vision, low funds—many things can keep nonprofits from reaching their true potential. Bobo helps each nonprofit she works with ensure they can help struggling communities without being burdened with all the nuts and bolts through a proven step-by-step framework.

No matter how charitable the mission, the reality of the nonprofit sector is that it needs money. After all, you can’t help those in need without it. Bobo assists churches and nonprofits in their efforts to raise funds for grants and secure the resources they need. She helps to secure funding, increase capacity, and ensure each organization and their mission will become – and remain – deeply relevant to their communities.

Another necessary skill is leadership, and with her expertise, Bobo helps her clients learn how to structure theirs to get the buy-in or funds they need. She assesses the current programs and focuses on shortcomings—are they inconsistent? Were they canceled due to funding? She uses this method to help develop long-lasting programs that can rebuild community trust.

For those getting started, Bobo can help them clarify their mission and their vision, get their paperwork in order and focus on their values. For the established, who already have nonprofit status, Bobo guides them as they develop new programs and push forward towards success.

Thanks to her own entrepreneurial journey, Bobo is now an expert in everything from program design and group coaching to raising awareness and helping with fund development.

And it doesn’t stop there—she’s also an expert in nonprofit setup, business credit, and brand identity. With all these talents combined, she’s the perfect coach for any nonprofit or church.

Empowering At-risk Youth

Empowering nonprofits and churches aren’t the only things Bobo is doing to help serve and build communities. As part of her efforts to help develop and restore struggling communities, she’s also working to reduce childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences and building confidence through programs, community engagement, and leadership development with the New Heights Community Resource Center. The Center was recently named a Top Nonprofit 2021 by Great Nonprofits, based on numerous ratings and reviews from clients, volunteers, and donors in the community.

With the Forks of Flavor™ initiative, the Center helps provide nutritious meals to youth in the out-of-school time program. College Café™ is an 8-week program to help youth plan and prepare for a college education, learning everything from budgeting and admissions to funding. There’s also the Infinite Wisdom Learning Center™, where children get exposure to hands-on learning and various career opportunities. Through the 8-week Branded You-Nique™, youth get online coaching to prepare for the workforce. Bobo’s expertise comes into play here, too, as participants learn about everything from personal branding to networking, making them well-equipped to thrive in today’s economy.

Bobo is focused on helping those who are struggling—nonprofits, churches, at-risk youth, her community—to find their purpose and stay focused on their goals just as she has done. The New Heights Community Resource Center will be expanding to new locations in the St Louis area in 2022, and there’s a lot more in store in this journey Bobo is on to help others.

About Connie Bobo

Connie Bobo, CEO of Mind Your Mission, helps nonprofit organizations increase their sustainability and helps them secure long-term funding. She has helped dozens of churches and nonprofits increase their capacity, secure funding, and drive impact in their community. Click here to learn more about her transformational program: https://impact4nonprofits.com