(ISF) In search of advice about offering drop-in / pro bono / cyber-yenta advice

(A more detailed article on this topic is available on my blog at
<http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/26/3603737.html>.

Dear ISF Colleagues,

As some of you know, I hate working from home - so I've accepted a
very kind offer from the International Physicians for the Prevention
of Nuclear War <http://ippnw.org>;. They have space to spare, and need
some help with their online strategy, so we've made a very pleasant
arrangement.

Now that I have an office and an access to a conference room, I'm
think of offering office hours, so that nonprofit professionals in
need of pro bono strategic technology advice can drop in.

I'd be very interested in hearing from nonprofit professionals about
whether they'd make use of such office hours, and from other nonprofit
technology assistance providers about whether they've ever offered
this.

Many thanks and best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Cyber-Yenta
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn%40post.harvard.edu">deborah_elizabeth_finnpost.harvard.edu
www.cyber-yenta.org

"Nothing softeneth the Arrogance of our Nature
like a Mixture of some Frailties. It is by them
that we are best told, that we must not strike
too hard upon others....They pull our Rage by
the sleeve and whisper Gentleness to us in our
censures."
-George Savile (1633 - 1695)

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My question (a standard one around here) is, what function are you proposing to meet?

In other words, "strategic technology advice&quot; about what?

The follow-up question is, what is the scope of your services? Is this a one-shot consultation, or a weekly-scheduled consultation. Can "clients" call you for telephone support? For example, "I can't open Outlook to read my mail, what do I do now?"

The Virginia Bar Association offers a very interesting service. If you have a situation where you think you might need the services of a lawyer, you can call the service and they will help you define the legal situation. Then they will refer you to a lawyer. For $35 the lawyer will give you one hour of legal consultation about your situation over the phone. To make things even easier, the Bar Association has already contacted the lawyer and told them what your situation is. So the lawyer is prepared to answer your questions and give you advice. If you need more services from the lawyer, you can make a "normal" lawyer-client arrangement with the lawyer.

-----original message-----
>&gt;As some of you know, I hate working from home - so I've accepted a
very kind offer from the International Physicians for the Prevention
of Nuclear War <http://ippnw.-org&gt;. They have space to spare, and need
some help with their online strategy, so we've made a very pleasant
arrangement. Now that I have an office and an access to a conference room, I'm thinking of offering office hours, so that nonprofit professionals in need of pro bono strategic technology advice can drop in. I'd be very interested in hearing from nonprofit professionals about whether they'd make use of such office hours, and from other nonprofit technology assistance providers about whether they've ever offered this.>&gt;

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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Good idea. I did a free drop in clinic on basic windows skills, so that individuals didn't have to feel dumb doing basics in front of others. Didn't get many takers. Perhaps the topic was too boring!

I'd recommend constraining the drop in availability (ie don't run it weekly forever) - or people will put it off, and you'll be locked into sitting there alone week in week out while they procrastinate. You could do "every wednesday for the Month of x" a couple times a year? Or make it available once a month so you can send reminders your list as the date comes near.

J

-----original message-----
>&gt; <http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/26/3603737.htm
l&gt;. >>

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