Affordable, qualified support for a nonprofit consultancy

Amber Wynn, MSPA, runs Amber Wynn Nonprofit Consulting Services in Los Angeles. She describes herself as a CEO and philanthrepreneur: she helps nonprofits get organised, funded and running, and she does it as the person at the centre of a solo consultancy, which means every client call, proposal, document and follow-up starts with her.

Amber describes the starting point herself: “As a solopreneur I had become overwhelmed with all the moving parts of an expanding business. I needed a virtual assistant to help increase my capacity and effectiveness.” She is equally clear about what she was looking for and in what order. “Both cost and qualifications were my top priorities.” A solo consultancy cannot carry an expensive hire, but a nonprofit consultant also cannot hand client-facing work to someone who will need to be managed line by line. Most options she had seen offered one or the other: affordable help that needed supervising, or qualified help she could not justify.

Working with Kelvin Njoroge at Virtual Wise, Amber brought on administrative support for the consultancy: the inbox, scheduling and document work that sits behind client engagements, handled by a university-educated assistant matched to her work and working in her tools. The arrangement follows the Virtual Wise model, with a named team lead behind the assistant and no long contract to commit to.

The outcome, in her words, is that it “has solved both of those challenges, and more.” Cost, because the support is priced for a small practice. Qualifications, because the assistant is a graduate who understands professional work. And the “more”: the capacity a solo operator gets back when the administrative load moves off her desk.

Nonprofits and the people who serve them are one of the sectors we know best. See who we serve, the virtual assistance service, and why every hour funds a career in Kenya.