Accounting, banking, human resources, insurance, legal … these are the types of service organizations you would expect to have set up tables at the NJ Center for Nonprofits’ annual conference Wednesday at the Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset.
That may have been a bit unexpected. But, for those who stopped by and chatted with Daniel Riff, a senior manager for government and nonprofits, they may have been surprised by what the company’s Project Dash offers.
Project Dash is DoorDash’s initiative to work with nonprofits such as food banks, pantries and other social impact organizations.
“We want to broaden their access within their community, typically by having our network of Dashers pick up items like food from a local food bank or pantry and deliver those items directly to someone in need,” Riff said.
The initiative has been a hit, making more than 5 million deliveries since it started.
Riff believes the flexibility of the format has made the initiative a success. Some use Project Dash daily, others do it weekly or monthly — and some have DoorDash as a supplemental or backup service, he said.
“A lot of organizations rely on volunteers to do their deliveries,” Riff said. “Sometimes, those volunteers are not available. We’re happy to step in. We’re here for as much or as little as we’re needed.”
And not just for food. Riff said the company participates in deliveries of baby items, such as diapers, or emergency preparedness supplies in times of an emergency.
Whatever is needed, Riff said.
“Our nonprofit partners know what their communities need — we understand logistics and how to get it there,” he said. “By working together, we can do some good.”
DoorDash was one of the many more than 70 sponsors of the event that had a table.
Here a few more company representatives — and what they have to offer the nonprofit community:
Accounting
Adam Holzberg
Partner
Sax LLP
“We like to get involved in the nonprofit community every year, try to understand their pain points, understand what they are going through and see how we can help them. We are an accounting firm, but we also do advisory and audit — and we can help out with fundraising, strategic planning, governance, you name it. We feel we’re a one-stop shop for nonprofits.”
John Eusanio
Partner and Not-for-Profit Practice chair
Citrin Cooperman
“Our goal is to help nonprofits expand their missions and grow throughout the year. Having a collaborative business partner like ourselves, someone who can help them understand their business, matters. We do more than just accounting, we do audit, we do consulting and advisory services, we do financial services. Just because they’re not-for-profit doesn’t mean that they don’t have to make a profit to continue to serve their communities. We help them do that.”
Human resources
Jeanne Roman
Certified business performance adviser
Insperity
“We are a PEO — professional employer organization — where we provide small and midsized companies instant HR infrastructure, where we handle all things as it relates to being an employer, from paying your people to providing benefits — as well as custom HR support for things such as handbooks, job descriptions and compliance.”
Insurance
Dustin Worthman
Broker
Lamb Insurance Services
“Lamb insurance is the largest insurance broker in the country that’s solely dedicated to insuring nonprofits. This is our niche, our world. Our founder and CEO, Josh Lamberg, used to work for an insurance carrier and found this was a sector that no one really paid attention to or focused on. There’s a lot of risk involved with nonprofits, therefore, the insurance is pretty expensive. We have really good relationships with the carriers that write the insurance for these nonprofits and use that leverage to get the best rates the best terms and conditions.”
Legal
Nancy Eberhardt
Executive director
Pro Bono Partnership
“We are a 26-year-old organization formed for two purposes: One, to meet the needs of small nonprofits who might need legal services, but don’t have the resources to pay for them; and, two, to provide an opportunity for corporate and transactional lawyers to get involved in pro bono work that’s not litigation-based. We help nonprofits with a whole range of legal issues, from corporate formation and governance, tax issues, employment law, contracts, intellectual property and real estate. We provide assistance to them to help them define their issues and what their legal needs are, then we pair them with a volunteer lawyer who has expertise in that field and helps them with that particular matter.”
