Sherry Quam Taylor
CEO at QuamTaylor • Chicago, IL
I get so much energy from working with the most inspirational CEOs on the planet. It’s like I have a front-row seat to all the good that’s happening in the world through the nonprofits I advise. I talk about this on LinkedIn every.single.day.
A Few Fun Things about Me
My hometown has one stop-light.
I’m a small-town girl who moved to the big city of Chicago after college.
I.love.peanut.butter.
In 2012, my husband and I bought a fixer-upper built in 1906.
It was the ugliest house with the best potential on a gorgeous street! I finally got my dream kitchen done during the pandemic!
I’m an Enneagram 6, The Skeptic.
That means I stay alert and vigilant, anticipating and preparing for what could go wrong. In business, I use this to help clients think years ahead and put every safeguard in place that might keep them from reaching their goals.
I’m kinda obsessed with travel.
I’ve been to Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, and my personal favorite, India—which is where my two daughters are internationally adopted from!
Speaking of my daughters…
I attribute the success of my business to my passion for modeling radical confidence to these two future CEOs.
My Values
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Fostering Abundance
I help nonprofit leaders think bigger about their revenue potential. I reveal where the money is and help teams confidently march toward it.
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Motivating Partnership
I’m invested just as much in your business as I am in mine. I’m a true business partner. I’m here to be your motivator, cheerleader, objective counsel, and go-to advisor.
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Going Against-the-Grain
My methodology is one-of-a-kind in the industry and pushes against fundraising norms. I guide people through a paradigm shift into an entirely new view of revenue generation.
A little bit more about my story and how I landed in the nonprofit sector…
In 2007 I was working in my successful corporate career. I started volunteering for a nonprofit that I became super passionate about. After a few years I joined that organization as a full-time staff member and the Director of Operations. But, there was no dedicated fundraising staff and we needed more money, so I needed to learn lots. Stat!
I did it all…
📚The webinars
📚The downloads
📚The “pick-your-brain” coffees
📚The podcasts
📚The books
📚The 8-week programs
Now, I’m an A+ student and took every piece of advice seriously. And, we did raise more money . . . but I worked 60-80 hours a week.
Everything was time-consuming and urgent.
…And then the next year came around and we needed to grow again.
But I was exhausted. And my gut said, “There’s got to be a better way.”
I was right. There was a better way. It started with pushing against the nonprofit’s broken systems and rules. I quickly saw that our growth had WAY MORE to do with running the organization in a way that empowers your team to attract and generate the dollars you need every year to scale.
Said another way, it was the business behind the fundraising that made the greatest impact.
We made a big shift and TRIPLED the revenue in 18 months.
(Today, my clients get crazy results too.)
And this growth occurred in 2008, 2009, and 2010 during one of the worst recessions recorded when the sector was claiming that “individuals wouldn’t give.” Not true.
You see, investment-level donors WANT to invest in strong organizations no matter the economy or circumstance. They WANT you to come to the table transparent about your finances and ASK them for what you need.
I tell you this story because I’ve been in your shoes. The approach I used then is STILL what I teach today, almost 15 years later.
“Now, the machine is running, and I can focus on larger growth opportunities.”
“When I reached out to Sherry, I was looking for a thought partner. At the time we had a very small staff, and despite raising millions, the pressure was on me, and I was exhausted. I wanted somebody who could help me dig down and put a program together, bring on more staff, and raise more unrestricted support. I needed my team to learn how to ask for general-operating support so that we could scale and support more kids. What’s amazing to me is that now we’re having different conversations with our donors. They’re responding generously and growing their gifts from hundreds to thousands. The methodology Sherry taught us is both relationship and business focused. For the first time in a couple of years I feel like I can breathe! Now, the machine is running, and I can focus on larger growth opportunities.”
– Amy Fass, CEO & Executive Director, Shoes That Fit
