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I've worked in the nonprofit industry for about  15 years. And I worked at a time that's kind of,   unusual for people nowadays, but it was just as  technology was becoming more prevalently used.   When I first started working  for the nonprofit, a lot of   everything was done on a downloaded version, a desktop version as far as software goes.  So, I've grown with the company from two employees, helping 27 children at an orphanage  in India to now thousands of people in India and working in two leprosy colonies in India  to working with over 97 leprosy colonies. So we grew exponentially over the last  20 years of the nonprofit’s existence, but I worked with them for 15 years.  And so beginning with, you know, really basic technology to working with several beta versions  of online, technology. And with that first rolling out to really kind of where we are today with  some really great types of technology and software available to support nonprofits. But, I really feel like  I’ve, I’m pretty well rounded  in that. I have had almost every position inside of a nonprofit working first as the executive  assistant to the president of the company to, office manager controller, executive director for  five years. And then the last position I held was, chief operations officer. So I know all the  ins and outs and what it takes to support an organization in their growth.  For the last 15 years one of the biggest obstacles that we had, we were an  international nonprofit. And so everyone was on a different level as far as their  technology. And of course between the us and India, it was huge. And so I think  the greatest advancement that I've seen with online technology has been, the way  that you can utilize the network and especially with fundraising, being able  to reach thousands and thousands of people very easily and, and inexpensively. And, you know, we've gone from, you know, printing flyers and having to get those sent out  in the mail on a regular basis to now you can just use a single handle and reach thousands  of people. I think that's  a, that's the, the greatest  advantage that we have now that we didn't have before. When you approach people to support  your cause and your mission, it's very emotional and, people don't like to have to go through  five or six steps to, you know, get that feeling that they've done something good. And so I think  the more simpler the software  is the better, the less  steps that you have to go  through the better. And also  if a software is too complicated  to use, you have such  high turnover in the nonprofit  world, usually because  people, you know, are not  paid top dollar, nonprofits  have to watch their overhead.  And, with that turnover,  you know, having, taking the  time to train people over  and over again, if the software is too complex and you're, having to depend on, someone in the  IT industry to do that training for you, sometimes you'll be waiting a long time and the lag  time is just too much. And, so I really appreciate software that has,   that is very simple to use for the training  purposes and very simple for donors to get to  that destination of really  feeling like they're helping. So it's really important for  training to be done easily.  So many times a nonprofit has to wait for an IT specialist to accomplish the training and time  is money. You can't wait. And it's so much better if the nonprofit has the independence and the  freedom to be able to do that at their own pace. And, if it's a simple process or simple,   software to use,   it doesn't take a rocket scientist to accomplish that goal. You can do that within your own team.  Such an advantage to intuitive software. And, when it's intuitive,   it doesn't take a lot of work to accomplish your goal and making sure that everyone  is on the same page and  things are running smoothly. So the nonprofit that I  worked for, for a long time  had a very unique mission. And of course it was an international nonprofit. What we did is we  helped people, that were suffering from the effects from leprosy. And a lot of people thought,  well, we thought leprosy was gone a long time ago, or I thought that only happened in Bible times,  but leprosy is still very  prevalent today. And especially  in India where we do our work, there's a stigma attached to leprosy. So even though there has been  a cure for leprosy for many, many years, a lot of  people won't go to the  doctor to get the medication,  and they suffer with the effects  and it affects everything.  It affects, you know, whether  or not they get a job,  what kind of employment they have, whether or not their children go to school. So we decided that just giving people food to eat, or just helping them get a job that wasn't enough.  We had to do have a three-pronged approach that took care of all of the obstacles,   because you'd only get so far. So, you know,   the phrase, if you teach a man to fish,   he'll eat for the rest of his life. You know, he he'll never have to fish again.   And, and that was  kind of our approach. So what we did is we helped the parents get better. We helped them with  medical care. So we had a medical van that would go out to them and visit them personally, to keep  it discreet because in  India, the, the stigma is so  terrible that if you go to  the hospital and you get  diagnosed with leprosy, they  will report you, you will  be removed from your home and put in a leprosy colony and you'll lose your job. And a lot of people lose their  families. It's just a terrible  thing that you have to deal with. So we would take the mobile medical clinic out to them, give them  treatment. Nobody had to know, and then we would also help educate their kids so that the   cycle doesn't repeat itself.   And in our schools, we even had segregation so that,   we had kids that were not from a leprosy colony as attending the school so that they could,  I mean, we had integration  so that the kids that were  not from the colonies, went  to school with the children  that were from the colonies  so that they could learn  from an early age that there  was no difference. They  had the same abilities, they  had the same intelligence  and they could have the same dreams. And then the third thing we did was help the parents stay   employed because if they could  be employed, then they're not  tempted to pull their kids  from school to work in the  fields or other really horrible  sources of income in ways  that children have been used in India. So that's, I'm really passionate about the Work. And the years that I served in that organization, I also have a real passion for Montessori school.  And that was like the first  nonprofit that I worked with,  before I worked with this other organization.   I just really love helping people.   As I've had the privilege to work in the nonprofit industry over the years,  I've held several roles.  And I first started as the  personal assistant or the executive assistant to a  president of a nonprofit  company. So I got to learn  all of the ins and outs with fundraising,  major donor appreciation and cultivation   just as an observer and a supporter. As time went  on, I was given the opportunity to serve as an   office manager, just really helping things  move along more quickly. And that's when I   also got involved with the development of software  where we were using just a basic desktop version. And it was just at that time where we were moving onto an online, version of, you know, software.  And so, after that, I really  developed my skills with  accounting, and I had kind  of that strategic mindset.  So I worked as a controller and got more and more into the strategy of fundraising and how we  notify people, receding,  filing, 990’s and, and that  kind of thing. All of the money making strategic aspects and also the obligations that nonprofits  have to stay afloat because there's been a lot of, not so great decisions that companies have made  with nonprofits and trying to, create an unfair advantage for themselves and use that status.  So, you know, naturally the government has created rules to protect that status and also,   help us grow, but also, you know, create a, a situation where,  nobody makes those bad decisions and takes advantage of people. You know, you have to protect the donor, you have to protect also all of the people  that work for the nonprofit and, and make sure the reputation stays intact because with  the nonprofit, reputation is everything. So, after that, I was given the ability to try my hand at  being an executive director that was a whole different level of service and responsibility.  And especially with an international organization, it was a lot of responsibility, but I   loved it. I'm kind of a natural in that arena.   I love introducing our mission and the salesmanship that goes along with that,  but also seeing people's  lives change, both the donors  and the people that contributed  to the growth of our organization   and the people that were the beneficiaries of that hard work and the   sacrifice that people made so that they could have a better life.   It's just so fulfilling. And the last few years that I worked with this  organization, I worked there  as the chief operations  officer supporting a brand-new president going through transitions,   after a 20-year span of, working with this organization. So it's been a wonderful  experience for me. And I've learned almost every in and out with the nonprofit industry. I love helping other people. I grew up in a situation where, things weren't so great. I mean,  I had parents that did the best they could, but I've had experiences. Like I had to get custody of  my younger brothers. I wanted to prevent them from going into foster care. And I was 26 at the  time when I got custody of  my 14 year old brothers.  I also have a son that is  high functioning, autistic,  and, those two experiences, I  think really, created my awareness   earlier in life, where there are a lot of people that need help and it doesn't take much,  it just takes somebody who cares and there's just no feeling or buzz that you can get any other way  than through serving other people and nonprofits. Especially the one that I   found myself working with. I can't think of another organization that did it  better or helped more people  in a very, very impactful way. And I also have a passion to understand other people and where they're coming from. And I also  like to be understood. So, there's nothing more tragic than someone that is stigmatized because  of a mental illness or a  disability. And they can't have  the same opportunities in  life because nobody wants  to take the time to understand. So I  like being that spokesperson and that   mediator in between someone that is stuck   and they feel like they have a cap on their life, and opportunity. That's always just right  around the corner. You just have to make those connections.   When I was working With this nonprofit organization, we started with, you know, 27 kids and we were working in  two leprosy colonies, probably 50 individuals together, but we were growing so fast and we  had this special program too, where you could sponsor a child, but a lot of these kids had been,  abandoned or had had issues of not being accepted in their community. And we found out that it was  super tragic when one of our sponsors, you know, like would lose their job   or graduated from college and got married and had more expenses and they  dropped these kids. So we decided what we'd do is we would try to make,   create a sustainable situation where we took them in education from kindergarten,  all the way to 12th grade.  And in order to do that,  it would take four sponsors  per child. But by having  four sponsors per child, they had a whole support work network. And, they had, if one person decided to stop sponsoring, then they still had three more. So it  was easier to keep that going and, and not disappoint the child. with all of those sponsors,  Our donor base grew very quickly. And so we found ourselves, We had outgrown the,   the old desktop version of,   a software that we were using. We had a custom built software made for our organization to  support all of this unique way that we, you know, raised money and, and supported these individuals,  but it was done through a  corporation and supported  with their server. And, , not  too long after we got started,  I think it was like two or three  years later, the corporation  got bought out. And so did all of our support with this custom software <laugh>. So we had to   start all over again,   trying to seek out another type of database that would support us   and all of the new, online versions they were in their, their beta forms still. So I was able to work with  a few of them and do the   painstaking customizations with all the different disattached strings that a lot of things were just  kind of left hanging because  they just weren't there  yet in their development,  even though we were ready  to go, also, we found some,  , versions or some software  that would work for us, but  it was way out of our price  range. There's no way that that would work. So I met Bala Guntipalli that works with Affnetz,  so helpful, so wonderful. , and he recognized our problems. He, he was like, I, I can see   why, why you're struggling here.  And, and we had this wonderful  collaborative relationship where I could talk to him and troubleshoot or get, some of his friends  in the IT industry to help us, extract data or, you know, do some data scrubbing for us because,  you know, in, in nonprofits these days, your data is what defines you. It's really the selling point. You have to be able to prove that what you do works. You   just can't give people a, a warm,   fuzzy feeling that doesn't last long. And so working together with Bala, he introduced  me to a project that he had been working on for a while. Of course, he has a whole team of wonderful  people that work with Affnetz. But when I first saw this product, I was blown away because he  took all of my complaints over the last, you know, two years that he was helping me. And, he solved  every one of those problems and developed this wonderful, this wonderful software solution for  nonprofits that really took  care of every single problem  that we had been experiencing. And  on top of it at an affordable price.   our dream as a nonprofit, and I think this is any nonprofit dream   is to have an all in one solution. So many times as a nonprofit,  by trying to save money,  we are spending a lot more money because what we're doing is we're trying to take   this one little aspect or solution to like maybe a CRM issue. We, we got  a really great CRM and we  got the cheapest one, but  it doesn't help us with peer tope fundraising, or it doesn't have a really great receding system.  That is, it's a nightmare when it comes to our county or, it doesn't have a management system  built in that will support the staff or the board members. And, or it can't bepretty, I,  I remember doing a, a fundraiser, , where people went to the checkout page on our website, and  we had a lot of hype with  it where they were trying to  reach a goal of helping us raise $50,000. And we wanted to supply a match. We've we got someone that was willing to match that if we met the goal, but the software we had  wouldn't even allow us to  have a simple thermometer  or dial to inform everyone  where we were with our goal.  And it fell flat so fast. So  I love all of the aspects with  Affnetz in that it has that all in one, , one stop shop feeling. You don't have to have a separate   communication system that can distribute mass email communications. You don't have to have a  separate, , board member or staff management system. You don't have to have a separate, ,   project management or events  system. All of those things  are all in one, and they all communicate with each other. That was another issue that we had  where we could solve these problems with different  pieces of software, but they  didn't talk to each other. So then you have to hire  a data entry clerk to make  these entries two and three times again, you know,  it's just so time consing and, and money wasted, where we could be working on our mission. Instead,  we're having to do data entry  for hours and hours with  that also came the element  of, , han error, because when  you have to enter the same data over  and over again, sometimes it doesn't   end up the same way in all these different  systems. So having an, a source that you  can go to that everything's  connected to just makes  the whole everyone's job  easier. And it makes things,  you know, like our, the, , the information that we wanna give our donors more reliable.   Working with the Affnetz team has been amazing. , first of all,  they're very collaborative. And so they  really wanna understand your unique   challenges and the things that you're having   to deal with as a nonprofit, they really want to help you serve others better. And so they like to say that, you know, we serve you so that you can serve others. And, I just love  that whole feeling and the  whole idea of, with their  approach, , with nonprofits  in general, but especially  with me, I also feel like  they take that extra time. ,  and if you have little bugs  or something in the system  at first, or if you need to expand faster than you thought, they're right there and they're ready to  help you with the solution. And if they don't have the solution, my experience is   they will find the solution. You will not be left hanging for long.   And I think the nonprofits that succeed are the ones that can  really have that connection  with their donors and know  how to appreciate their donors.  The thing that really impresses   me about Affnetz is how easy the software allows you to do that. Not only can you keep them  informed with accurate data  and you can receipt them And you can, create, fundraising  and event opportunities,  peer to peer fundraising.  There's so many ways that  you can connect with them.  Not only can you do that,  but you can show appreciation and make sure that  your board members and your  staff are well informed  of everything that they're doing to support your organization. It's so much more meaningful,  for a donor, if they don't  just get a canned response  as part of their receipt, when  a transaction takes place,  you know, like right after  they’ve paid $50, it just says,  thank you. And a, and a  canned phrase. , it's so much  more meaningful. If a board  member is aware, gee, you  have been donating for the  last 15 years. And I just  want you to know how much growth has taken place because of your commitment.   It's also important for a board member to know   what the donor has done and the sacrifices they have made. It makes, it makes the staff and the board members  feel so much better about what they're doing. We had a situation where there was a lady that was  sponsoring a child, and it was $30 a month. And I knew that she cleaned houses for a living, cuz  I had been able to talk to  her and , she called me and  she said, I'd like to sponsor another child. Now she was a woman that was raised in Russia and grew  up in Brazil. So she had  this very interesting accent  and I, I even pause and I  said, are you sure that's  what you're telling me. I wanna make sure that I understand you wanna sponsor another child. That's  gonna be $60 a month. Are you okay with that? She said, totally fine. I got another job so I can  manage. She went out and got another job so that she could sponsor two kids. How many people would do that? I think there are many people that do do that. And what kind of  difference does that make? When a board member knows that? So having the board member management  and the staff management elements, and this software allows you to make those notes and  include that information IN the software easily accessible. It just makes everybody feel so much  better. I mean, because it's  not easy to run a nonprofit.  It's not an, it is, it's  a thankless job sometimes.  But knowing that donors like,   like this woman, they stand behind you  and they're willing to sacrifice to the  extent of getting a second job to support your mission, that just makes you want to work even  harder. And just the opposite with the donors. If they know how appreciated they are by the  board members and the staff, they're more likely to continue giving. And if they know the impact  that their $2 is making,  they're more likely to give  to you for Several years and even increase that amount because they know the money's going  for to a good cause and it's doing good things for people. So just like I mentioned before, with a  nonprofit reputation is everything. If you do something that's dishonest or if you are  difficult to work with, you're not gonna last very long. I really love the Affnetz service ethic  and I've felt it, in really  personal ways too, because  it's not easy working in  a nonprofit. So many times  you have to rely on, the services that are offered to you. You have to rely on people showing up.  And, hopefully that grant that you wanted comes through. When it comes to the software,  that's where I really feel like nonprofit industries have been, nickled and dimed and  almost taken advantage of. There was a phrase that I used to use. It was really tongue in cheek, but we beg so that you don't have to.   I mean, it really felt that difficult to get the support and the help that  we needed without being taken advantage of with, a dollar here   or $2 there. It's the reason why we're so concerned with that is we have, we have  to keep our overhead, our overhead down. We have to keep our percentages in a way where major  donors really feel like  it's worth it for me to give  you dollars because I know you're not gonna spend it all on administration. It's gonna go to  the cause that you're advertising and that you're, you're marketing to us. And so we want to also  feel that good about what  we do. And it, it hurts when  we have to spend money on  administrative costs rather  than a child that we're aware of that we know is hungry or a parent who's suffering from cancer. And, we know that that family needs support like right now. Affnetz is really cognizant of that.  They're very sensitive to the needs that we have keeping the costs down, helping our staff and our  team work more efficiently with the software. They really get it. They understand the   needs of nonprofits and, the support that   they give goes even beyond that, because I  feel like they've gone the extra mile to make  sure that every need that  we have as a nonprofits is,  is met in a way to where  it's gonna support our growth  its gonna support, our time  in a way that we can spend  our time more doing more  service than having to solve  these difficult problems.  And I can tell you that most Nonprofits, it takes five to six  different softwares to accomplish   everything that they need to do. So  by consolidating all of those into one   effort and one source, it really is   a time saver and a money saver. So   Affnetz is a unique product, that really speaks to the core of what every nonprofit needs.   I really love how they actually did. They went and talked to and  surveyed a lot of different  nonprofits so they can have  a better firsthand knowledge and understanding  of what's missing out there. I think they really   hit the nail on the head when they,   came to the conclusion that what they need is an all-in-one product   that really communicates and talks to it itself. You know,   every single aspect of the software, is  integrated and it, and it talks to itself. I think the most impressive parts of it are how they've addressed, a really powerful CRM and  project management, events management, module, or you know, software. On top of that,   they wanted to make sure that they took care of the staff   and the board members, the stakeholders  that really run the organization  and keep it healthy and the communication platform there to be able to reach out to your donors,   to each other and keep, information at,   the click of a button so that you can be quick in your response or   in your decision making that that's just that   that's like what every nonprofit has asked for, for years. And of course   you can probably find software that can  do that, but not all in one. And the  final part of it is really  what makes, it could make or  break a nonprofit and that's  the fundraising component. You have to make money to stay alive. And in order to do that,   you have to have the right foundation to be able to ask people in a way where it's fun.  It's, you're able to get a  results quickly and, and in a  way that you can keep all  of that information in one  place so that you're receding  and other aspects of, ,  donation and money management can happen seamlessly and also effortlessly the real magic  with an ask is that personal  connection. And I think  that that's really the magic  place with the Affnetz software,   where they've really figured that out, where as a nonprofit, you can go and approach people. You can  tap into every single social media handle. You can thank people all within a click of a button   and all from the same source of information. So I really  appreciate how Affnetz has been  so thoughtful in concentrating   on those four core aspects of, , what every nonprofit needs. It just makes everyone's  job so much more enjoyable, and it, it sets the foundation for a nonprofit to be successful and  last, a nonprofit that can  last for more than 10 years  is a successful nonprofit.  And I really feel like this is  really gonna up the game  for any nonprofit that uses  this software. I think Affnetz really exceeded my expectations in two areas. really important areas.   The first one was cost. And   I think I've mentioned this before, but when you are using five or six different   platforms, you everyone's getting  a piece of the pie, a little piece  of your money, having it all  consolidated in one place.  Not only does it save you  time, which saves you money,  but the cost is significantly less when you're  paying one source for all of this benefit.   The other thing that really makes Affnetz stand out   is the way that this software can be personalized to your organization. being  able to put your logo in  certain places in the checkout  page or a photograph that  really exemplifies the mission  and the work that you do,  , being able to, have, when  you're having your checkout experience, you're not putting sponsored kids in the basket. You're, you know, it's just,  it can say checkout or whatever  the language is in your  organization. It really makes  your team feel like they're  part of a cohesive effort.  And not only that, the way Affnetz will  allow you to personalize the software,   it extends beyond your organization. You bring your donors and all of the   stakeholders into the fold. They understand your language. You can say the keyword that you need  to say that just really makes  it feel like this is our  house and welcome to our  home. So I really love it that  Affnetz even thought about  those small details in making  a product that helps the  nonprofits job become easier  and more enjoyable, and also helps you reach out to donors, engage new donors and make them feel  like they've also become  part of the same family and,  and the same effort. They  really thought of everything.  just like to say, thank you  to Affnetz. I mean, really  the solution that you're  providing is something that  we've all been waiting for for years. And I think what you're about to do is help so many nonprofits  that are so desperate for  your solution and what you  provide. We're gonna see so much more, involvement in our communities, and we're gonna see   nonprofits Excel. Me personally. I just wanna say   thank you for everything that you have done, all the   sacrifices that you have made and for caring   about those that care for others. It's really remarkable what you're doing.