Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy - Jackson, Mississippi

Philana

If anyone has a nonprofit or needs help with anything to do with a nonprofit this organization and the people who work for it are vital to you and your needs. They offer many events around the state to attend in person...which is vital for networking and getting to know the right people in our state who can help you. They also offer many great virtual events on a variety of topics. 💯

Linda D.

I was not happy with the way Mississippi Alliance handled an issue I had with one of their non-profit consultants. I contacted The Alliance to learn about their non-profit consulting services. I participated in a zoom call with an employee of The Alliance and with the consultant I was hoping to work with. Right after the zoom call, I received a call from that consultant and he said he would send me three consulting options to choose from. I selected an option and he sent me a contract to sign. He also said he requires full payment upfront via PayPal (I found out later, that full payment is never collected upfront). I signed the contract and paid via PayPal. I thought my PayPal payment didn't go through so I resent the payment which resulted in a duplicate payment. When I reached out to the consultant about the duplicate payment, he said he didn't receive two payments. PayPal showed me evidence the consultant was paid twice and my bank account showed the same thing. The consultant also did not provide consulting services. He just sent me a bunch of emails with links.

When the consultant refused to refund the duplicate payment and when he stopped responding to emails, text and phone calls, I contacted Mississippi Alliance in hopes they would help resolve this issue. They told me there was nothing they could do because I signed the contract directly with this consultant and outside of The Alliance. Keep in mind, this consultant reached out to me immediately after the zoom call with contract options. So I thought this was Mississippi Alliance's normal procedures. I was never told by The Alliance that a consultant is not supposed to reach out directly to a client and secure a contract. I found this out later after the Alliance said there was nothing they could do for me. I decided to contact two other consultants listed with The Alliance. I wanted to find out what the process was to pair a consultant with a client. Both consultants said that Mississippi Alliance is the middleman in ALL contracts to protect all parties.

This consultant contacted me directly after the zoom call and sent a contract for me to sign knowing full well this wasn't the proper procedure. I'm disappointed The Alliance didn't care enough to look into this. They just brushed it off by saying there is nothing they could do because the contract was signed outside of their organization. I ended up filing a dispute for the duplicate payment and for not receiving the service with PayPal and my credit card company. Thankfully, both companies ruled in my favor and I received all my money back ($5,000). I'm happy I received my money back. However, I'm still disappointed in the way The Alliance handled my situation. I'm even more disappointed this unethical individual is still listed as a consultant on their website. I'm not saying Mississippi Alliance is a bad organization. However, I am saying they could have investigated my claim and made an effort to make this situation right. They didn't. That's why I gave them 1 star.

Because of my bad experience with one of their consultants, I'm concerned the organization may not be vetting all their consultants. If consultants are working with non-profit organizations (especially newly formed non-profits), it's extremely important to make sure their consultants are ethical and follow Mississippi Alliance's policies and procedures.

Ryan W.

Sharon G.

Carol D. W.