Many nonprofits dream of being able to afford a consultant, but it’s often a prohibitive expense. Enter the Newton-based Highland Street Foundation, which started Community Impact Consultants to provide free consulting services to local nonprofits. The foundation pays for the consultants, who typically receive $25,000 to $30,000 for a six-month gig, and the nonprofits benefit from the expertise.

The program’s latest round kicks off Friday, and there’s a new consultant in the mix: Dot Joyce (left), former press secretary to the late Tom Menino, former mayor of Boston. After leaving City Hall, she launched Milton-based Dot Joyce Consulting LLC, and her clients have included John Hancock, Animal Rescue League of Boston, and medical marijuana firm New England Treatment Access.

Joyce will work with Breakthrough Greater Boston, a Cambridge-based college access and teacher training program. She says she’ll help the organization, which she calls “small but mighty,’’ with its marketing and communications strategy.

The other consultants are Robin Joyce, who’s paired with Raising a Reader; Dan Salera, who will work with Silver Lining Mentoring, which finds mentors for young people in foster care, and Shooting Touch, which uses basketball to empower at-risk youth; and Susan Ryan-Vollmar, who’s partnered with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.

Consultants are “the kind of thing we always wish we could have,’’ said Raising a Reader’s Mike Navisky, “so this is like having an additional staff person or resources we otherwise wouldn’t.’’

— SACHA PFEIFFER

Of eggs and advertising

The principals at Boston ad agency Connelly Partners and digital marketing firm Almighty chatted about a possible merger several years ago. But the timing wasn’t right.

Flash forward to this spring. Connelly partner Scott Madden was having dinner with Almighty CEO Chris Smith, a longtime friend, and it became clear that a deal could be on the table.

So in the past few days, Connelly president Steve Connelly informed employees that Almighty’s 22-person team would be joining them. With Almighty’s move from Allston to Connelly’s South End digs by the end of the summer, Connelly will have more than 150 people working there. The merger helps Almighty make more ambitious pitches, to bigger clients. Connelly, meanwhile, lands Almighty’s digital expertise. Plus, Almighty brings its own clients along — a list that includes New Balance and Tracksmith.

To hash out the deal in early May, Connelly met with Madden, Smith, and Almighty cofounder Ian Fitzpatrick over breakfast at Mel’s Commonwealth Cafe in Wayland. Connelly said: “By the time I got my second fried egg into my belly, I thought, this thing is going to work.’’ — JON CHESTO

A home run for Lewis’s The BASE

Robert Lewis Jr. (right) gave up a good job at The Boston Foundation three years ago to follow a dream — and to help ensure inner-city kids get a chance to follow dreams of their own.

That risk has paid off. He has built his venture The BASE into a solid nonprofit, one with an annual budget of roughly $2 million and 14 staffers. The program provides mentorship and academic training, all around a baseball-focused program for kids. Lids Sports Group recognized that success with a $25,000 grant in April. Then, Franklin Sports of Stoughton signed an agreement on May 31 that will provide baseball equipment and funding to The BASE; meanwhile, Lewis’s group will provide product testing for Franklin.

Governor Charlie Baker made two trips to honor The BASE this month: the first to Franklin’s headquarters, to celebrate the partnership between the two organizations, and then on Monday, when he visited Fenway Park for a BASE fund-raiser. The group now serves about 800 kids.

Lewis said he started to question his idea of success while he was at the Boston Foundation, a self-examination that prompted him to leave in January 2013.

“How can I be successful if . . . kids are dying, not going to college or are unemployed?’’ Lewis said.

Now, of course, he has teens from inner-city Boston playing at the highest levels of their sport, as part of the Boston Astros. And they’re headed off to college by the dozens every year.

A far as New Balance vice president Matt LeBretton is concerned, Lewis can easily call himself a success. LeBretton helped encourage his employer to contribute to The BASE after hearing Lewis speak.

“There are a lot of good charities in Boston,’’ LeBretton says, “but this one to me is particularly needed and particularly effective.’’ — JON CHESTO

Unwanted assist ahead of Partners conference

An annual health care technology conference hosted by Partners HealthCare has gained some unwanted attention.

An organization identifying itself as “ORBIS’’ is apparently reaching out to people planning to attend the event in October and offering to book rooms at Boston’s Seaport Hotel for them. In at least one case, the organization used a guest’s credit card information to book a room at a discounted rate through the reputable travel site Orbitz, but overcharged the guest and “more than likely pocketed the balance,’’ conference organizers said.

Dr. Joseph Kvedar, vice president of connected health at Partners, warned attendees about the scam in an e-mail this week. Kvedar runs the Connected Health Symposium, a conference about technology and the future of health care delivery. It is attended by more than 1,000 people.

“We have learned that these types of organizations are targeting conferences all over the US and Europe, not just ours. It is an unfortunate sign of the times where we need to be more cautious than ever,’’ he said.

For those looking to book hotel rooms free of Internet scams: Call the hotel directly, or visit its website. — PRIYANKA DAYAL MCCLUSKEY

Can’t keep a secret? Tell us. E-mail Bold Types at boldtypes@globe.com.