$2 million for 100 nonprofits: Hannah Parker on Collective Power
Hannah Parker is the Program Director for the nonprofit Band Together, where she combines an affinity for music and event production with a passion for community service. On the side, Hannah is a radio curator with 95.7 That Station where she gets to chat endlessly about her aforementioned affinity for music. When she’s not on the joyful work grind, you can likely find her on a bicycle, in a body of water, writing short stories or indulging her green thumb.
Hannah is a 2020 Leadership Triangle Goodmon Fellow, through the Transforming Leaders program.
“I think the idea of collective healing and collective fundraising is an idea that we can all rally behind. This is an opportunity to do something that we all collectively believe in, which is, to help where we live, to help where our children will grow up, and to help the Triangle be better than we were before.”
Kristine: Tell me a little bit about your background.
Hannah: I am a Raleigh native. I love it here, and I’ve spent most of my life within the city. I did go to school out of the region, traveled a bit, and worked in some other countries, for a total of about five years. When I came back to Raleigh, I was kind of at a standstill in terms of what I wanted to do professionally. I had gone to school for Business and Non-Profit Management, but I was part of that group of people that were entering the job market during the recession, so I was just thrilled to find a job. My first job in Raleigh was with a small music production company and their music venue. I was literally cleaning toilets and doing back office work for them!
Over time, I slowly moved through the ranks and started to do stage management and stage production. I was seeing the nitty gritty background of the music world, which I was enthralled by, but also exhausted and very disenchanted by in many ways. At that time, Band Together contacted me. They were like, ‘you have a music background and we do music stuff. But do you care about the community?’ Community is one of the reasons I care about music, and I’ve been with Band Together ever since.
Kristine: I feel that. So, Band Together is a giant impact nonprofit with a small team. The role you play is significant within the organization and therefore within the community. Did your background in the music industry help you step into this leadership role?
Hannah: The music industry gave me the capacity to be flexible and nimble. In the nonprofit world, things are changing all of the time and we have to wear a lot of hats, so we are often navigating multiple changes at once. I’ve learned that just because something was the plan doesn’t mean it was the best plan. In the music industry, sometimes everything went completely upside down, and I thought it was going to be terrible. And then it ended up being a cooler concert, with more connection and authenticity than it would have been. In the nonprofit world, I’ve had conversations with people in the community that I thought would go one way, but because I stayed open, actually led down a completely different direction and created a new collaboration. I’ve learned to embrace change. I’ve learned resilience — things inevitably fall apart, and destruction can actually give us the opportunity to build something new and better.
Kristine: I imagine that’s a huge skillset to have, because you’re a nonprofit, but you’re also a producer of a live event and the live event happens once a year. So it’s not like you get multiple shots to iterate. You’ve got to come up with a new solution and roll with the change quickly in order to make the thing happen. What has been your favorite instance of a plan gone awry?
Hannah: In 2019 we had this big, beautiful concert planned. Three hours before the headlining band was supposed to get on stage, the singer was like, “I think I have bronchitis and I can’t sing.” And I’m like, well, what are we going to do now? They ended up going on stage and apologizing to everyone. Some folks were really mad about it, but we also ended up having his band come up and just play instrumental music, and for the most part people lost their minds and had an incredible time. We found a work-around, and we rescheduled another show at a later date. That allowed all of our volunteers and Board members and community Board members who typically are blood, sweat, and tears trying to set this event up on day-of, to just show up to the second show and enjoy it. We’ve never been able to actually just kick back and enjoy the show before. It felt like a gift.
“So the most we’ve ever done in years past is $1.3 million. It’s typical for us to raise $1 million. It’s hard, and we do it. This year, our goal is to raise $2 million.”
Kristine: Lovely. So, last year you weren’t able to host a live event, though you did a livestream concert on WRAL. Now that you’re back to planning for a live event, what lessons do you feel like you learned from moving the event to a fully online platform in 2020?
Hannah: Band Together typically supports 1–2 nonprofits a year through our event fundraisers, and so when United Way suggested that we support 100 this year, at first, we freaked out. But then we thought about it, and we were like, of course we have to do 100. 100 isn’t even enough, and it has to be a big number, because we know there is no one organization that is meeting everyone’s needs in our community. The last year and a half has been really difficult. But there was such a collective feeling within all of it. We all went through it together. And so as we move out of that stage of the pandemic, one of the things that feels true for me is that our healing process also has to be collective.
I think the idea of collective healing and collective fundraising is an idea that we can all rally behind. This is an opportunity to do something that we all collectively believe in, which is, to help where we live, to help where our children will grow up, and to help the Triangle be better than we were before.
Kristine: One of the things that strikes me in what you’re talking about is this understanding that no one nonprofit does the work. It’s a way to acknowledge that bolstering the nonprofit sector as a whole does more to support the community as a whole, because the services of so many local nonprofits are actually intertwined and interdependent on one another. So a well-funded recovery nonprofit needs a collaboration with a well-funded housing nonprofit that needs a collaboration with a well-funded workforce development nonprofit.
Hannah: Yes, and it goes against the narrative of individualism that we know is not true. We get so much more done when we aren’t competing with one another, but rather, finding places to work together.
Kristine: So what is the fundraising goal for Comeback Fest?
Hannah: So the most we’ve ever done in years past is $1.3 million. It’s typical for us to raise $1 million. It’s hard, and we do it. This year, our goal is to raise $2 million.
“Through the (Leadership Triangle) cohort, I realized that leadership styles not only differ greatly, but the unexpected ones are far more powerful than I was giving them credit for. I found space for my own leadership style. I’m supportive and kind. I do best in one-on-one conversations. I’m sensitive. I learned that I had been leading all along, even when I thought I was taking a back seat. I was leading by actively supporting a team and making it stronger and not dependent on me. I was leading by asking for feedback, always growing, and trying to make myself better.”
Kristine: I love that commitment to abundance — one of my favorite values. What are some of your leadership values?
Hannah: Transparency is one. I ask for feedback often, and I try to make sure that I’m always putting my work in context. I work with a small nonprofit, and we’re not trying to show up as something more than we are, but we are trying to be honest and accountable to the community. Another is humor. That one became clear in my Leadership Triangle Transforming Leaders class. It stuck out to me, because it’s true for me but is also one that people tend to forget as a value. I really like that I get to express that value at Band Together. Because ultimately, our fundraising event is a concert — it’s music. People are hanging out and having fun. And, the work we are supporting is often incredibly serious. I think it’s possible to have tough, honest conversations in a joyous setting. I think it’s important that we have these conversations in a collective way, and fun is a good way to bring people together and encourage them to show up for the work.
Kristine: It reminds me, as always, of adrienne maree brown and her work, Pleasure Activism. She says that we have to make the work of justice the most pleasurable work of our lives. I totally see that in the work you do!
Kristine: Talk to me about your Leadership Triangle cohort experience. How was it?
Hannah: It was, for lack of a better word, totally transformative. I’m terrible at investing in myself, whether it’s literal financial investment or just time and energy. I’m sure a lot of us are afflicted by that. So taking those hours out of my week to really sit and focus on myself, and becoming a better person so that I can better serve those around me, that was incredible. Through the cohort, I realized that leadership styles not only differ greatly, but the unexpected ones are far more powerful than I was giving them credit for. I found space for my own leadership style. I’m supportive and kind. I do best in one-on-one conversations. I’m sensitive. I learned that I had been leading all along, even when I thought I was taking a back seat. I was leading by actively supporting a team and making it stronger and not dependent on me. I was leading by asking for feedback, always growing, and trying to make myself better. I’m really thankful for my LT experience — it was a great opportunity to be around other people who were really going through it and digging deep into themselves too.
Kristine: I love hearing you describe your leadership style! Love it. Alright, last question. Comeback Fest is coming up. How can our community help?
Hannah: There are tons of volunteer opportunities. If you want to help us put on the event, we need you. It’s the coolest volunteer opportunity in Raleigh, and comes with a free t-shirt, free ticket to a concert, and free food.
Buy a ticket! Tickets for Comeback Fest are on sale now.
We have lots of sponsorship opportunities. If you can get your staff to rally around putting their dollars together, all of the money that we raise will be dispersed across a hundred local nonprofits.
Finally, spread the word. Get your friends to buy tickets. Donate to the cause. This is a community effort, and we need your help!
