We all know the most important ingredient to nonprofit success. No, it’s not more fundraising. It’s the people who make mission advancement possible. Without the staff, board leadership, and volunteers for your organization, there would be a wonderful idea for helping the community, but no one to implement it. This edition of Nonprofit Knowledge Matters is dedicated to human resources issues and how we can best support our teams. From tangible benefits, such as health insurance and parking, to intangible benefits, such as peer networks, we hope the articles that follow provide you with some new tools and ideas to keep your nonprofit’s team healthy, happy, and focused on your organization’s mission.

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The Benefits of Peer Support

At every stage of your leadership journey, having a cohort of trusted peers to learn from, be inspired by, and – yes – commiserate with, is not just a comfort; it’s also a beneficial support system. Being part of one or more peer cohorts, whether age-based, such as the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, or role-based, such as the nonprofit section of the Public Relations Society of America, can help you explore ideas, build new skills, and provide a safe space to work through challenges with peers. Janetta Cravens of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits identifies some of the many ways we all can benefit from taking part in these networks and why every organization should encourage everyone on the team to engage with different cohorts.

How peer groups help strengthen nonprofits...

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Trendspotting: Smaller nonprofits and foundations can benefit from working with PEOs

“Not another acronym!” you might say. But PEOs (Professional Employer Organizations) can provide great benefits to nonprofits and foundations, especially those with small staffs and not enough resources to hire full-time HR staff. PEOs aren’t new, but they have increased in popularity in recent years as nonprofits and foundations continue to seek the best benefits possible for their paid staff members. Also, PEOs can provide great benefits and help lower costs, as well as take the ever-complex reporting and compliance burdens off of your organization.

Learn more about the PEO experiences of the National Council of Nonprofits and Exponent Philanthropy…

The latest on the new tax on nonprofit transportation benefits

As readers of both this newsletter and Nonprofit Advocacy Matters know, a provision of the 2017 federal tax legislation imposed a new 21 percent income tax on nonprofits for the expenses they incur providing transportation benefits (parking and transit passes) to their employees. Efforts to repeal this tax on tax-exempts continue, including a bill introduced last week by House Majority Whip Clyburn (D-SC), who invited us to speak for the nation's nonprofit community at the press conference when he introduced the bill (that’s our own David L. Thompson in the photo). At this time, no one can say with certainty when or if repeal will happen. So, it is best for your nonprofit to be complying with the new tax and either changing the way your nonprofit structures its transportation benefits or factoring the new costs into your nonprofit’s budget.

The latest on the new tax on nonprofit transportation benefits...

Protecting the health of your nonprofit’s employees

Offering quality health insurance benefits isn’t just about remaining competitive with other organizations in order to recruit and retain the right people to advance your nonprofit’s mission. It’s also about ensuring those members of your team can maintain the health of their body without endangering the health of their bank account. When was the last time you asked your nonprofit’s employees their opinions of the benefits you provide?

How to evaluate – and improve – employee satisfaction with health benefits…
 

New and Notable Resources

Charitable Nonprofits

• 2019 Nonprofit Employment Report, The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies (Jan. 17, 2019).
• Not-for-Profit, For-the-Economy, Tasha Anderson, Alaska Business (Feb. 11, 2019).
• Colorado Nonprofit Economic Impact Report, by several organizations (2018).
• Adding Up Impact: Maine Nonprofits at Work 2019, Maine Association of Nonprofits (2019).
• North Dakota Nonprofit Sector Impact, North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Associations (2019).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Race to Lead: Women of Color in the Nonprofit Sector, Building Movement Project (Feb. 6, 2019).
• Demos’ Racial Equity Transformation: Key Components, Processes, and Lessons, Heather McGhee & Lucy Mayo (Nov. 2018).
• Four Steps Towards Race Equity at your Nonprofit, Jennifer Chandler (Jan. 23, 2019).

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