Jimmy LaRose…Blessed Is The Peacemaker is one fundraising veteran’s insider take on our industry’s most controversial leader. Here’s what Joanne Oppelt has to share about her personal experience with Jimmy LaRose.
You find peace at the oddest of times through the oddest of characters. I found peace being a part of the Development Systems International (DSI) team, something I never expected. After all, the character who runs the firm, Jimmy LaRose, is loud and boisterous with strong opinions. I never expected serenity from a relationship with him and his cohorts.
Much of my early life was turbulent and violent. Sadly, I am not alone. More than 25 percent of children experience abuse at the hands of their caregivers, primarily their mothers. As a result, most of us have trust, safety, control, and self-esteem issues.
In my case, the abuse was perpetrated by my mother who was an extraordinary minister in the Catholic church and a first husband who was studying to become a minister. When we divorced, I was rejected by my church, my college community, and my denomination. With my social support systems gone, I knew no peace.
I barely held onto my faith. All I knew is that there was a God and God loved me. I also knew people who called themselves followers of Christ were not to be trusted.
I spent the next thirty years exploring who God is to me and how God and I related to each other, searching for the calmness for which I yearned.
Jimmy LaRose…Blessed Is The Peacemaker – Joanne Oppelt
In 2022, I met Jimmy LaRose. All the warning signs to stay away flashed before me. He was obviously a religious man, conservative at that. “Oh my god,” I thought. “Again?” It was obvious I didn’t trust him. To make things worse, he read me well. He scared me he read me so spot on. Yet here he was, valuing a relationship with me and what I had to offer his firm. He accepted me.
He also offered me an income potential and work-life balance I had not been able to realize as a nonprofit employee. For sure, this was too good to be true. So, I checked him out. I googled him and read what others had written about him, went to as many conferences where he spoke as I could, attended his SuperConsulting events, and bought and read his book Re-Imagining Philanthropy.
I liked what I found. He was a change agent, much like me, except whereas I tried to change organizations, he was trying to change the industry. Much of the negative I read about him was because he was bucking the status quo. I’ve been there. Plus, he treated me with professional respect beyond what I had experienced in any workplace. He almost revered me. Even, when I challenged him during his conferences in front of hundreds of people, he patiently answered my questions and welcomed further conversation.
I was in a quandary. On the one hand, I didn’t trust conservate Christians. On the other hand, I found him genuine, warm, and inviting. After weeks of wrestling with my thoughts, I decided to join his firm. I could always leave, I thought.
Jimmy was thrilled. He introduced me to Hall Powell, my first cohort leader. In addition to DSI business, I peppered Hall with questions about Jimmy. He affirmed what I already knew—off-putting at first, Jimmy was genuinely out for the good of the world. Jimmy was man of deep conviction, the same convictions I held about the nonprofit sector, and could be trusted.
I also talked to Hall about my hesitancy to work with faith-based institutions. Hall forever changed the way I looked at people of fervent faith. Through our discussions, Hall gently led me to distinguish legalism from strong faith. I don’t know if he knows it, but that was a great gift, one for which I am forever grateful.
Then I met Stefanie Stark, my second cohort leader. A committed Catholic, Stefanie does not wear her religion on her sleeve the way Jimmy does. Instead, she lives by her values, letting them witness for her. She gives me advice on how to hone craft and work with Jimmy. She keeps with me even when I don’t listen to her. I feel safe with her.
Three people of deep faith who called themselves followers of Christ who could be trusted. This firm was messing with my worldview.
Today, I know Jimmy and his team keep their promises. They offer me the world, waiting for me to take them up on the offer. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel a push-pull within myself and must overcome my own insecurities and doubts to move forward. The result is tremendous professional and personal growth and a serenity in both my professional and personal lives that I have not known before.
Through the professional community I experience today. I have a better quality of life, fewer feelings of insecurity and anxiety, and deeper friendships with people in my personal support system. I am better able to withstand the storms of life when they come.
I love working in the DSI space. Thank you to Jimmy LaRose for creating a safe space for me, inviting me in, accepting my questioning him, and honoring me despite not always following his advice (to my detriment). I enjoy exploring my new professional home.
Jimmy once told me not to meet my personal needs through my professional relationships. I try. I cannot deny, though, that both my personal and professional lives are better because of my relationships with the people of DSI. Finally, peace, deep peace.
About Joanne Oppelt:
Joanne Oppelt has spent more than thirty years in the nonprofit sector helping large and small nonprofits alike. She has worked across multiple areas including the arts, child welfare, disabilities, early childhood education, maternal and child health, mental health, public health, at-risk youth, and more. She has trained thousands of fundraisers and authored or co-authored more than twenty books on fundraising and nonprofit development. Joanne’s extensive background with a wide variety of 501(c)(3) organizations has enabled her to have a specialized insight into understanding the challenges nonprofits face both internally and externally. Her years of working in the nonprofit sector have given her the gift of knowing exactly what it takes to run successful fundraising campaigns that are not only completed on time but also come in under budget and over goal. She is also the co-author of the new book MAJOR GIFTS RAMP-UP: money is oxygen, without it charities can’t breathe Joanne holds a B.A. in education from Bethany University and a master’s in health administration from Wilkes University. She is privileged to help charitable organizations significantly impact the world.
Jimmy LaRose…Blessed Is The Peacemaker was first posted at https://JimmyLaRose.com
