In the past two weeks, I've spent an hour a day making phone calls to different organizations all across the US and Canada to tell them about our Social Ventures Consulting Program—a very cool program, in my opinion. I did this earlier in the year, which means I'm nearly a pro, despite the fact that it's hard to not sound like a genuine telemarketer out to rob from the poor and give to the rich.
But it's worth persevering because it's for a good cause (or it's a good cause for a good cause). We're offering free business consulting in partnership with the Dingman Center at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business. We can't offer service to everyone who applies since we only have a limited number of students in the program. We can offer consulting services from business focused individuals to organizations with a specific business need. I am learning that running a nonprofit includes dealing with a lot of unwanted but necessary overhead and organizational issues. It's nice to know that I'm part of an organization that tries to help others getting through this so that our members can work on doing what they do best.
