Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership

CHAPTER 4Challenge the Process

YOU NEVER KNOW where or when the opportunity for leadership will arise. Certainly, this was the case for Jenna Wingate, who back in 2014 was a part-time zookeeper at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. When one of her colleagues decided to create a local chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK), Jenna was right beside her. They obviously needed to recruit members from their fellow animal care workers, but they were also required to participate in the national organization's annual fundraising event, Bowling for Rhinos. It was here that Jenna stepped up and provided leadership in helping her newly formed chapter make a measurable and lasting impact.

Though neither a formal event planner nor experienced fundraiser, Jenna jumped into the bowling event with great excitement. With the number of nonprofit organizations seeking sponsorships and funding, and almost all utilizing professional fundraisers, she knew her team's approach had to be distinctively different. “The whole thing was mostly a ‘figure it out as you go’ endeavor,” Jenna explained.

My colleagues suggested several ideas for raising money and how to attract sponsors and donors. But we had no way of knowing in advance if any of them would work. For example, we decided to create different sponsorship levels—ranging from a company name and logo on a T-shirt, to personalized ...