Courtney Senousy is a big believer in the idea that access to the right resources can set people up for success…and she is on a mission to do just that.
As Senousy grew up, she always struggled with finding a sense of belonging, searching for anything she could grasp onto. At 19 she gave birth to her daughter, and then raised her while attending college. As she tried to break the generational cycles that continued to make her feel as though she was hitting roadblock after roadblock, the pieces fell into place, and she found her purpose – to pave the way for others.
“At that point my entire life shifted,” says Senousy, who began to address the pain and trauma she had experienced. “I became grateful for those experiences because they made me who I was becoming.”
She came to understand that belonging comes from within oneself, not from outside validation. As she worked to pull herself out of homelessness, she asked God to place her where she was needed. She felt an urge to serve people in some capacity; she just needed to ascertain what that looked like.
She built her first business while using a cracked iPhone, held together with tape. When she used it, her thumbs would bleed. One week, instead of buying groceries, she opted to purchase a coaching program to teach herself marketing skills. This led to learning how to build a website, and then transferring this knowledge to others in her community. As fate would have it, she wandered into the world of working with mission-driven individuals on journeys similar to hers, and eventually working for and consulting with major nonprofits throughout the city.
Senousy found that a lot of nonprofits are born out of passion, but the people who launch them don’t always have access to the resources they need to amplify their voices. She launched House of Shamaiah (which means “God heard”) to provide one-on-one coaching for people who feel a purpose in their life but don’t know how to access it.
She was ramping up her business when her mother died unexpectedly, which was a devastating blow. For a time, she limited her clientele at the House of Shamaiah, focusing more on larger, more established nonprofit contracts. Despite doing very little marketing, people would always find her. She worked her way up the ladder in the nonprofit industry and studied at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, leaning into a strong skillset of fundraising and development through the realization she could help people accomplish more if they were properly funded.
“I started to get my momentum back and began to feel the urge to return back to House of Shamaiah full time,” she says. “I recognized quickly, this time had been a moment to sharpen my skills, heal on a deeper level and provide a higher level of services to those I served. I also recognized a need for bigger organizations to expand their growth, either through strategic planning, innovative change management, or professional development.”
This led to the rebirth of House of Shamaiah, now called simply The House: 1922. Named after her great-grandmother, who was born in 1922, The House: 1922 covers everything from inception, launching, scaling and, most importantly, sustaining. In business it’s common for people to feel overwhelmed, not really knowing where to start, what to do or how to focus their mission. Senousy and her team help define what a client wants to create, then dig deep to help them bring it to life.
“We ask our clients to reflect on what they are really passionate about so that we can develop that into something that’s impactful,” Senousy says. “It all starts with reflection.”
The mission is to empower and equip those who are operating in a purpose-driven organization, whether that’s a nonprofit, a social enterprise, or a corporation that’s seeking to be more socially responsible. Senousy provides an arsenal of online tools, and she provides monthly group life coaching. In addition, she invites subject-matter experts like lawyers and accountants to speak monthly so they can shed light on legalities or public relations.
The House: 1922 offers comprehensive programs that equip clients with the skills and tools they need to thrive as businesses. Services are offered through an online academy and community, including an app, a local nonprofit incubator and accelerator program that is entirely unique, and a bespoke professional development program that mixes comedy and professionals and offers in-person sessions coupled with comedy and personalized VIP experiences where strategy is king.
“From tailored professional development to expert-led courses, every resource we offer is designed to foster your team’s growth and enhance your organization’s impact,” Senousy says. “We offer a unique blend of community, coaching and consulting to address the multifaceted needs of mission-driven organizations. From our Altruistic Academy Collective to personalized VIP experiences, every offering is crafted to empower you on your mission.”
The Altruist Academy Collective, while robust, is affordable, which was important to Senousy, who wanted these resources to be accessible to everybody.
“If you’re looking for a community of like-minded people who are experiencing the same journey as you in real time, that’s very powerful,” Senousy says.
For those who need intensive help, they offer the House VIP experiences, where Senousy’s team comes in for eight to 10 hours for three to five days, to work hands-on with folks.
“It’s like going to a bootcamp,” she says. “Our team becomes their team. We set them up for success with an extended strategy that will carry them through. What you leave with is so powerful.”
Sometimes an organization requires a complete operational overhaul, so Senousy and her team do a deep dive and identify the major gaps, and make sure their team is aligned in what they are doing.
“There’s a difference between doing it with you and doing it for you,” Senousy says. “We show them how to build it out.”
The final piece is the Professional and Team Elevation packages, where they build out packages that last between 12 and 18 months and include biweekly accountability check-ins. If organizations aren’t ready for this step, The House: 1922 offers an incubator and accelerator cohort that gathers individuals from several organizations for four to 12 weeks at a time to support their growth. This includes a mastermind and individualized partnership sessions where they work with individuals one-on-one.
“A lot of these organizations don’t know how to get through to people, so I connect people by attending networking events,” Senousy says.
For example, she recently went to a women in business networking event where someone told her that, although they had been giving to a large nonprofit for years, they didn’t feel the impact they were making and longed to be more involved with the local organization.
“I happened to have a client who needed construction support, so I matched these two organizations and both were left incredibly fulfilled,” Senousy says. “Now they do staff volunteer days, employee giving programs, and company matches for giving that get their teams involved, so they can witness the impact they’re making locally in our city.”
The 30-minute strategic alignment call is free. During this call, Senousy listens intently so she can deliver an instant strategy. “We come up with a tight strategic development or marketing strategy,” Senousy says. “Then we can talk about building out philanthropic vehicles that are going to enhance and sustain the client’s vision.”
Senousy wants mission-driven individuals to know support is available for them, and wants corporations to feel like they are giving back in a way that emphasizes social responsibility.
“We see them and acknowledge the work they put in,” she says. “We’re here to empower and equip. However we show up and serve, it’s for the betterment of society.”
For more information, visit thehouse1922.com.
