Inspiring Conversations with Ryan Nowicki of South Bay Friends Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Nowicki.

Ryan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up poor, but I was raised well. My childhood didn’t come with many material comforts, but it came with the things that mattered most, such as kindness, gratitude and the unwavering belief that if you worked hard and treated people well, good things could happen. Growing up with very little teaches you lessons that stick with you for life. You learn resourcefulness. You learn perseverance, and you learn early on that scarcity doesn’t define you, but it does shape you.

My family didn’t have much, but we had determination. My mother, in particular, is the kind of person who can stretch hope further than any paycheck. She constantly encouraged me to try my best, stay focused, work hard in school, and believe in what I was capable of. I listened, and those lessons guided every stage of my life.

But the truth is, hard work alone doesn’t carry you all the way. I worked incredibly hard, but I also needed help, and I was fortunate enough to receive it from people who unexpectedly stepped into my life at just the right times.

My eighth-grade history teacher paid for my class trip to Washington, D.C. because he knew my family couldn’t afford it. He believed it would be transformative for me and he was right, as I would later return to D.C. work on Capitol Hill. My high school math teacher opened her home and let me live with her family in New York City during an internship in Manhattan. My law school professor chose me to represent my law school at an all-expense paid conference in France, which was first trip to a foreign land. I could go on. My life is filled with moments where people reached out with generosity, encouragement or kindness, and those moments shaped me just as much, if not more, than any successes I’ve had since.

These experiences taught me a deeper truth: yes, working hard matters, but having people around you who lift you up, emotionally, physically, and sometimes even financially, can make all the difference. Very few people succeed alone.

With that foundation, I pushed forward, studied hard, graduated valedictorian of my high school class, and eventually made my way to law school. When I finished law school, I knew that my story couldn’t just be about personal achievement. It had to be about gratitude and responsibility. It had to be about giving back in the same or similar ways others had given to me.

One of the first things I did was join a local leadership program in my town of Hermosa Beach, in the South Bay of Los Angeles. I wanted to understand my community, its strengths, its challenges, and the people behind the scenes who make the town function. The experience opened my eyes to the impact that everyday residents can have when they show up with intention.

After I graduated from Leadership Hermosa Beach, I found myself wanting to contribute more. What I expected to be a short-term commitment turned into nearly ten years of helping lead the organization. Ten years is a long time to help run an all-volunteer group, but those years were deeply rewarding. I met dedicated people, worked on meaningful projects, and watched new leaders grow. Eventually I knew it was time to pass the baton to the next generation with fresh ideas and energy, but even as I stepped back, I knew my community involvement was far from over.

In my legal career, I work with many nonprofit organizations, including private foundations. For those unfamiliar, a private foundation is typically a small organization funded by a wealthy individual or family, which then makes grants to charitable organizations working directly in the community. Through my work, I saw the powerful impact these foundations have, especially on small, local nonprofits that often operate with tight budgets but enormous heart. I wanted to emulate that impact, but I just wasn’t independently wealthy.

So I took a different approach. I gathered a group of friends and suggested that we each contribute a modest amount annually and meet quarterly to vote on which local organizations should receive our collective charitable dollars. I hoped that maybe six friends would say yes, but more than 30 joined immediately! Today, that little idea has grown into the South Bay Friends Foundation, now more than 70 members strong, all of them generous, civic-minded individuals from across the South Bay who want to support our local nonprofits and lift up our community. Over the last nine years we’ve granted hundreds of thousands of dollars to mostly local nonprofit organizations. It’s not enough to cure cancer, but it can make a meaningful impact on local organizations with limited budgets.

In recognition of my community involvement, in 2016 I was honored to be named the Hermosa Beach Man of the Year. It remains one of the greatest honors of my life and is a reminder that the work we do in our community truly matters. This great honor will go into my obituary someday.

At the heart of it all, my story isn’t about rising above poverty. It’s about rising because people cared – family, teachers, friends and neighbors. Now I try, in every way I can, to be that person to others.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the greatest challenges I faced in my life had nothing to do with school, career or community work. It came from something far more personal. It’s no secret that someone who was very close to me struggled with addiction. Out of respect, I won’t go into the private details, but what I can say is that everything you hear and read about addiction, such as the emotional pain it creates, the stress it brings into a household, the upheaval it causes in relationships and careers, is all true. It affects every corner of your life.

Like many people who love someone battling addiction, I eventually had to make the painful decision to leave that relationship. That alone was a challenge (emotionally, logistically, and even spiritually), because when addiction goes unacknowledged, blame gets cast everywhere except where it belongs. As part of this struggle, I almost lost everything I had worked for, including my identity.

However, even in difficult seasons, there can be silver linings. During that time, I became close with someone who understood what I was going through because she had lived a similar experience. She was kind, grounded, compassionate and strong. That friendship grew, and in time, she became my wife. I’m eternally grateful for her, and for the people who stood by me during those hard years. Their support is something I carry with me always.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about South Bay Friends Foundation?
By day, I’m an attorney at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP in Los Angeles, where I’m a partner in the Tax, Trusts & Estates Department. My work focuses on helping clients with their tax issues, as well as advising nonprofit organizations in every aspect of their operations. I’ve always found meaning in helping people navigate complex issues, and that carries over into my community work as well.

Outside the office, my passion project is the South Bay Friends Foundation, which I founded nine years ago. Each year, we gather contributions from a wonderful mix of old friends and new ones, and then meet quarterly to vote on where to grant our charitable dollars. Most of our grants support small and mid-size nonprofits in the greater L.A. area that are doing hands-on, high-impact work in our own backyard.

One of my favorite SBFF traditions is our annual Nonprofit Quick Pitch Contest. We invite twelve local nonprofits to take the stage at the iconic Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach (prominently featured in the movie La La Land), where each representative gets four minutes to “pitch” their mission to a packed crowd. At the end of the night, our SBFF Members vote and the winner of this winner-take-all event walks out with a check for $10,000. It’s inspiring to hear the stories of these organizations, and incredibly rewarding for our SBFF Members to play a role in strengthening the community we love. It’s something I’m deeply grateful to help facilitate.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The greatest lessons I’ve learned in life come from a mix of gratitude, hardship, and resilience. I’ve learned that no matter what is thrown at you, whether it’s growing up with very little, facing educational or professional challenges, or navigating the painful reality of addiction, you have to keep working hard, keep moving forward, and keep giving back. Those are the things that steady you, and those are the things that rebuild your life.

I’ve also learned that support matters. I would not be where I am today without the people who lifted me up when I needed it most, from teachers and mentors in my childhood to friends and family who stood by me through difficult seasons as an adult. Their kindness shaped me, and it’s why I feel such a deep responsibility to give back in any way I can.

There’s a line from Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway (one of my favorites!) that has stayed with me: “I know what I have to do now. I’ve got to keep breathing, because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring.” My tide brought me my new loving wife and family, my renewed strength, and the continued opportunity to serve the community that I adore.

As a possibly-interesting side note – An interesting fact about me is that I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was 18. I actually started out of necessity (I couldn’t afford a car, and motorcycles and motorcycle insurance are cheap), but I quickly fell in love with being on two wheels. But here’s the fun part: every year, on the last business day before Christmas, I put on a full Santa suit (big white beard and all) and ride the 15 miles from my office in Century City/Beverly Hills to the South Bay. I even have a red helmet for this occasion that I wear only once a year. Fellow commuters along the route cheer, wave and shout “Merry Christmas, Biker Santa!” So if you ever see Santa on a motorcycle, give me a wave, as Santa will be most happy to smile and wave back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://southbayfriends.org/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-nowicki-b526745/