Michelle Nusum-Smith, founder of The Word Woman LLC, has been serving the nonprofit sector for ten years.
Her custom consulting services have supported nonprofits in Frederick and beyond as they work to achieve their missions, becoming a true asset and champion for the Frederick nonprofit community. As Chamber President and CEO, Rick Weldon noted, “I’ve watched Michelle for a long time. In addition to her thoughtful, skilled and creative use of language to express ideas, Michelle is a warm and welcoming community leader with a heart for service and a love of our community.”
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we are proud to have women in our community and Chamber membership who model the groundbreaking, significant contributions women like Michelle have and continue to make to our nation.
Photo courtesy The Word Woman LLC
Member of the Month: The Word Woman
About The Word Woman
Based in Frederick, MD but serving clients across North America, The Word Woman LLC (TWW) is a full-service consulting firm helping new, emerging and established nonprofits as well as government agencies and individuals to achieve their goals.
TWW provides a full range of high-quality, professional yet affordable consulting, coaching and training services to address a host of challenges, including but not limited to starting a nonprofit, board training, program design, strategic planning, and grant writing. They also offer one-on-one and group coaching to nonprofit professionals and public and private trainings and retreats.
In 2019, TWW created the Nonprofit Coffee Chat, a free weekly gathering (online due to Covid19) where nonprofit staff, board members and volunteers learn from one another as they share their challenges and successes during facilitated discussions led by TWW’s principal consultant.
Photo courtesy The Word Woman LLC
Because Passion Doesn’t Pay: Why Nonprofits Need The Word Woman
After nearly 20 years in the nonprofit sector, I started The Word Woman LLC (TWW) in 2010 to help nonprofits and individuals achieve their missions to do good by helping them to understand and follow nonprofit best practices.
Both when I worked for nonprofits and since starting TWW, I have found that people who work for nonprofits are in no short supply of passion, but they are often hindered by a lack of understanding of the “business” of nonprofits. They lack the knowledge and skills to develop, manage and maintain the strong foundation necessary for the long-term sustainability required for most nonprofits to achieve their mission.
Passion is critically important to nonprofit work. TWW helps do-gooders to leverage their passion with knowledge and skills. I aim to create a future where the majority of nonprofits are led and staffed by people who can both talk passionately about their mission and without skipping a beat explain how they measure their impact and the cost to achieve it.
Photo courtesy The Word Woman LLC
Been There, Done That: Why The Word Woman Gets It
Because I worked such a longtime in the nonprofit sector and held pretty much every role, I bring my practical experience, coupled with ongoing professional development, to each consulting project, coaching session, and training course. Clients and training participants have told me over the years that I have a knack for uncomplicate the complicated. I think that because in most cases I have “been, don that”, I understand the problem, the challenges or barriers my client may need to overcome to tackle the problem, and I meet people where they are, they feel like we are on the journey together.
What to know more about The Word Woman and how Michelle Nusum-Smith can support your nonprofit? Be sure to check out her site here: The Word Woman LLC
Frederick Chamber Insights is a news outlet of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about membership, programs and initiatives, please visit our website.