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Executive Inc.: Torrie Taj reinvesting a lifetime of skills into former Crisis Nursery
Nov 6, 2015
by Liz Nichols, Phoenix Business Journal
Growing up in rural South Dakota, Torrie Taj learned all about gardening from her grandparents, who were farmers.
It is a hobby she brought with her to Arizona many years ago.
“It’s just something I love — working in the earth, seeing it grow,” said Taj, adding she often takes homegrown fruits and vegetables to work and gives them to employees.
Originally from a town of 26,000 people, she planted roots here when she moved to Phoenix at age 17 to attend Arizona State University. Her grandparents frequently spent their winters in Arizona, and she said she always loved the weather when she came to visit.
“I drove down by myself (for college) and never looked back,” she said.
Taj started her college studies in business, but soon realized she was drawn to the people side of business, so she switched her major to psychology.
She started volunteering right after her December 1992 graduation with Prehab of Arizona, donating time at a school for abused and neglected girls. She was offered a full-time position a few months later with the Mesa nonprofit, which focuses on families, homelessness and domestic violence victims.
Since 2008, Taj has taught resource development and fundraising classes at ASU’s Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation. She said she tries to teach her students to lose the idea of a zero-based budget when working for nonprofits.
“If there is no margin, there is no mission,” she said.
Just like at home, she said, you need a savings account and to be able to invest in the sustainability of the organization. “I teach my students a mantra: Nonprofit is only an IRS tax status. It is not a way to operate a successful business,” she said. “If they keep the mentality that they will be begging for everything, they won’t be successful.”
By 2009, Taj had become Prehab’s executive vice president of marketing and development — a position that allowed her to facilitate a rebranding campaign to change the group’s name to A New Leaf.
“We were giving people the opportunity to turn over a new leaf,” she said. “I went to (the people being served) and I asked them, ‘What do our services mean to you?’ And they said it means growth, new beginnings.”
Taj also made changes to the organization’s philosophy regarding philanthropy. She worked to get the people served by the organization out of what she considered second-rate housing and wearing hand-me-down clothes.
“They deserve something that they’ll be proud to live in,” she said. “They deserve what our kids have.”
She spearheaded an $11.5 million capital campaign to establish the La Mesita Family Homeless Shelter, which opened in April.
Culture is pivotal to the success of any business, said Taj, who oversaw about 250 employees at A New Leaf.
“I love to build culture. I love to embed myself and get to know as many of the staff as I can,” she said.
Now she is applying that philosophy to another nonprofit.
When Crisis Nursery and Child Crisis Center merged in April, the combined organization needed a new leader. Taj accepted the challenge.
As the new CEO, she hopes to continue using her fundraising and marketing background “to grow, to think bigger and to serve more.”
The combined nonprofit, which officially changed its name Nov. 6 to Child Crisis Arizona, serves vulnerable children and families and aims to prevent child abuse and neglect through education and intervention services.
“The No. 1 reason people don’t give is because they weren’t asked,” Taj said. “We should not be apologetic. We should be proud to present an opportunity for others to invest in.”
Now a seasoned professional in the Phoenix nonprofit world, she credits her success to her tenacity and willingness to tackle challenges of all kinds.
“I dig my heels in and find a way to make things better,” she said.
Originally published by Phoenix Business Journal here.