Wendy Smith has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than twenty years in direct services, program administration, development, consulting and board membership; she is a Certified Fundraising Professional. She also has a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in marketing. To write Give a Little and pursue its promotion and mission , she has taken an indefinite leave from her job as the Director of Foundation and Government Relations at Building with Books, an international organization that constructs schools in developing countries and runs youth development programs in the US. She is lives in Highland Park, Illinois, with her two daughters.

Smith reveals that the most significant charitable donor in the world is the American of modest means. "Give a Little" contains stories of remarkable nonprofit organizations and the inspiring ways they use these modest contributions to make a major impact around the world.