This week, a staff member from wonderful nonprofit in Massachusetts that focuses on environmental health approached me for assistance.
The organization needs some help with a range of technology issues, such as whether to stick with their open source infrastructure, which Linux distro is best for their needs, and how to bring in the right hands-on tech support services.
I would really love to count this organization as a client, but the more I talked to the staff member who is responsible for technology, the more I thought about my dear old friend Michelle Murrain, who recently returned to Massachusetts after a sojourn as a seminary student. Michelle, who is the author of the popular blog Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology , recently founded an independent consulting practice, Metacentric Technology Advising.
Oh, and did I mention that she has a Ph.D. in biology, and is passionate about environmental activism? As I thought about this nonprofit's mission and technology needs, I couldn't help thinking that she was the right woman for the job.
(I also thought about a conversation that she and I recently had about the long term, big picture environmental impact of computing. Even though I didn't entirely agree with her, I had to admit that she had really done her homework and thought through the implications, which I had not troubled to do.)
So I decided to eschew the sales pitch for my consulting services, and pitch Michelle's. This is a short term loss for me - partly because this would a be very desirable client for me, and partly because I don't take commissions for recommending other people's products and services to nonprofit organizations. But I get a lot of long term satisfaction from finding the right person or resource to meet a nonprofit organization's needs , so I predict that this choice will make me - along with everyone else - pretty happy.
