""Our BELAY Virtual Assistant is absolutely critical to our functioning and our success. [Leanne] helps us tell the story of Nicolás Fund for Education to our donors, helps us send out fundraising letters, helps keep our board organized by sending out the board packet in advance of board meetings and keeping our calendars, helps with our major fundraising event yearly with setting up and promotion, and she does graphic design for us.""
— Becci Merritt, President and Board Chairman
The Challenge
Becci Merritt serves as president and board chairman of Nicolás Fund for Education, a Christ-centered nonprofit empowering Mayan youth in the Ixil region of Guatemala to break the generational cycle of poverty through education. Since its founding in 2012 with just 13 scholarship students, the organization has grown dramatically — today supporting 150 students, operating its own school across nine villages, and recently signing an agreement with a vocational school to offer trade school options.
With that growth came a mounting operational burden that Becci, a former registered nurse, was not equipped to carry alone. She lacked experience linking social platforms and executing social media strategy, and the legal requirements of operating a 501(c)(3) demanded that documents be organized and stored securely. Board communications, annual fundraising events, donor outreach, and graphic design all needed attention — and Becci had a tendency to try to do everything herself.
Without dedicated support, the mission risked being bottlenecked by the very success it had worked so hard to achieve. Becci needed a trusted partner who could help her tell the organization's story, free up her time, and help her lead more effectively.
The Solution
When BELAY matched Becci with Virtual Assistant Leanne Sierra, the impact was immediate and far-reaching. Leanne stepped in to handle a wide range of responsibilities that had previously consumed Becci's time and energy — from donor communications and fundraising letters to graphic design and social media management.
Leanne also brought structure to the organization's board operations, creating streamlined board packets that distilled committee reports into the top three bullet points rather than lengthy narratives — saving board members significant time while keeping them informed. She manages board calendars and ensures materials are distributed well in advance of meetings.
"[Leanne] helps us tell the story of Nicolás Fund for Education to our donors, helps us send out fundraising letters, helps keep our board organized by sending out the board packet in advance of board meetings and keeping our calendars, helps with our major fundraising event yearly with setting up and promotion, and she does graphic design for us."
Beyond day-to-day tasks, Leanne proved herself a strategic thinker. After the organization's annual fundraising event, she extracted data to create a digital learning report to guide future marketing and promotion efforts. She also refreshed brand materials and introduced systems for collaboration and delegation — helping Becci extend her reach without stretching herself thin.
""She's really a member of our team in the deepest sense of the word. We get along like a house on fire. We are friends, she supports our mission, and she believes in what we are doing. I value her advice and her organization, and she is a lifeline for me.""
— Becci Merritt, President and Board ChairmanThe Impact
The partnership between Becci and Leanne has transformed how Nicolás Fund for Education operates — and how Becci leads. With Leanne handling communications, design, board logistics, and event support, Becci has gained both confidence and capacity to focus on the mission she cares deeply about.
"She shows me how to reach more people so that I am as efficient with my time as I can be. She's helped me to find ways to delegate certain tasks to other people because I'm one of those people who tends to do it all themselves, and she has enabled us to have a way to collaborate through the systems she has set up."
The board members themselves have taken notice. Leanne's optimism and practicality have impressed those with whom she interacts on Becci's behalf, and the efficiency gains she has introduced have elevated the professionalism of the entire organization. What began as a working relationship has grown into a genuine friendship grounded in shared purpose.
"She's really a member of our team in the deepest sense of the word. We are friends, she supports our mission, and she believes in what we are doing. I value her advice and her organization, and she is a lifeline for me."
For a nonprofit built on the belief that education can break cycles of poverty, having a BELAY Virtual Assistant who believes just as deeply in that mission has proven to be one of the organization's greatest assets.