Jimmy LaRose Review – Enemy or Champion of Nonprofits?

Jimmy LaRose Review – Enemy or Champion of Nonprofits shares the true life story of how two nonprofit titans, Linda Lysakowski & Jimmy LaRose, have changed charity as we know it. Their work spans decades and is full of fate-like moments that have transformed the common good.

Linda Lysakowski & Jimmy LaRose

My first experience with Jimmy was about thirty years ago. I had just started my business and was doing a lot of workshops and training as a sure-fire way to attract business. One of my first sessions was in Maryland and one of the attendees was this young twenty-one year old upstart named Jimmy LaRose. I hoped that he, and the others in the group, learned something from me, because while these workshops were partly intended to help me gain clients, there has always been a more primary motive behind all my speaking and writing. My heart is to leave a legacy for the fundraising profession and for future nonprofits leaders.

Jimmy LaRose Review – Enemy or Champion of Nonprofits?

Well, the years came and went, and I didn’t hear too much from Jimmy until about fifteen years ago, when I started getting notices from National Association of Nonprofit Organizations & Executives (NANOE) to join. Well now, I asked myself, why did we need another organization for nonprofits? I was active in AFP (Association for Nonprofit Professionals), somewhat involved with the Alliance or Nonprofits, past president of PANO (Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofits) and NANO (Nevada Association of Nonprofit–now known as ANN—The Alliance for Nevada Nonprofits), speaker for MANO, (Maryland) FANO (Florida) and others. And then, for consultants I was a member of the Association of Philanthropic Consultants. So, why did we need another association?!! I couldn’t imagine joining NANOE and I just didn’t think I needed to get involved in one more association. My concerns were further confirmed when I read his writings and watch his videos and thought, This Jimmy LaRose is out of his mind! He’s challenging everything I’ve learned and everything I’ve been doing for the last thirty-five years.”

Again, a bunch of years went by and lo and behold, my friend, co-author, and colleague Joanne Oppelt called me one day and said, “I have someone for you to meet, his name is Jimmy LaRose!” What? Is this guy some kind of bad penny I can’t get rid of? Geez!

Well, today, I’m grateful that “bad penny” followed me throughout the years. After meeting with Jimmy, he helped me understand why we needed NANOE— they were doing everything these other organizations we doing all in one place–training, credentialing, networking, and more. Okay, now I was intrigued and wanted to know more. Jimmy quickly invited me to attend a Major Gifts Ramp Up Event (more about this in a future blog post). I attended and was hooked. Yes, Jimmy is a bit of a “bad boy” in the nonprofit field. He challenged my thinking on a lot of tried-and-true axioms I had learned in my thirty-five-year career. And I found out that you actually can teach an old dog new tricks. I had always contended that nonprofits needed to operate in a more business-like manner and guess what, here was someone saying exactly that! I always wondered why most board do not function well and guess what, we agreed on that too! I was starting to see this “bad penny” was kind of bright and shiny and maybe I should pick it up and all the day have good luck.

“This Jimmy LaRose is OUT OF HIS MIND! He’s challenging
everything I’ve learned and taught for the last thirty-five years.”

I want you to know I’m serious about what Jimmy’s accomplished and the sacrifices he’s made to improve all of our lives. Let me highlight a private conversation we shared that I must now make public. About twenty-minutes in I said, “Jimmy, I know you’re taking it in the teeth from our peers. The first guy through a wall always gets hurt. But those are dying voices. Any nonprofit that doesn’t tear down their organization and rebuild it using your model is going to be a dinosaur.”

I said, “Jimmy, I know you’re taking it in the teeth from our peers. The
first guy through a wall always gets hurt. But those are dying voices.
Any nonprofit that doesn’t tear down their organization and rebuild it
using your model is going to be a dinosaur.”

So, why do I love Jimmy LaRose? Because he’s a “bad boy” who has made a few enemies precisely because he challenges the good old boys’ and girls’ network (okay, I admit this comes from a “bad girl” who likes to stir up the pot too).

1. He turns everything you thought you knew upside down and gets you to think differently (I admit this was hard at first for me because even though I am a bit of a rebel myself, I still had some of that, “Not it has always worked this way before” attitude in me.
2. He shares my passion for leaving a legacy and I really believe when Jimmy and I are both gone, we will each have left this world a better place. If I didn’t believe that, life wouldn’t be worth living, and I wouldn’t love Jimmy.
3. He truly cares about donors, volunteers, clients, his coworkers, and the nonprofit world. I have heard him speak to leaders with a true passion for their mission and I know he really does want to help them achieve their full potential. Before I had even agreed to work with Jimmy, he sent me a beautiful sympathy bouquet when my oldest son died. And just listening to Jimmy speak with sincere passion about how much the nonprofit world does for all humanity is amazing.
4. He is FUN. Another thing we have in common, we both enjoy life and don’t dwell on the things in life that could get some people down–sickness, business problems, dealing with people all day long and well into the night sometime. If you can’t enjoy life, love, laugh, and yes, even laugh at yourself, it is also not worth living. I think we often get too serious about our life, our work, our health, and just the world with all its problems. I know I have to laugh at something every day, sometimes if it’s just laughing at myself and something stupid that I did that day. And Jimmy laughs right along with me.

So, these are a few of the reasons I love Jimmy LaRose. I would probably list more, but let’s keep a little intrigue! Get to meet Jimmy yourself—through NANOE, through his BOOKS, through a WEBINAR, or at a Major Gifts Ramp Up Conference, virtual or in person. I think you will soon start listing the ways you love him too.

So, back to our original question, “Is Jimmy LaRose our enemy or is he, our champion?” The answer is YES & YES! He is the enemy of bad-faith nonprofit actors and a champion for his peers who love our profession. You have a friend in Jimmy! I encourage you to know him like I do.

Back to the question, “Is Jimmy LaRose our enemy or is he, our champion?”
The answer is YES & YES! He is the enemy of bad-faith actors and
a champion for his peers who love our profession.”

Enemy or Champion? I’m proud to say HE’S BOTH and he’s my friend.

Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE

[email protected]

Jimmy LaRose Review – Enemy or Champion? was first posted at Linda Lysakowski

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