Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Harvey.
Hi Nathan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Rolando “Ro” Jimenez was the friend who lit up a room. He had a huge smile with a loud and joyous laugh. It seemed like Ro knew everybody, and everybody wanted to know Ro. You would be hard-pressed to find a picture of Rolando where he doesn’t have his arms around his friends with a huge smile. He had a positive attitude about everything, and his famous tag line was, “It’ll be fine”.
For 10 years, starting in 2004, Rolando “Ro” Jimenez hosted an annual Memorial weekend crawfish boil with a few friends. The event grew over the years from 20 or 30 family and friends to 200 or 300 extended friends and family. Ro and a few friends always covered the cost of the annual event with lots of food and even live music. It was just something they loved to do for their friends and family. As the event grew to close to 400 or 500 people, Ro had the idea of making the annual boil a charity event. Ro would mention, “We should take advantage of such a large gathering of people for some sort of greater good”. Rolando realized that putting on such an event for free, folks would likely be willing to chip in a few bucks towards some sort of cause.
Sadly, before Rolando turned his idea into a reality, he passed away in March of 2015 from an undiagnosed heart aneurysm, leaving behind his pregnant spouse and young daughter. However, knowing his wishes, Ro’s friends turned the Memorial weekend boil into a Charity event in 2015, raising money for Ro’s widow and two young children that first year. For 5 years Rolando’s friends continued to host the annual event and raise money each year for a local family in a similar situation as Rolando’s; families in need due to the recent and unexpected death of a parent. Then, in 2021, Rolando’s friends along with Ro’s widow, Amber, took a big step forward and founded a Texas Non-Profit Corporation in their friend’s name; the Rolando Jimenez Memorial Foundation.
Our 501(c)(3) charitable organization still holds the annual Memorial weekend crawfish boil and charity event. Our board members and officers draw no salaries from the Foundation. Further, board members are required to pay annual membership dues designed to cover the cost of our main annual charity event so that every dollar raised at the event goes to the famines in need. Other corporate expenses and any additional charitable events are covered by generous donations made throughout the year. As we grew, we started to receive corporate grants which allowed us to start a scholarship program in 2024 for North Texas children affected by the sudden loss of a parent.
We are still a young foundation and continue to grow, but we are excited about the impact we are making on the local North Texas community. We know Ro is smiling down on us with pride in the legacy we have carried on in his name, as we help assure families recently experiencing loss that “It’ll Be Fine”.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a challenge to operate a charitable foundation on very low expenses. We strive to keep operating costs down to maximize the donations back to our community. None of our officers or board members draws a salary. In fact, we have annual charitable contributions required of our board members that help ensure they have a stake in the foundation and assist in covering some of our basic operating costs. We have been blessed with a giving community around us that enables us to provide the assistance we do.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My main career currently is in the financial sector, product managing for a DFW-based FinTech. And although it is rewarding and enjoyable work for a company I have pride in, I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I have started many side businesses and currently run a few small ones, from Boat Charters to online 2-way radio sales. But my biggest pride is in this Foundation. I feel it is important to give back. I have done things from helping build houses in El Salvador to assisting with aid and relief in storm-torn communities such as Houston after Hurricane Harvey or Kerrville after the floods there. After running a few crawfish boils to raise money for families, it seemed a natural fit to join my desire to help others with my business experience and form an official Texas Corporation for our Foundation. I remember hearing folks say it is too hard, or it is not worth it, which only drove me more. Completing all the steps to form The Rolando Jimenez Memorial Foundation as a Texas non-Profit Corporation operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code has been one of the most rewarding things in my life, second only to forming a family with my wife and kids. And partnering with some of the most talented and caring folks I have ever met, we have turned Rolando’s name into a tre legacy.
How do you define success?
Interesting question. After thinking on it a moment, I think I would define success as meeting goals while maintaining moral integrity. Success can come in many forms, but if you are setting out to accomplish something and are able to do so without hurting or at the expense of others, and hopefully helping others along the way, I would say that is success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.RJMF.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjmfcorp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TRJMF
- LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/trjmf
