Rising Stars: Meet Sonali Ratnasinghe of General Services Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonali Ratnasinghe.

Hi Sonali, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
During the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of people in our community were in need. With unemployment rates skyrocketing and food insecurity more prevalent, I saw that it was more important than ever for a positive impact to be made in the community.

I also noticed a need within my peer group — they wanted to create a change in their community but didn’t have the necessary resources and guidance to do so. Using my prior experience with fundraising, I founded General Services Foundation, in September 2020. Our team would be teaching high school students to become changemakers in their communities. Since we were part of the demographic we worked with, we were able to design our programs to fit the needs of high school students.

Our members learned how to plan and execute drives, fundraisers, and events that aligned with their passions and benefited the community. We were able to create a community of service-driven, passionate, curious young leaders. Since our start, we have built over 40 partnerships with local nonprofits and small businesses to understand their true needs and connect high school students to service opportunities.

We have also grown with the addition of our second program, known as the Young Nonprofit Fellowship. We give students an opportunity to make a meaningful, long-term impact on a single cause while learning about nonprofit operations and gaining professional development. We want to continue introducing students to service and assisting local nonprofits.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If I am being candid, it has not been a smooth road. The journey of starting the General Services Foundation has been a trip that has, and still is, teaching and challenging me more than anything before. This unique organization was originally a high school club and has now expanded to be an independent 501(c)(3).

I am now 18, technically an adult, but it was only two years ago when I was 16 and founded this organization. Of course, my age and lack of experience were one of the main struggles that I had faced and they still do affect me now. When I started I had no experience in things such as opening a bank account, a credit card, an understanding of budget allocation, skills, and connections to the right people.

Early on, everyone’s first question was, “What experience do you have?” It has been a learning-on-the-go process where I was simultaneously learning the skills that I needed to use to run a successful nonprofit while accomplishing those same activities.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
There have been many people who have questioned my decision at starting an organization (now nonprofit) at the age of 16. While the process has been anything but easy, I am extremely proud of how we were able to make it this far – with almost two years in!

So going back, my only answer to them when they ask why I started is ‘young changemakers like me just need more and better options to truly help their community and make an impact.’ I’ve stuck to this answer as my motivation to continue expanding and building upon General Services Foundation where needed.

With the sudden emergence of COVID-19 and other life-altering events after 2020, the community required more student leaders to create an impact. This is where the General Services Foundation comes in. General Services Foundation is a 501(c)3 devoted to teaching high schoolers in the community how to execute fundraisers, drives, and events for local nonprofits they are passionate about.

To fulfill the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage in service regardless of means, this organization provides high schoolers with guidance and monetary support to pursue these drives and fundraisers. We foster a lifelong drive for service and help students develop valuable skills students can take with them into the future.

With over 40 partnerships with local nonprofits and small businesses, General Services Foundation has supported these organizations in advancing their missions during the most unprecedented time of the new decade. It has allowed students to successfully raise over $25,000 and 30,000 items, and host ten events! 

We offer two main programs. Our first program allows students not as experienced in service work to engage in various service opportunities. Additionally, they brainstorm and work under the guidance of the General Services Foundation to pursue passion projects serving the community. They also maintain creative freedom and flexible time commitments to determine who they would like to support and how they will support them. This includes, but is not limited to drives, fundraisers, and events.

We ensure that this program is equitable by providing members with the start-up costs to pursue their projects and teach them transferable skills. We also offer a second program known as the Young Nonprofit Fellowship. The Young Nonprofit Fellowship (YNF) is for students wanting to make a long-term and direct impact on one cause they are passionate about. We utilize our network to connect students to local nonprofits through internships.

In these internships, students not only assist a local nonprofit with tasks but also create a large Impact Initiative to benefit their nonprofit. The project is guided by our leadership team at General Services Foundation, so fellows can learn the skills necessary and be successful.

Simultaneously, they gain experience in a professional setting, explore careers in this sector, and develop important life skills. With these two programs, we provide many options for high schoolers all around Wake County to support their community in other ways than service hours. Without programs like this, service hours can become passive and just used as checkboxes to fill requirements.

It is similar to how when you are reading, you can read the lines from the paper, yet not comprehend or understand a single word from it. Similarly, when volunteering, teens can do it passively, without actually creating an impact or helping the community. However, this is what sets the General Services Foundation apart from others.

We provide other opportunities such as fundraising, drives, and passion project creation, as a form of community service. This way, through these hands-on and first-hand experiences, high schoolers can learn to serve the community while also growing themselves as people.

Thus, in the end, General Services Foundation’s goal to eliminate that ‘passive’ service is complete.

What do you think about luck?
While good luck and bad luck have not played a big role in my personal life and General Services, it has played a small but impactful role. Good luck and bad luck are more than premonitions. I believe that good luck is an opportunity to succeed, or an unexpected push forward to your goal.

You must take advantage of that good luck while you have it and use it wisely. The bad luck you face is also an opportunity, but an opportunity to learn and grow. Both are crucial and uncontrollable and have taught me a lot about motivation and the way the nonprofit sector works. I’ve learned a lot but the most important lesson was that, with bad luck, not everything will go my way.

It’s forced me to understand that everything won’t work the first time and helped me create a growth mindset. Rather than pondering over the fact that I failed, I understand that I just need to know why I failed. I know that every so often I need to keep trying and improve on some things for them to work again. Bad luck has also prevented me from overthinking many situations.

If I don’t get a partnership, grant, award, or a project or event doesn’t work out, I know I tried my best. There are many more new doors and if one doesn’t open, it’s not the end of the world! Not only do I use this with General Services Foundation, but it has also impacted my personal life in things such as college admissions, scholarship wins, and job searches.

However, when it comes to good luck it has taught me perseverance when there is still that fear of failure. If I find something that has surprisingly gone my way, I will capitalize on that chance, even when there are some risks. Good luck has prepared me to identify and act on possible favorable situations.

For example, finding and understanding when to negotiate good partnerships, taking calculated risks on budgeting, and essentially expanding on that good luck to benefit the most from it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.generalservicesfoundation.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalservicesfoundation/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/generalservicesfoundation