{Thank you for your time and help in connecting me with a skills-based volunteer through Ask the Expert. WOW—what a great session. It means so much to have FREE resources available for nonprofits. Thank you for helping us so we can continue doing good in NEO!

{Our BVU fellow has been instrumental in helping to bring structure to the organization's Board of Directors. She has created standard procedures for board communication, file storage and sharing, training for new board officers, and has supported the creation of the board committees and officers. In just one day, she helped us form committees, including the chairs, meeting dates, and priorities to work on moving forward. For board officers, she was the repository for nominations, held conversations with the nominated individuals to gauge interest in the positions, created the ballot and ran the election successfully. The end result was our newly elected 4 officers. We absolutely would recommend a BVU fellow to other nonprofits. Small organizations may not have the human capital or expertise to address areas of growth, so the breadth of knowledge a fellow brings to the organization to help build processes and support successful operations is invaluable.

{Like many nonprofit agencies, Achievement Centers for Children had an urgent need to launch new strategies to attract and retain a high performing workforce. We hit a home run when we secured a BVU Fellow to help us design and implement best practices in employee compensation. This work contributed to our ability to serve 20% more clients this year compared to last year. Thank you, BVU!

{We are thrilled to be working with our Fellow! In the short time we have been working together, it is clear that his background, knowledge and experience will be transformative. The insightful work he is doing on our finance project is laying the foundation for strategic improvements in our processes as well as providing a tremendous opportunity for our staff to learn and benefit from his expertise. We look forward to continuing to be part of this amazing program!

{On behalf of Intergenerational Schools, we want to thank you for connecting us with the BVU Fellows Program! As a community of lifelong learners, the opportunity to tap into this program not only aligns with our mission but has provided us with access to an invaluable resource of highly qualified and skilled individuals. The caliber of the people you referred to us was impressive, both their credentials with the enthusiasm and willingness they bring to taking a deep interest in the needs and challenges of our schools.

{Cleveland has a lot of nonprofits. There are people out there doing the good work, and they need support. Our business started with assistance from mentors and friends, and now is the time to give back. Volunteering connects us to amazing causes and can teach us so much.

{BVU is the great facilitator. If a company has an interest in using their skills to volunteer, BVU is the institution that knows the nonprofits doing the work.

{BVU's Skill CONNECT program has allowed us to work with someone of exceptional quality at an amount that we can afford. It has been so valuable to be able to focus on high-priority projects that we normally wouldn't have the professional resources to complete.

{The event was great. I cannot stop talking about all of the information and tips I received from it. The opportunities you provide to nonprofit organizations through Skill CONNECT are invaluable. Thank you so much for the knowledge I have gained through BVU’s skilled-based volunteers!

{I’m writing to thank you — working with our Skill CONNECT volunteer has been such a gift for our organization. Literary Cleveland is stronger because of Judy’s smart mind and hard work. We are incredibly grateful to her and BVU for this program.

{BVU matched us with the perfect financial expert who catapulted our capacity, increased our financial skillset, and widened our organizational bandwidth. We are stronger and more ready to uplift Cleveland’s youth.

{I was thinking small when at a recent “Ask the Expert” event, I was told to think and behave like IBM. This sentence, supported by tactical advice from an expert in finance and Quickbooks, made things become suddenly very clear to me. I was grateful to connect with someone who could talk to me on my level about a very specific financial situation we were dealing with.

{The volunteer assignment through BVU was only to be a few months, but I [stayed] for over 13 years at Breakthrough Schools. It has been a great experience. Who knows – I may want to try out new volunteer opportunities in the future.

{This is an awesome resource! Within a span of 60 minutes, [the skills-based volunteer] assessed my organization's situation, explained the options we could consider, helped me put an action plan in place, and answered ALL of my questions.

{I didn’t know what I had to give until I did the first Skill CONNECT program. I’m always excited at the end of these “Ask the Expert” sessions. The nonprofits are so grateful and thankful. Nonprofit leaders are great at leading their organizations, so being able to help these professionals improve in areas where they don’t have expertise is so rewarding. When you work in a specific field every day, you almost forget that what you have IS a valuable asset to others without that skillset.