A Global Friendship Reviews

This is a hobby organization and a fundamentally toxic environment, run by one woman who only occasionally bothers making appearances in the office to support and manage her staff. She misclassifies her interns as volunteers so she does not have to pay them minimum wage, and she pays her salaried staff consistently late - if she pays them at all. Currently there are seven former employees and interns claiming unpaid wages, and her board of directors resigned en-masse when they found out. This is the second time A Global Friendship's board has unanimously resigned, the previous time being in February 2015. Without a board of directors, A Global Friendship's 501(c)(3) is void. Employees and interns are expected to do all the work, including fundraising, budgeting, programmatic work, organizational strategy, communications, marketing, social media, website content, event management and business partnerships; all with little-to-no management or mentoring from the CEO. Communication and instruction is primarily limited to vague, passive-agressive emails referring to conversations that never happened. The CEO also expects interns to reach personal fundraising goals, with an explanation that proceeds go directly to program work in India. However if they do not meet their fundraising goals, then interns are not paid (despite a contract that promises them a stipend). This confirms that interns are merely fundraising their own stipends, because the CEO cannot afford to pay them otherwise. Fundraising goals are aggressive and unrealistic. The CEO is struck by delusions of grandeur, as evidenced by the way she assumes businesses and industry figureheads will happily donate tens of thousands of dollars to an organization that has absolutely no history, profile or gravitas. Rather than focusing on hiring marking staff to build the brand or fundraising staff to try and meet these inflated fundraising goals, the CEO is more concerned in hiring a PA to manage all the speaking engagements she was convinced would soon come rolling in for her. This is despite the fact she has no educational qualifications or industry experience in international development or poverty alleviation. This lack of focus, and lack of any fundamental fundraising knowledge, cripples and stagnates the organization. Priorities are fragmented and shift according to the CEO's mood, ensuring that nothing of any substance is accomplished. I was regularly subjected to complaining from the CEO about fellow staff, interns and board members; thus placing me in an uncomfortable and compromising position. I was regularly torn between appeasing a petty CEO who paid my wages, or defending my smart, dedicated co-workers at risk of displeasing my employer. There is no evidence that any funds raised actually go to the program allegedly being run in India. The program in South Dakota was unceremoniously dropped when it became apparent that fundraising for both programs would not be possible. Development programs are decided based upon marketing aesthetic, rather than the potential to create life-changing and sustainable change. A Global Friendship is a pipe dream devised by a person who has no real interest in maintaining a full-time job. Staff and interns are overworked and exploited. The irony is that A Global Friendship is supposed to be a women's economic empowerment organization, and it instead financially cripples its all-female staff. It's a real shame because conceptually, A Global Friendship is a great idea. Women in developing countries need comprehensive business training and opportunities to gain access to formal markets. If only this organization was run by somebody of sound mind.

I had a very negative experience working here just because of the leadership. Focus is so much on aggressive and unrealistic fundraising goals. You need to raise funds but have realistic and well-planned fundraising strategy. People are asked to do random things and almost no one knows what is really going on. I did not see any program happening or even an effort to make it happen. But we are asked to call potential donors bragging about our work and when someone asked what is the program, we were never told what the program is. There is something very wrong about how things are run in this organization.