A Nimble Awakening for a Community Manager on the Move

Two years ago, online community manager Sherrie Rohde trialled Nimble, but the platform didn’t really strike a chord. “I wasn’t having trouble managing my relationships — I just wasn’t seeing the value.”

What a difference a couple of years can make!

“This fall, I was helping my friend Jennifer Shaw, founder of NYTechWomen, with a new initiative — Bella Minds. It’s a social enterprise intended to bring urban tech education and skills to women in rural areas.”

“I spent a week in New York City during our final week of crowdfunding to help her with whatever she needed, and what it came down to was — she didn’t really know who to reach out to or even who to ask for help. We were really in the dark about relevant relationships.”

“What I did was use Nimble to gather up and document all the relationships that would be pertinent as the organization grew — contacts from MeetUp, Eventbrite, from MailChimp — and import them into Nimble. In short, I was able to use Nimble to start the relationship management system for Bella Minds. and Jenn was ecstatic.”

“I ended up hooked on Nimble and decided to organize our My Community Manager contacts, as well. I created a complete database, with useful Tags to segment the network of contacts so I can send them messages, track the relationships, and not lose track of important outreach.”

“Before Nimble, tracking and managing relationships was like herding cats.”

“I definitely want to recognize people appropriately and give members opportunities to be a panelist or to write for the site. With Nimble, Tags helped me to understand my network better and use it more wisely.”

“I said to my teammate, ‘I know 3000 people! Where did they come from’?”

“Now, with Nimble, I know exactly who I’ve talked to and who I still need to reach out to.

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Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in supporting Bella Minds, here’s a bit of background:

Digital literacy is no longer an option, it’s a requirement. However, because technology has redefined the workplace, women who took time off to raise a family, take care of a loved one or stayed in a low-level job may no longer be up to date in the current technologies. Left unattended, the divide continues to grow, and at an alarming pace. That’s where Bella Minds comes in. Technology is very teachable and offers the opportunity to change a woman’s career prospects dramatically and relatively quickly. Bella Minds will offer a supportive environment where women can learn how to turn technology into a tool for changing their lives.

In the United States, women’s participation in the labor force is at a 24-year low and, to make matters worse, when they are employed, women’s salaries are only 77% of what men make. In big cities, there are awesome organizations like Women 2.0 and NYTechWomen that help women overcome these professional hurdles. Bella Minds wants to bring that support to women all around the country, regardless of where they live.