Transcript Episode 159 – The Importance of Cultural Considerations in Nonprofit Communities with Kelly Dumas on The Prosperous Nonprofit

Stephanie Skryzowski: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Prosperous Nonprofit, the podcast for leaders who are building financially sustainable and impactful nonprofits and changing the world. I’m Stephanie Skrzewski, a chief financial officer and founder and CEO of 100 Degrees Consulting. My personal mission is to empower leaders to better understand their numbers, to grow their impact and their income.

On this show, we talk to people who are leading the nonprofit sector in new. Innovative, disruptive, and entrepreneurial ways, creating organizations that fuel their lives, their hearts, and their communities. Let’s dive in.

Hello friends. Welcome back to the Prosperous Nonprofit. I’m Stephanie, and I’m here today with Kelly Dumas and I met Kelly. About six months ago now at the time of this recording at the financial management workshop series that [00:01:00] I led in partnership with the OSHI foundation here in Buffalo, New York. And, um, Kelly was one of the participants in the workshop and she is leading this incredible organization supporting mental health here.

In Buffalo, specifically on the East side of Buffalo called the healing hub of New York. So let me tell you a little bit about Kelly because her background kind of blows me away. Like this woman is absolutely incredible. And what I love about the conversation today is the way that she’s approaching. Um, mental health here in Buffalo, New York and the community where she’s working is different.

It’s not just checking a box. She’s really digging into what exactly does the community need? She is literally traveling all over the world to increase her knowledge and her skillset to be able to better serve this community here on the East side of Buffalo, New York. I mean, if that is not dedication and commitment to the mission.

I do not know what it is. So let me tell you a little bit about Kelly really quick before [00:02:00] we get into the episode. So Kelly Dumas is a licensed clinical social worker and serves as the executive director of the Healing Hub of New York. She has over 20 years of experience in behavioral health and nonprofits.

Relationship with a professional. Her work has included providing clinical services, executive, and senior leadership, and overseeing the operations of the largest behavioral health organization here in Western New York where she developed and led many programs, including the Black Mental Health Team, which she brought together to meet the needs of the community.

Following the racially motivated TOPS shooting that took 10 precious lives and left many scarred, I’m sure you all remember seeing on the news, the attack on the grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and that’s what she’s talking about here. She’s a subject matter expert in community black mental health.

And like I said, she has traveled abroad to learn about indigenous practices that are incorporated into the work she does within the community. And so we had a long conversation about that, that I think you’re going to find. So interesting. She’s also facilitated trainers to come to [00:03:00] Buffalo and train over 20 individuals in indigenous psychotherapy and approach that centers people of color.

She is super involved here in the community of Buffalo. She’s a woman of faith and she serves as a director of mental health, um, at Zion Dominion Global Ministries, where she has worshiped for 22 years. She’s also an adjunct professor at the University of Buffalo School of Social Work, and she loves spending time with her husband, Reggie, and her two children.

Denise and Dennis. So Kelly is an incredible woman and I’m just really excited for you to hear this episode. So without further ado, let’s go chat with Kelly.

All right. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the prosperous nonprofit. I am very excited to be here today with Kelly Dumas. Kelly, welcome. 

Kelly Dumas: Thank 

Stephanie Skryzowski: you. So, we had the privilege of meeting each other earlier this year with the O’Shea Financial Workshop Series that we, uh, that we did [00:04:00] together. And so I’m just really excited to dig in a little bit more into your work and your background and chat with you today.

Yes. So tell me a little bit about your journey as a nonprofit leader. What did it look like? How did you get to where you are now? And then of course, tell us a little bit about what you 

Kelly Dumas: do now. Yes. Ooh, now, Stephanie, that’s a big question. I don’t know how much time you have, but I’ll summarize it a bit because I’ve actually, I’ve been in the field and nonprofit leadership for since.

So what is that about over 20 years, you know, I’ve been kind of in this space, but I’ve really, you know, I’ve always had a passion for helping others. And I also noticed I, I had a specific particular passion, um, on more of a macro type level, so supporting and helping on a larger scale [00:05:00] and helping to develop other leaders.

So I’ve always been. And spaces where I’ve been able to develop, create, and develop programs, help grow programming and services for that really focus on serving marginalized groups, underserved areas and populations. And it’s been in various areas from homeless, um, this to severely mentally ill, therapeutic foster care.

I, for five years, ran a therapeutic foster care agency. All types of mental health and addiction services and so just a variety of different nonprofit behavioral health kind of arena and always have been pretty much in the leadership realm of it right now. I am the executive director of the healing hub of New York, and that is a.

nonprofit, mental health in Buffalo, New York, that is [00:06:00] focused on centering the mental wellness of people of color. Um, so, I don’t know how far your podcast goes, so I’m not sure how, how familiar folks are. We are global. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: You are global. Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, 

Kelly Dumas: so it’ll be appropriate then for me for those, because everyone won’t really know a lot about.

Buffalo, but some, I think, important thing. One important key piece that exists, unfortunately, in Buffalo is that the city is racially segregated and divided and race is a huge, huge thing. And Buffalo, I’m not originally from Buffalo. I’ve been here, though, since 01. Um. And so, but I was told, because I said, I don’t know how long you have to be here before you claim to be a native.

I was told by some, never. I can never. Never. Oh, wow. Ouch. Have to be born in. I don’t know, but it [00:07:00] was something that really stood out to me, um, with kind of how the city was divided. And so, um, The healing hub and I bring that up to say the healing hub being a mental health organization that centers black and brown folks.

Um, the city does not have a mental health clinic organization services that. is centered on black and brown communities. Uh, we recently just a little over like a year and a half ago, we had that, um, racist attack at the supermarket where, you know, someone came in and killed 10 individuals. Uh, just he was targeting black folks.

But unfortunately, we were able to have something like that happened because of what helped. Can be successful. I think. And that is the way the city is divided. So you can actually go to places and pockets where [00:08:00] the east side is considered the black side of town. So when that happened, there was a huge cry and need for clinicians of color to kind of come in and support, um, like from the trauma and people were very traumatized and mentally distressed from it.

And specifically black clinicians, because this was it. A target on the black community, and we really had a hard time meeting that need locally. Um, and so with the healing hub, uh, it’s been in existence since 2020, but I just stepped in in January of this year prior to me stepping in, um, and the founder, the founder of the organization, Kelly Whitfield, wonderful woman, um, she’s not a clinician, she’s more of a peer, a person, um, with lived experience, Experience who’s who had a heart and passion for helping and created the entity, but she wanted to take it to the next level.

So she had engaged me multiple [00:09:00] times before I said, yes, um, because she needed someone who had the ability to kind of put the infrastructure in place and take it to that level. So I am, um, I have been really focused on getting that organization. To be a licensed clinic service under the office of mental health and to provide the traditional as well as non traditional mental health services to our community.

It was a huge gap, a huge need. I’m hoping that we will be the 1st of many that will be developed that are developed and run by people of color. So that folks have the option when because that is sometimes is very important, especially. What a lot of people are dealing with today and wanting to heal from the different traumas that exist.

There are differences, um, differences that that need to be brought into the treatment world. So that’s [00:10:00] a little bit of that’s a little bit of where I’m at and. Wow, that’s really, really condensed, but 

Stephanie Skryzowski: that is incredible. And the services that you and that healing hub are providing in the community are, are filling such a huge gap.

And I saw in your bio, something that’s really interesting is that you’re not only a subject matter expert in community black mental health, but you’ve also traveled abroad to learn about indigenous practices that then you’ve implemented into your work. I would love to hear more about that. 

Kelly Dumas: Yes, you know I probably a few years ago, I just became more interested.

Of course, I’m thoroughly trained and Western cultured behavioral health, mental health interventions. I’m a licensed clinical social worker, and I’ve always felt like there are other components, um, being a woman of faith and. I understand how [00:11:00] spirituality has a major impact when it comes to mental health for many people.

And then even going further to that, I feel like there are other indigenous type practices. I think spirituality, especially with Africans and African American, whatever, it’s like a deep rooted piece. And you can’t just exit out of, uh, especially if you’re looking to help someone. And there’s not a lot of opportunities to learn about indigenous practices when it comes to behavioral health.

So, um, last year, I think it was, I found this Rafiki group out of, um, Baltimore, Maryland, and I help facilitate them coming in and they are, uh, um, indigenous centered organization that does trainings and workshops that are focused and centered around this. So they came into Buffalo and train 22 [00:12:00] mental health professionals on indigenous psychotherapy.

And so it really just teaches how you kind of incorporate the differences. That may exist that often exist when you are working with people of color. How do you take a strength based approach? How do you ensure that you are making space for that? And even as a black woman providing behavioral health services, because again, I’ve been trained in a way that is Western centered and oftentimes.

I’ll give you an example. I had someone before they were coming to me and they, and in the book, the paper I was seeing on them, they were marked as having hallucinations. Um, and this was actually a Native, uh, person. They were having hallucinations and psychosis. The more though I talked to them, I understood that there was some spiritual practices.

It is their belief. It was his belief. that he was engaging and speaking to deceased loved ones. [00:13:00] He was not hallucinating. It was part of his ritual and spiritual practice that was cultural for him and his family. So he had a misdiagnosis because folks didn’t realize that you have to be conscious of, um, and allow space for folks to bring those pieces in that are cultural and sometimes different.

And it doesn’t mean that you will know everything. I didn’t even, I didn’t know, but I took the time to ask questions and even though my checklist of diagnosing. He was checking off if I just went by the checklist of how I’m trained. Yes, you have a psychosis, you’re hallucinating, but I was able to bring the cultural piece in and say, okay, this doesn’t quite fit here.

So I brought that group over to kind of bring in some Indigenous, expose some clinicians and, or not even just clinicians. These were mental health professionals of various type, paraprofessionals. Um, [00:14:00] racial backgrounds and they provided some training, but then I personally traveled to Africa, I went for two weeks in March and then I actually just came on, went for the whole month of October cause I needed to go back, but I was very curious just about.

What does the mental health landscape look like on the continent and to see if, you know, there was some opportunities to bring some pieces back. I probably came back with more questions than answers. Uh, I saw a lot, um, and it was just great to be, you know, in the presence of, uh, other mental health and behavioral health professionals and to see how they are working.

I have plans to go back probably next time sometime next year, but I just returned to the U. S. Um, a few weeks ago, so I’m still processing and digesting a lot of what I took in one of the big things I did see is there’s still [00:15:00] a ton of stigma, a ton of stigma there, and, um, We have done in, in the U. S.,

we’ve done a lot of work around combating stigma and spirituality is like major, which that didn’t surprise me in terms of addressing mental health. It was a wonderful, um, experience. that I’m looking to expand on. Yeah. Yeah. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Well, I think that’s like, I just think that speaks volumes to you, you know, looking at the community’s needs here in Buffalo and specifically on the East side of Buffalo and thinking like there’s a missing piece here.

And we need to figure out what it is and how we can help fill that need. And I feel like oftentimes nonprofits tend to come in with our own agenda and say like, Hey, here’s the solution. And we’re going to check the boxes. And it is what it like, that’s the solution. And without like [00:16:00] exploring deeper. And I think the example you shared is so.

It’s so incredible. It’s like, okay, if we would have just been like going through our routine and checking our boxes, like this man was misdiagnosed, but because you have gone deeper into really trying to understand and not just a basic level of understanding you’d spent the last month in Africa, like that is a deep level of understanding that you’re trying to bring.

And I think that is, That’s so powerful. And I just think, you know, to our listeners who are listening to this podcast episode, like, are you going as deep as you could go into really understanding the needs of your community? So thank you so much for sharing that example. Like what an incredible experience, not only for you, but like for what you’re able to bring to the community now, that’s just, that’s really powerful.

Where in Africa did you go? 

Kelly Dumas: Ooh, I went to six countries. I went to, um, Egypt, Ghana, Togo, [00:17:00] Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Wow. You 

Stephanie Skryzowski: did a whole tour. 

Kelly Dumas: I did somewhat of a tour. Yes. Yeah. Oh my goodness. And probably in every country there was A different language and lots of wonderful differences. So it was just I got to sit down, um, and speak to some people who are still going through a healing process from the genocides that happened about 29 years ago in Rwanda and just hear from them how they are, you know, working through.

The process, it was, that’s why I said I have so much to unpack. I mean, they have a community of people living side by side where the perpetrator, I talked to some folks where this, this male I spoke with, he had killed four family members [00:18:00] of the neighbor, their neighbors now. Oh my goodness. And so we talked and they talked about the healing process, the mental health, the trauma, everything that they experienced, but he had killed.

He had to go through a lot of repair. And there’s still a lot of work that has to be done. And, um, but there was communities like that. So the need for mental health, the need was so grand and just hearing how they have worked through. a lot of the trauma. I mean, you know, and I, you know, I feel, I’m like, man, I think sometimes we’re going through things.

And when I would hear some of the stories and what people have experienced and are managing, and it was intense and impactful, so. Yeah, I’m also looking forward to returning and a way to give back over there. So when they heard I was a mental health professional, many of them, they like, Oh, you’re here to help.

We need. Well, I’m here to learn [00:19:00] and I’ll be back. I’ll be back to help. I’ll be back to help. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: That’s it. That’s what I was going to ask. I, I would just imagine that I’ve done some significant travel as well. And like every experience is just so it’s so impactful. And so I was going to ask you, like, if you feel your purpose or your calling to.

You know, to do some of the work that you do now, but take it to those communities where, um, where you were learning from. So I was going to ask you that question. 

Kelly Dumas: Absolutely. I’m telling you, I have, because as I mentioned, not being a woman of faith, I’m very spiritual. I was sharing with some folks. I just felt this pulling in this calling that my assignment, which I’m very clear is, is centered around, um, addressing the mental wellness of the people.

And, um, but it’s bigger and I’ve been getting this feeling is bigger than Buffalo is bigger than New York is bigger. So I’m like, what is that [00:20:00] journey of to be poured into and trying to remain open so that I can, you know, do what I can to. Give back and support, um, those in need.

Stephanie Skryzowski: Hey, there amazing listeners. I hope you’re enjoying another fantastic episode of the prosperous nonprofit. Before we dive back in, I have a quick favor to ask. That’s right. If you are getting value, knowledge, encouragement, or even just good vibes from our show, please share the prosperous nonprofit. with a friend or colleague who you think would love it as much as you do.

It’s like passing along a good book or recommending your favorite local coffee spot. Please take a quick second to hit that share button, send a link, or even give a shout out on social media. Your support means the world to me. Thank you for being awesome. Thank you for being here. And now back to the show.[00:21:00] 

What’s inspiring you right now, either in your organization or in the nonprofit sector as a whole, what is lighting you up? What’s inspiring you right now? 

Kelly Dumas: I know this may sound a bit cliche, but it really it was inspiring me right now to keep going and, um, to do what I’m doing is hope. I can, I believe that there are Big needs and again, I, I unapologetically have a strong interest in centering of my people, um, because of being marginalized and also being a person who have, you know, myself been in need of mental health services and have had challenges with finding a space where I can find someone who could understand and connect.

And one of the, the basic, um, Needs of all humans is we all want to be [00:22:00] seen and understood. And so there’s actually an intervention. Um, the state of New York paid to have 200 folks trained in called Sal Bona and it means I see you. And it’s, um, indigenous, it’s a, uh, a healing group that is for folks who identifies being black.

So I got certified in that, but that’s the basic people want to be seen and understood. And so having had a challenge of getting to a space where I could feel like people could really see me in a way where. Because if you can’t see me or understand me, or what I’m telling you, like you can’t relate, you have no, it’s hard for, for me, it’s hard for me to feel like a connection that you can help me.

So being able, I know that that can be addressed and changed. So what, what lights my fire and keeps me going is that hope. And I see those changes [00:23:00] happening. I think it’s a, it’s going to be a process that that’s not going to change overnight. But I know there’s a need for services that get it, that is able to bring that space into these various marginalized communities.

Um, and that keeps me going because I’m a person with, you know, I’ve been blessed with my education, my credentials, my experience. I feel like I’m uniquely set up, especially where I’m living right now in Buffalo, New York. There’s not a lot of folks who have the, who look like me, who have these letters, which are important in this country.

That gives you the ability to do some of the things I can do with my, with my license. So it gives me hope that, you know, I’m able to do that and I’m able to usher other folks along who are on the journey of being able to do that. And so I’m supporting those, uh, up and coming [00:24:00] clinicians as well. So that keeps me, that gets me excited.

I get frustrated. Nonprofit is not for the weak at heart. You gotta, you know, there’s rough days, and, but it keeps me going. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Yeah. Well, we were talking, um, before we started recording, and you’ve had a couple exciting grant wins recently. And I feel like that’s always like, that kind of helps you like, okay, we can do this another day.

We had this. Big win. All right. We can keep going. 

Kelly Dumas: Yes. I think I heard from the beginning of my nonprofit experience. No money, no mission. It’s so true. No money, no mission. And so that’s kind of where we’re at. It’s like, I have all this passion. I have folks who are, you know, who are behind it and who are interested.

I have people in need, but at the end of the day, as a nonprofit, we need money to make it happen. So, you know, yeah. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: So [00:25:00] true. So true. I know. And that’s why, you know, then my passion, as you know, is helping nonprofits then manage that money really well, once it comes in so that we can do the most with it so that we can really have the impact.

And so that is sort of the, the crossroads of where we connected, but I would love to learn, just hear a little bit more about how you feel. Knowing your numbers and really being able to understand your financials, how that has empowered you as a leader, how that maybe has helped the impact of your organization.

But I’d love to hear a little bit about like, how do you feel about your numbers and how, how does that support you as a leader? How 

Kelly Dumas: do I feel about my numbers? 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Even if it’s a love hate, it can be love hate. 

Kelly Dumas: I’m so disappointed with my numbers. But so I am really embarking on quite a journey with this [00:26:00] with the healing hub, and it’s really almost, even though it’s been in existence since 2020, the organization had not historically ever applied for any grant funding or any, you know, there had been fundraisers, they brought in a little funds and there had been a couple very generous donors, um, And then the organization really thrives on volunteers, which has been awesome to have the volunteers.

So, I was so excited when O’Shy, you know, I saw that notice that O’Shy was offering this opportunity to take this workshop, uh, on finance with you because as a nonprofit leader, like I said, I’ve been, even though I’ve been in this field for over 20 years, I have Primarily been in spaces. I’ve been fortunate to be in spaces where I’ve had teams.

So I’ve had a financial department and a financial. [00:27:00] And so, while I had to meet with those individuals to articulate Transcription by CastingWords You know, programming and what were they had the numbers and it’s always been like that area. And so I’m in a bit of a different space now where, you know, as the executive director of this kind of new grassroots getting this going, I’m, I’m wearing like all those hats and it was, it’s, it’s a little intimidating.

I am very excited that, as you mentioned, we’ve had some recent wins, you know, where we’ve gotten some financial backing from some of our local foundations who have granted us some funds, um, to support our mission, which is always great. I’m looking forward to, to getting more. And so one of the pieces embarking on now is really exploring, um, [00:28:00] Opportunities to have some assistance, like with the, uh, financial, like some financial consulting pieces.

So I’ve been speaking with some folks because one of the things that’s most important as you, you know, now that we have it, I want to make sure it’s very well managed and all the T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted and, you know, from going through your workshop, one of the things we did almost immediately was get access to a quick books online.

And I have a volunteer accountant who’s very experienced, but they assisted with getting that set up. You supported us as well with getting that set up because I was anticipating in my mind. I was thinking, oh, I just wrote several grants. And while we. Had very well, I was sharing with you at that. We were down to about 1000 in our account, but I knew I had all these pending grants and I’m thinking I kind of want to get [00:29:00] prepared in case we get though.

Yes, yes, so not waiting to the last minute. I’m kind of glad I did because then all of a sudden I got the notifications that we were successful. So it’s great. I wish it was more. I mean, you have to start somewhere. You have to start somewhere. So we, we have started. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Yes, you know what? That’s huge. That’s a big step.

The first step is always the biggest and that’s like kind of what gets the momentum and the ball rolling, right? And then it’s, it’s momentum that carries you after that. So I love that. Yeah, I remember that call we had a few weeks ago and getting your QuickBooks set up. Y’all did a great job. And now, Of course.

I love the timing. I love that. You’re like, okay, we’re going to be proactive and get our QuickBooks set up. And then it’s like, grant, grant, grant, like this money is coming in the door. I love that because now you don’t have to, you can focus on implementing the grant and like doing what you [00:30:00] set out to do and making the change in the community versus like, you know, toiling over getting QuickBooks set up.

Like nobody wants to do that. So I think that is fantastic. And I think your point about like working in larger organizations that have finance teams versus being the one person that’s wearing all the hats is so common in the nonprofit sector. I feel like, especially for small organizations, usually the leader, the executive director has like come up through the ranks.

They, maybe they used to be a program assistant and then they were leading programs or maybe they were leading fundraising and now all of a sudden They’re responsible for the entire organization. All the finances and they’re like, I have no idea what these numbers mean. So I’ve, I’ve definitely seen that a lot.

So I just, I love that you were able to take the time and take initiative to do this with us. I think it’s awesome. And what, you know, in your [00:31:00] experience, you’ve got lots of experience in the nonprofit sector. What impact do you think that a strong financial management system and processes has on an organization and on its mission and on its impact because I’m sure you’ve seen organizations that have really strong financial management systems and others that like their numbers are a hot mess.

Um, so what impact have you seen on those organizations that are really doing this well? 

Kelly Dumas: Yes, well, many, many impacts. So, and when doing this, well, what I’ve observed is it really impacts internally the way you are able to, um, when you have great financial management and great flow of diverse funding coming in, you’re able.

To provide compensation. So often in nonprofit world, people think it’s like, you know, most people get into this space. Most people, not all, but most get in because they have a passion for serving. [00:32:00] No one really gets in thinking they’re going to get rich, but we got to live. But if you, so if you have, if you’re fortunate to work at a nonprofit where to me where they’ve been managing and handling the numbers.

Well, they’re able to have the finances to pay living wage appropriate funding to support staff that are doing the work. Also, when you’re well managing the funds, it brings more funders in because one of the I mean, even with I was, we were fortunate to get these, like I said, you have to start someplace.

But The question that many potential funders have is they want to know what your financial history has looked like. So when you do it well, and it’s well managed, it really opens you up. And what I have seen oftentimes when that happens is you receive funding that’s not even solicited, you know, because when folks are looking to support a nonprofit that is well managed and has great [00:33:00] processes in place, it In checks and balances, they want to invest many people want to invest and missions that resonate with them.

However, you want to make sure that it’s going to be properly maintained and managed and it’s not going to be wasted. So. I mean, I’ve seen I’ve seen it done very well, and it turned out to be a great result for both the folks working at the organization as well as the community that the organization is serving because you’re able to get more funding to do more services and do them well.

Yeah. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: So true. It’s almost like funders want to see that other funders, it’s like peer pressure, but like in a good way to see that other funders have supported, Oh, okay, well, if this organization supports you and you’ve done a good job, okay, well, we’ll give you some money too. And I think your point about taking care of employees is so important.

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with nonprofit leaders who are like, [00:34:00] I’m not paid a living wage and it’s really hard to manage the stress of not having enough money to literally feed my children while also the incredible burden of doing the work that I’m doing, because oftentimes it is very emotionally heavy and draining.

And so. I mean, well taken care of people are able to serve at a higher level. We all know you can’t pour from an empty cup, right? So being able to fill the cups of the team, because you’ve got those strong financials is huge. Um, and I just. Yeah. I love that you are, you know, actively working to build that organization in, in the healing hub.

That’s awesome. Well, the one question I like to wrap up with, and maybe this ties into what we just talked about is what does a prosperous nonprofit look like to you? 

Kelly Dumas: Yeah. I think a prosperous nonprofit to me looks like a nonprofit that has great, um, [00:35:00] financial wellness. When you look at, um, they’re in the green, not the red, which is important because of course, if people have the.

Uh, you know, nonprofit, you can’t, you can’t, um, it’s like you can’t make a profit money, but, but sometimes people look at still nonprofit as a business. So you have to be able to generate revenue and income that you then pour back into your mission. So for me, a prosperous nonprofit is one that has.

Managed to be able to do that quite well in a way again, where it allows them to financially support their staff in a level to be able to have that, uh, livable wage and support the community where the community, you know, just because you go into a nonprofit space, uh, to receive services, you deserve quality in terms of the space you going into.

So, folks. You should be going into a [00:36:00] space that that looks good, that looks inviting and comfortable, but you have to have the finances to pour into all of those. So a prosperous, um, nonprofit to me, or one, this are ones that are able to have all of those components. You have space. That’s that. All right, spaces that are respectful to the communities that you’re serving.

Um, so people don’t feel like they’re, you know, at the bottom coming in to get, you know, free handouts or whatever you’re able to, to provide services with dignity and the space you’re able to take care of those providing the services and, um, you’re able to plan, um, You know, you have you, you have forecast that you have the ability to forecast some of the needs that are in anticipate some of the needs and start planning for for those components.

So, you know, I’m, I’m hoping and I’m, I’m sure the healing hub [00:37:00] is on his way to getting there to being prosperous. And it takes, it takes some time, you know, and some commitment and hard work to do that. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Yeah, beautiful, beautiful answer. Thank you so much. Clearly, I think you are well beyond just on, on your way there.

I mean, you’re just so intentional and thoughtful about the organization that you’re building and the way that you’re serving the community. And. So this was awesome. Um, Kelly, thank you so much for chatting with me for being here. Um, it was so great to get to know you a little bit more and hear about more in depth of the work that you’re doing here in Buffalo and sounds like pretty soon the world, right?

Yes. 

Kelly Dumas: The world. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Yes. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. If our listeners want to learn more about the healing hub, where can we find you? 

Kelly Dumas: Yes, you can go to our website, www. healinghubny. org. Um, we [00:38:00] are also on social media and Instagram at healing hub, um, New York. Yeah, please like, and follow us. We are definitely trying to increase our.

social media presence and platforms and share information with folks on mental wellness through those avenues. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Awesome. Yeah. Fantastic. Well, we will put all of the relevant links in our show notes on our webpage. So anybody that listens to this episode can absolutely go check those out. And Kelly, thanks again for your time and for, for sharing with me.

Kelly Dumas: You’re welcome. Thank you. 

Stephanie Skryzowski: Before you go, I just want to thank you for being here. To access our show notes and bonus content, visit 100DegreesPodcast. com. That’s 100DegreesPodcast. com. And I’ll see you next 

Kelly Dumas: time.