Peer Advising Applications are accepted twice a year.
The current round of applications will be open until April 1, 2022.
The goal of the program is to assist our members in connecting 1-1 with each other, so they can exchange information and ideas. The program has been widely praised for helping consultants form meaningful connections and develop strategies to strengthen their practices.
The expanded program offers two pairing options: Advisor-Advisee and Peer-Peer.
The Advisor-Advisee option connects senior level consultants to those earlier in their careers. The main goal is to help the Advisees with their career advancement and/or current issues, but Advisors also find it a valuable chance to connect with other professionals and tap into their experiences. Pairs will be matched based on the Advisee’s area of need and the expertise of the Advisor.
The Peer-Peer option does not factor in people’s years of experience or expertise, and is more about facilitating an exchange of information and ideas between peers.
All pairs are expected to commit to meet at least two times, in any mutually agreeable formats, including in-person meetings, calls, Zoom call/Hangouts, and industry gatherings.
All participants must be current Association of Nonprofit Specialists members to serve as an advisor or advisee. Not a member yet? Join us today!
The program and all matches will be managed by the Association of Nonprofit Specialists Membership Committee.
Guidelines for Advisors:
- Interested advisors will complete an online form providing their name, organization, title, email, telephone, areas of expertise, and years of experience
- Suggested minimum experience to be an advisor: 6 years of consulting and/or related experience
- Advisors must agree to hold two meetings with advisees, lasting a minimum of one hour (either in person or by phone). Additional meeting(s) will be at the discretion of advisor.
- Advisors must agree to contact advisees within a reasonable time frame (e.g. 2 weeks) to schedule meeting
- Advisors must agree to provide confirmation that the meeting took place, and complete a brief follow-up evaluation questionnaire of the meeting
Guidelines for Advisees:
- Those seeking advising will complete an online form providing their name, organization and title, email, telephone, areas of expertise, and years of experience. They will also be asked to indicate what issues/topics they would like to discuss.
- When the meetings have been completed, advisees will be asked to complete a brief follow-up survey evaluation of the program, indicating whether/how it was beneficial.
- Due to the expected volume of requests, members will be eligible for a single advising arrangement under the guidelines above.
Guidelines for Peer-Peer Participants:
- Those seeking a peer-peer match will complete an online form providing their name, organization and title, email, telephone, areas of expertise, and years of experience. They will also be asked to indicate what issues/topics they would like to discuss.
- Peer matches are asked to make contact with their partner within a reasonable timeframe (e.g. 2 weeks) to schedule the first meeting.
- When the meetings have been completed, peer matches will be asked to complete a brief follow-up survey evaluation of the program, indicating whether/how it was beneficial.
- Due to the expected volume of requests, members will be eligible for a single advising arrangement under the guidelines above.
If any matched pairs are unable to meet, another match will be assigned at the discretion of the Membership Committee.
Interested? Please complete the appropriate online form and tell us about yourself!
Based on our survey of participants, 100% of all advisees said they would recommend the program to others and 100% of all advisors said they would be interested in serving again.
“As a recent MPA grad and job-seeker on fire, I thought it might be a good idea to join the Association of Nonprofit Specialists for the networking events. Soon I was contacted by Anne Turner to match me with a consultant-mentor.
Meeting with my mentor proved a very fruitful. As a peer, equally experienced in the nonprofit sector, he transcended the resume review and was able to quickly hone in on my overarching career goals and interests, helping me identify my North Star. When I feel buffeted by the challenges of my job search, that is what I keep swimming towards.
I was humbled and grateful that both Anne and my mentor took the time. It is so wonderful to know that there is help out there, and I am resolved to pay it forward. Plus, I met a great guy and hopefully a future friend-for-life!”
Ariel Jensen-Vargas, Member Since September 2018
“My peer advisor has been very generous and taken a lot of interest in my success. She is extremely knowledgeable. We had an initial call in which she gave me lot of pointers on business development; since then we have had several email follow-ups and she brought me as a guest to her own networking group. I’d highly recommend the peer advising program.”
Maria de la Guardia, Member Since January 2019
