Meet Marsha Marshall: Owner and Senior Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marsha Marshall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marsha, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The original thought process behind starting Marshall & Marshall Nonprofit Consulting was to initially generate residual income. We were both working full time jobs, but believed we both possessed skills and expertise to offer services that businesses and nonprofits were in need of. However, after taking an eight week business course, Operation Start-Up Nation with iNSPIRE Enterpreneurs, we began to consider pursuing entrepreneurship full time. The thought of having creating your own schedule, generating wealth, and ultimately building our legacy with a family business seemed to be a win-win scenario. It was especially intriguing to me as a mom of two young kids because I really wanted to have more flexibility to spend more time with them and not in an office or stuck in traffic.

So in 2016, we made the leap with me (Marsha) working as a full-time Senior Consultant for M&MNPC and my husband (Motiere) contributing on a part-time basis as the Financial Consultant. Five years later, we’ve grown from one client to serving nonprofit organizations and agencies across the United States.

What should our readers know about your business?
Marshall & Marshall Nonprofit Consulting (M&MNPC) is a premier business providing grants management and program evaluation services. More specifically, we offer proposal/grant wring, prospect research, and program evaluation services. Although we have success with grants of all sizes, our specialty is small to mid-size private and foundation grants for nonprofit organizations. We also specialize in completing IRS required documents, including Form 1023, to obtain 501c3 status and Form 990.

As with any new journey, there will several obstacles and bumps in the road. So quite naturally, we have endured our fair share of struggles. This journey has definitely not been easy as we have overcome many challenges to include financial barriers, establishing client relationships, and becoming a rising professional in the field of nonprofit management and fundraising. Thankfully, we have survived many of those challenges and continue to push forward. One of the primary ways of overcoming these struggles was to keep pushing; we didn’t give up. I know that sounds simple, but 20% of businesses fail within the first year and 30% by the second year because for a variety of reasons. There were many times when it would have been easier to just go back to a 9 to 5 job. However, we continued to promote the business and build our brand until M&MNPC started to become a highly reputable business in the field of grants, evaluations, and nonprofits.

Most people associate M&MNPC with grant writing for small and new nonprofits as well as small businesses. Our reach has extended to nonprofit organizations in Georgia as well as the southeastern, northeastern, and western regions of the United States. As a company, we are most proud of the work our clients are able to do because of grant funding they have received. I believe what sets us apart is that we don’t just do the work, but we educate our clients on how to remain sustainable as nonprofits. There is a famous quote that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for his lifetime.” Our job is to not just do write grants or conduct evaluations, but it is also our job to educate and equip our clients on how to use these resources to remain sustainable for years to come.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So living in an suburban area south of Atlanta can be a little tricky when finding things to do. However, we have managed to find a few gems in Macon and Warner Robins.

The Macon City Auditorium, Douglas Theatre, and Hargray Capitol Theatre in Macon, GA (pre-COVID) are great venues for local shows and major performances like Black Violin, A Night at the Douglas Series, the Black Nativity. Also, Brook Haven Lounge is a great spot in Macon with live shows of local artists. If you are looking for great eats, our favorite spots are Kinjo Kitchen and Cocktails (they have THE BEST Ramen); J&F Caribbean Delight (the curry chicken is the bomb.com) and the Pond Restaurant in Warner Robins (has a nice outdoor atmosphere and the best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted).

If you are looking for arts and culture, Triangle Arts Macon has an awesome outdoor art gallery and the Tubman Museum has an array of exhibits dedicated to the art, history, and culture of African Americans.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow there are so many people we could shout out. Starting a business literally takes the support of a village. We are so blessed to have a village who of folks who have prayed for us, encouraged us, and mentored us along the way. So of course we want to thank our family and friends who continue to promote our business. However, we want to give a special shout out to Kurinn Wright and Dr. Rhonda Anderson who mentored us in the very beginning during their Operation Start Up Nation Course. If it was not for them pouring into us and encouraging us to reach our potential as entrepreneurs, I don’t think we would have ever bet on ourselves and taken such a huge leap of faith.

Website: https://mandmnpc.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marshal48026071

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallandmarshallNPConsulting/?ref=hl

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Motiere Marshall