Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Hollin.
Hi Lindsey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
All of it started with a solid education. I particpated in all sorts of activites as a student and kept up my grades. I graduated from law school, then received a masters in law which allowed me to teach college. The experience in the classroom helped me to connect with all walks of life. It also helped me see that there is a very big need for people like me to get out there and contribute to our community.
I started volunteering as a board member in 2017 and that has continued through today. For non-volunteer work, I manage my mother’s estate which entails working out of town two days a week and taking care of a few properties. So everyday is a little different. I sit on three boards now so I have meetings scheduled throughout the month. I am on the Sewanee Women’s Alliance for the University of the South, The San Antonio River Foundation, and the Alameda Theater Conservancy. I am serving on the capital campaign committee for two of the boards, the Alameda and the River Foundation, and sit as fundraising chair on the River Foundation board. I also serve as the Vice Chair for the Sewanee Women’s Alliance whose main focus is fundraising as well. All of that results in a phone calls, in-person and remote meetings, but it’s not all serious work. With this I get to meet some incredible people! Telling the story of the non-profit to get support can be a lot of fun. For me, it’s letting people know what our non-profits do and why they are important to San Antonio and Sewanee, TN.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Overall, it has been a great progression learning how to support non-profits. Of course there have been struggles. Usually what comes up is a lack of resources or talent. On my part, it may be lack of time. Those are stressful times because with smaller non-profits that may result in closing the doors. It’s always tough to get all participants motivated to show up so my cheerleading years have carried over into my board leadership!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m known best for organizing or creating a fundraiser for a non-profit. I like to incorporate the strengths of the non-profit and highlight that for whatever audience with which we are dealing. It’s always interesting to work within a budget or proposed budget of a non-profit. I’m really happy with a luncheon that I helped put on last fall wherein we only spent around $3,000 but yielded about $70,000.
On the flip side, in my non-volunteer work, I’m really happy to be flexible. One day I may reading contracts for my mother and the next meeting the arborists about tree atrition on our ranch. I deal with a lot of different types of contractors and personality types!
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was very outgoing. I participated in cheerleading for many years. I also liked to play outside and was a good student. I grew up in very small communities so I really got the opportunity to try out a lot of different interests. It was easy to be held accountable because everyone knew you!
