July 29, 2013
Having a dedicated, skilled and energetic staff is imperative to the success of every nonprofit. A recent study spearheaded by Heather Carpenter, assistant professor in the School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration at Grand Valley State University, revealed professional development and investing in the workforce can help organizations keep talented employees around for years to come.
Staff members want to continue to add to skill sets
Nonprofits with board members, IT professionals and skilled communicators should create a culture with their staff that they know they are valued in the organization. However, the "2013 Nonprofits Needs Assessment Report," funded by the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, showed more than one-quarter of entities evaluated reserve only about 1 percent of their total budget for professional development, while about 13 percent of subjects allot 5 percent of their funds to improving the skills of their employees. Nonprofits that want a happier team need to allocate more of their budget to ensuring employee satisfaction.
"Nonprofit and philanthropic employers are recognizing that in order to reduce employee burnout and turnover as well as maintain positive employee morale, they must provide professional development opportunities to their staff," the study stated. "These opportunities can take place inside or outside of the organization. Wherever the professional development takes place, it provides many positive benefits to employees, volunteers and organizations."
Organizations begin to do more for their staff
Many nonprofits are understaffed and rely on their employees and board members to shoulder a heavy load. After working long hours to meet tough demands, organizations are beginning to look for ways to enrich the skills of their team. The 138 Michigan-based organizations surveyed reported using the Internet and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy as their top outlets for professional development resources.
"They're going to the Internet first for professional development and then they use professional associations and a mixture of external and internal resources," Carpenter told MiBiz. She stressed how nonprofits only use a small percentage of their budgets to improve their skills of their employees, which could hurt employer/employee relationships.
The study stated 73 percent of respondents offered professional training to their staff and 61 percent did so for their board members. By shifting some expenses around and realigning budgets, nonprofits can invest even more in their staff.
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Visually Impaired Preschool Services has been a client of First Non-Profit since it was first offered as a benefit of VisionServe Alliance. We completed a thorough evaluation of cash savings to our agency before taking advantage of this wonderful benefit and it has been a very wise decision. Our experience with the processes from accounting to claims have been professional, expeditious and easy.
The Ensight Skills Center has enjoyed working with First Nonprofit for several years. We are enrolled in their Unemployment Savings Program and although we have not required a lot of intervention, there have been a few times. I know others have dealt with the same problem of unemployment fraud over the last year and in our case, a call to First Nonprofit (they actually answer their phones) cleared up the issue. They also sent us a letter to send to all our employees telling them what they needed to do to prevent this in the future and protect themselves. What a relief! Over the years if I have questions or concerns, they are happy to listen, advise and help if they can. Another BIG advantage of using First Nonprofit is that all the money that is paid into the Unemployment Savings Program lives on my balance sheet as an asset. The money continues to be Ensight’s not the governments. First Nonprofit has certainly given me peace of mind.
In addition to their money-saving purpose on behalf of nonprofit organizations like AHS, First Nonprofit’s Nonprofit Unemployment Fund streamlines the information we need to efficiently manage unemployment claims. Our relationship with NU Fund gave us access to such things as advice on planning for what’s ahead and how to analyze cost scenarios when unexpected events occurred. Both experiences were very helpful.
We have had a great experience with FNP. During Covid, when there was the chance that reimbursable nonprofits would have to pay 50% of the unemployment costs, FNP went to bat for us. We would receive weekly information on the Unemployment claim and how they were working to reduce the costs to reimbursable nonprofits. They have a great service also working with [our claims administrator] to make sure all the paperwork is completed correctly for any unemployment claim.
PORT Health Services has had a great experience with the Unemployment Savings Program offered through First Nonprofit. Throughout the years we have been involved in the program, we have increased our reserve account significantly through this program and find the reporting we receive both timely and useful. We look forward to our continued involvement with this program and our connection with First Nonprofit for many years to come.
Job One was spending a lot of money on unemployment. Our insurance broker, Mark Simcosky, recommended that we switch over to First Nonprofit. We did just that! This switch has been a huge savings for us! This switch saved us over $10,000 in the first year. Their customer service is Superior! Any time we have a question, we get a response very quickly. Any time we send them a report and they have a question; they call rather than just assuming. They were very responsive during COVID, even when they were in crisis mode their selves. They also were always there when we needed during COVID and very helpful! We would 1,000% recommend First Nonprofit to anybody that could benefit from it!
My experience with FNP has always been positive. Every time I have had to contact them, I’m always put in contact with a friendly and knowledgeable person. If something is missing from our account, they reach out to us to request it. It’s nice to work with a company that makes sure our account is current. I would recommend them to any nonprofit looking to reduce their unemployment insurance costs.
We’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars PER YEAR by changing to become a reimbursing employer, freeing funds for much needed capital investment. FNP has been a valued partner in this process, providing assurance that we have stopgap coverage for extraordinary claims and keeping claims response painless and simple. It’s a huge Win/Win!