Behind the scenes
I’ve been sitting here at my computer for more than a few minutes, trying to decide what to share with you. The truth is, my brain has been so focused on calls, trainings and work sessions with organizations in Bangladesh, the United States, Guatemala and South Africa that writing this blog isn’t coming easily.
Which made me realize that that’s exactly what I should share. So let me share a bit of the “behind the scenes” of what’s been going on here at Social Impact Compass.
First and foremost, incredible clients. Here’s a taste—
Last week I had a working session with a Bangladeshi NGO that has an entrepreneurial model for making primary health care accessible across the capital. They were one of the first organizations I worked with back in May just after launching— in under 2 weeks getting them clarity on their fundraising strengths and weaknesses, where they should focus their fundraising efforts, and what their specific next steps are to make that happen. Now we are working together again to ramp up their grant writing capacity so they can win significantly more grants with ease. We are starting with getting clear on what about them will make a funder say “yes!” and what their perfect-fit-funder looks like.
This week I gave hands-on support to a US-based NGO that creates the post-harvest solutions that rural Sub-Saharan African communities need to end food insecurity. We’ve already gotten clear on what about them will make a funder say “yes” (and what might make a funder say “no”) and now are building the core of their best-in-class grant package— powerful messaging on who they are, what they do, and how they do it. They responded to my suggestions with an email entitled “LOVE IT”.
Finally, I’ve been prepping for a working session with a global shipping company. In the face of climate change, the company wants to source more from the smallholder farmers located near its packing facility in Peru. The sustainability team came in with a strong vision and I am working with them to turn their vision into a tangible project. For starters, we are getting them clear on both the business and farmer challenges that can be solved through this project.
And then there’s the backend—
With the number of organizations I’m working with growing, I’m preparing to hire a virtual assistant. They’ll support with some of the client onboarding, admin, and website updates, so I can focus on supporting you. A fellow entrepreneur highly recommended iworker, a platform that helps you find talented, remote assistants from Venezuela and other countries in crisis, and I’m excited to make this mission-aligned hire soon! (And if you are looking for a VA, this might be a great solution for you, too.)
Finally, I’ve spent a particular amount of time recently playing with new technology, to see what could be most useful for the organizations I support. I’ve been testing Chat GPT for summarizing long texts to meet proposals’ word limits (loving it), AI-powered platforms to speed up the grant writing process (I haven’t yet found one I love) and Rewind and Loom for video-based ways to share feedback on client materials.
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Wow, it feels good to pause and reflect this way. Especially in the midst of packed work days.
And you? Tomorrow, before you disconnect for the weekend, what if you take 3 min to pause and reflect? My recommended prompts to you are: what you are celebrating, what you are trusting, and what you are leaving behind?
I’d love to hear!
(Photo is from pre-COVID, because I keep forgetting to take screenshots. There I was presenting to companies seeking profit & purpose at the Inter-American Development Bank’s summit in Panama.)
