A friend of mine named Molly does amazing work in the world (she is the founder of Women With Drive). But work takes money, and there’s not always all the money required to do good work. However, recently she has been blessed with unusual donations that have enabled her to carry out her work: people and organizations have payed for her flights.
She was able to attend the Business Innovation Factory (BIF7) conference in September, where she was able to connect with Willow Creek Ministries in Chicago. Their congregation of 20K has a cars ministry that helped Women With Drive to streamline their model of processing/intake of vehicles in order to provide not only cars to their applicants, and also revenue to fund the operations. Molly would have NEVER had a chance to meet with Willow Creek at such high level without the access to the conference.
HERE’S THE POINT: Miles she used to get to the conference were donated by an executive of The HON Company in Muscatine.
Molly also attended the NextGen: Charity Conference in New York City. There she was able to facilitate a roundtable with some amazing women, among them Tiffany Dufu, the VP of The White House Project. She was also able to talk with Craig Newmark
Image via Wikipedia
about honing their “elevator pitch” and attracting funders (Craigslist and Craigconnects). Attending this conference she was able to talk to people that she probably would not have had the chance to and make the difference she makes in people’s lives.
HERE’S THE POINT: The miles for that trip were donated from two sources, Lou Imbriano, author of Winning the Customer and CEO of TrinityOne (@LouImbriano) and a board member of the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine.
Both trips would not have been possible without the donation of miles. Their budget simply could not accommodate it.
So if you are wondering what to do this New Years… what resolutions or donations you can make… then give this idea some thought, and then take some action. Reach out to a do-gooder in need of some financial assistance and offer them some of your frequent flyer miles or to pay for their flights! You’ll be glad you made a difference.
Dr. Nat is a leading expert, often quoted in the press and provides commentary as a guest expert on radio and television on how the top companies provide great experiences and retain loyal customers. She also writes about technology, social media, mobile and products. Her research has been highlighted in cover stories in business publications like Business Week, New York Times and USA Today and she has given talks at leading events such as WOMMA, Forrester Consumer Forum, SOCAP, and more. Dr. Nat is the author of four business books on customer service, CRM and contact centers as well as author of dozens upon dozens of articles, white papers and research.
