After a week and a half of scurrying around an office sorting out organizations, searching for bugs, and getting comfortable with the website, we finally took the stage today! This morning we went to a monthly Thrive membership meeting (a network of nonprofits in San Mateo County) and met with different heads of organizations to talk about GreatNonprofits. The morning started off a little rough... my empty stomach hastily filled with green tea was not so happy making the commute from the city to San Mateo... but everything started falling into place once we bustled into the conference room.
I loved watching everyone react to our site: How much do we have to pay? Nothing. And we can advertise our organization with your website space? Yup. And you will set up the profile with me and help organize reviews? Uh huh. (The pause....) Really? Absolutely.
After we showed people through our site and swapped business cards to set up future phone calls, we were able to hear Bill Somerville speak to the members. I don't even know how to frame how fantastic he was or what a forceful energy he brought to the room. He is the President and Founder of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation and had the head honchos of these amazing nonprofits wrapped around his little finger. We learned about the value of instant grants, the importance of innovation in grant proposals, and why it is necessary to take risks with people you trust. I am currently perusing Amazon and Borders.com to find a copy of his book-- call me an easy (overeager..) audience, but he honestly has me hooked!
Okay enough for now but I'll check in later-- we are going to the Compasspoint Nonprofit Day conference tomorrow and are hosting a happy hour afterwards at the Westin Hotel. Stories to come, for sure...
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