Today we’d like to introduce you to Chaz Chapman.
Hi Chaz, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I often times look at my life through the lens of a quote I came across over 10 years ago – “The future belongs to the few of us willing to get our hands dirty”. I spent the majority of my life figuring it out on my own – with much help but much greater trial and error. In undergrad at Kennesaw State – GO OWLS!, I was heavily involved in student life – it was where I felt in my element. In fact, if I’m honest with myself, I probably spent an extra year in school because I would often times compromise enrolling in six classes or sticking to 4-5 so that I could still be engaged in my extracurriculars. In the end, it paid off – I had a crazy amazing college experience that was woven with experiences gained from leading organizations but also taking out loans to pay for tuition, fees and housing.
Fast forward, my first career move landed me working in development/fundraising for a nonprofit in Atlanta. Little did I know it would be one of the hardest yet most rewarding decisions I made. I was fortunate to sit in board rooms with CEOs and philanthropists, visit donors in their homes, and attend fundraising events where a community of folks supported a cause on the laurels of their passion. Beyond that, I saw myself in some of the clients we served and even more impacting was I saw what charitable giving could do.
In 2016, I launched the C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T.S. (Cultivating Achievers To Actively Lead and Yield Strategic & Transformative Success) Scholarship in partnership with Kennesaw State University. I signed up and committed to a $5,000 pledge over the course of 5-years to award a Black student engaged at the university through some of my very foundations – the Multicultural Student Retention Services (MSRS) and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Everyone has the power to be a champion of change in their community, no matter how big or small it is. The purpose of the Scholarship was to provide financial support to student leaders of color who are active within the nonprofit ecosystem and/or development of high-potential philanthropy that drives social change and impact. The goal is to better propel emerging community leaders to be catalysts of change in their community while still being able to remain involved in college life.
With much support from the “CATALYSTS Community” and aggressive fundraising efforts around my birthday – thanks again, yall! I saw an opportunity to expand our giving to include minority-led/serving nonprofits that carried the same DNA – being positive disruptors in the community!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’d say much like life, not every day is smooth but when I look at the path we’ve been on, everything led to this moment. This has been a “humble beginnings” effort with me being the ‘Tony Stark’ and a few amazing folks being the best unit of supporters ever. The opportunity is there, but I’ve been very cautious of how fast we grow. I want it to not just look good but to really be and do good!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Human Resources Consultant, more specifically focusing on Organizational Development. While I missed my calling to receive a ‘Harper Avery Award’ lol – shoutout to my Grey’s Anatomy fans, I do enjoy working at the intersection of People and Strategy to build workplace systems that really engage, retain and develop their talent. I like to think that I work on the fun side of HR – performance acceleration management, employee engagement, succession planning, and shaping company culture
I think a career in Development/Fundraising would be amazing given that I do it for CATALYSTS but it is intense – kudos to those champions doing the work year-round!
What are your plans for the future?
You know… I’m almost afraid to speak on it too much because now it means I have to act on it – lol.
However, I think next level for CATALYSTS is moving to an actual 501c3 operating entity. From there, I think building out a theory of change surrounding best practices for grantmaking and bringing consultants to support both our grantees and students. Obviously, both of their needs will be a little different, but I really want to stretch toward capacity building, HR consulting and ad hoc coaching for our awardees.
More than that, I really look forward to bringing more people of color into philanthropy – moving their community and dollars to make a huge dent in their backyards!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bold.org/scholarships/CATALYSTS-scholarship/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaz.broderick/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chaz.chapman.9
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazchapman3/
Image Credits
Melissa Littleton (@MelissaJualon) of @EastWindowPhotography
