In a typical week, I receive a number of questions from local nonprofit professionals who need advice about finding specialists that they can hire to assist them with a technology issue. This week has been an unusually lively one for such questions.
Giving advice and making referrals is part of my stock in trade as a cyber-yenta - so of course I'm delighted to hear from the questioners. However, a number of them are a little unclear about whether I'll be billing them for the time it takes to answer them.
So here is some clarification about my usual approach to giving free advice to folks in the Massachusetts nonprofit sector:
- I maintain a referral list of local technology consultants that I've vetted. These specialists all have solid experience with small nonprofits. You can download the latest version of the list at right here on my blog. This is a freebie.
- If your nonprofit organization needs not just a referral list but a consultation about your strategy, or about finding the right match of needs and resources, I'll be happy to speak with you on the phone or meet with you at your office. This consultation is a freebie.
- If you need more than a single consultation, I will need to charge you for my time. I have a sliding scale that is based on your annual revenue and your staff size. I bill by the hour, and offer a significant discount for long term projects.
In many cases, particularly with a small nonprofit, all that's needed is the referral list and a free consultation. I enjoy bringing needs and resources together, and you receive an answer to your question, and when the conversation concludes we're both happy. But when what you're asking me to do crosses over from a friendly chat into "real work," then we are in the realm of billable hours.
Please don't hesitate to be in touch if you need additional clarification!
