Mankato Networking Lunch Recap: Virtual Assistants

Despite the coldest air of the winter and a late-start day for area schools impacting many schedules, we had a nice turnout of the first Mankato Networking Lunch of 2011. MCN associate member Holly Anthony of Anthony Office Solutions joined us to explain a little bit about what a virtual assistant is and how they can help nonprofits. Turns out Holly can not only help with a whole bunch of things (check her website for a complete run down), but she is also a wealth of knowledge about what is new/good/not-so-good when it comes to web-based software. She shared some of her favorite resources and we heard about how she helps clients all over the country using web-based resources. She has one client that relies on her to a lot of reminding and it got me thinking how useful something like this would be in fundraising. How often have you had in the back of your mind to touch base with so-and-s0 that you met a while ago? Well, one of things Holly can do is help keep people on track and does of a lot of behind-the-scenes the leg-work too, like crafting emails, but makes sure that it’s authentic and is coming from the client. She also is a Constant Contact Business Partner and is qualified to come talk to you or your group about the benefits of using this software.  Despite much of her world being virtual (and acknowledging that her entire business was in her laptop bag), Holly has a real life in Madison Lake, which just east of Mankato, and offers a free phone consultation if you want to chat with her about the unique needs of your organization.