By helping to eliminate critical errors and allowing nonprofits to stay focused on their primary missions of improving communities throughout California, nonprofit information specialists play a critical role and have a significant impact on work in the nonprofit sector. The nonprofit information specialist is frequently the first resource that board members, staff, and volunteers of nonprofit organizations, as well as the general public, contact to find answers to their questions. Trained NIS (nonprofit information services) staff must understand nonprofit culture and terminology and know the experts in a field to be able to give questioners appropriate information, community resources, Web sites, or consultant referrals. NIS staff use to improve productivity and foster innovation.