Skip to main content
Category

Sponsor Insight

Jan 25

Why outcomes matter

By Programming, Sponsor Insight

By Zachary S. Kester, JD, LLM, CFRM, at Charitable Allies |

Many nonprofit organizations are pretty good at tracking activity data, such as how many children they served, how many meals they served, or how many people completed a class or training offered.

Increasingly, these numbers alone are becoming insufficient to secure funding for programming efforts. Though “what we do” (outputs) certainly matters, many funders want to know the “why it matters” (outcomes) behind the programming they support.

Outputs measure what we do. Outcomes measure effectiveness and behaviors changed.

Outcomes can be notoriously difficult to measure. As nonprofit leaders, we spend almost all of our time delivering our programming. We deliver meals, work in the clinic, and build the homes. We naturally think in terms of outputs. Consciously thinking in outcomes requires that we slow down, assess our programing and its effectiveness, and implement tools to help better measure effectiveness.

Here’s why they matter. Outcomes help:

  • Tell your story more effectively
  • Demonstrate your value to funders
  • Get clarity around the organization’s purpose
  • Measure the effectiveness of your programming
  • Avoid unintended consequences

Recently, I worked with a food pantry on outcome measurements. Food pantries can be notoriously difficult to identify and measure outcomes. We identified that just over six percent of those using the pantry used it 10 times a year or more (a household can visit up to monthly), and under 20 percent used it five to nine times a month.

This meant that nearly 75 percent of patrons utilized the services of the pantry four times or less per year — when their car broke down, when a medical issue arose, or at another similar time.

With this data, we were also able to put systems in place to measure whether this would change over time, and whether it would change due to referrals or other activities of the pantry.

Ultimately, however, this pantry’s staff was able to explain to naysayers or potential funders that it was not “creating dependency,” but instead meeting a need in a way that moved people towards independence.

Oftentimes when I begin discussing outcomes with some nonprofit managers, I hear excuses about why they should not have to take the steps necessary to begin measuring outcomes. These excuses range from the cost, to being pulled away from programming, to believing that outcomes really are not important.

At the end of the day, these managers need to decide if they care enough about the people they serve and about their programming to do what it takes to make it better.

zackester Attorney Zac Kester provides generalist and strategic nonprofit legal and consulting services. He holds a Master of Laws, a post-law school advanced degree, in which he studied the unique needs of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. His legal and consulting career has focused on nonprofit organizations.

With highly experienced legal, accounting and training personnel, Charitable Allies provides all manner of legal and educational services for boards, officers, management and staff of myriad charities throughout the sector. From basic one-time questions about a single matter to training for boards and officers to complex reorganization or merger of activities, Charitable Allies is your go-to cost-effective provider of legal services to nonprofit organizations.

Contact Zac Kester, executive director, at 317-429-1649 or zkester@charitableallies.org with any questions.

Substantiation

http://www.strengtheningnonprofits.org/resources/guidebooks/MeasuringOutcomes.pdf https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2013/07/02/using-outcomes-to-measure-nonprofit-success/ http://www.nten.org/article/measuring-and-reporting-nonprofit-outcomes/ http://managementhelp.org/evaluation/outcomes-evaluation-guide.htm http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitmanagement/a/How-Nonprofits-Can-Measure-Outcomes-And-Why-They-Should.htm

Jan 19

Five 2016 fraud predictions

By Sponsor Insight

By Shauna Woody-Coussens, managing director, BKD |

Recently, Tomer Barel, the chief risk officer at PayPal, share his five fraud predictions for 2016 with CNBC and talked about the evolving interplay of technology and fraud. Here are the highlights.

  1. Social networks will help fraudsters get more sophisticated.
    Major social networksare becoming more searchable, allowing fraudsters to learn more about their intended targets. This will lead to more successful social engineering attacks as targets will be led to believe they’re interacting with legitimate entities with whom they have an established relationship. Even the strongest network security is only as strong as its weakest link — which often is the employee. Now may be a good time to remind employees of these tips:
  • Do not provide data (confidential or not) and credentials via email, chat messenger or phone or in face-to-face conversations with unknown or suspicious persons or entities.
  • Avoid clicking on that link to an unknown site in an email. Take a closer look at the URL and the sender’s email address. They may be similar to but not exactly what you anticipate. Check for misspellings, @ signs and subdomains.
  • Beware of “baiting,” when an attacker tempts the user with a free or found USB or thumb drive, hoping someone will pick it up and plug it into their computer. Once you do, you’re hacked.
Button Text

 

shauna-coussens Shauna Woody-Coussens has more than 20 years of experience providing dispute analysis, forensic investigations and valuation services to the business and legal communities. Her dispute analysis experience includes litigation consulting, trial, deposition and arbitration testimony and prelitigation financial analysis.

Jan 11

Think like an auditor to get revenue picture

By Sponsor Insight

By Lori L. Robertson, CPA, VonLehman |

When auditors examine a nonprofit’s financial statements, they spend a lot of time on the revenue figures. They look at the accounting methods used to record revenues and perform a detailed income analysis to gain a true understanding of the organization’s revenue profile. All of this helps them get up to speed on the nonprofit’s financial health.

Whether or not you employ external auditors, you can use auditors’ techniques, including year-to-year trends and benchmarking to other nonprofits, to get a better understanding of your organization’s revenue. In particular, consider the following:

  1. Individual contributions. To some degree, almost all nonprofits rely on contributions from supporters. Compare the dollars raised to past years and see if you can pinpoint any trends. For example, have individual contributions increased since the peak of the recession? What campaigns have you implemented during that period? Go beyond the totals and determine, for instance, if the number of major donors — say, those who give $1,000 or more a year — has been rising.

You get more bang for your fundraising buck when you’re able to add major donors to your roster of supporters. In most cases, it takes the same amount of time, effort and money for your organization to solicit a large donation as it does a smaller donation.

Also estimate what portions of contributions are restricted by the donor as to how or when they can be used. If your organization has a large percentage of its donations tied up in restricted funds, you might want to re-evaluate your gift acceptance policy or fundraising materials to make sure you’re pursuing contributions that give your organization the most flexibility.

  1. Grants. Grants should include funding from corporate, foundation and government sources. They can vary dramatically in size and purpose, from grants that cover your operational costs, to monies for launching a program or payment for services to clients. For example, a state agency may pay you $500 for each low-income, unemployed individual who receives your organization’s job training.

Pay attention to trends here, too. For instance, did a particular funder supply 50 percent of your total revenue in 2013, 75 percent in 2014, and 80 percent last year? A growing reliance on a single funding source — an example of a “concentration” that will increase your risk — is a red flag to auditors and it should be to you, too. In this case, if this funding stopped, your organization might be forced to close its doors.

  1. Fees for services. Fees from clients, nonprofits in a joint venture or other third parties can be similar to fees for-profit organizations earn. Fees are generally considered exchange transactions because the client receives a product or service of value in exchange for its payment. Some nonprofits charge fees on a sliding scale based on income or ability to pay. In other cases, fees (such as rent paid by low-income individuals) are subject to legal limitations set by government funding agencies.

On an ongoing basis, your nonprofit will need to assess if these services are paying for themselves. For example, fees set five years ago for a medical procedure may no longer be sufficient to cover costs. A decision to raise fees or discontinue the service will probably need to be made.

  1. Membership dues. If your nonprofit is a membership organization, you likely charge membership dues. Has membership grown or declined in recent years, and how does this compare with similar groups? Make informed predictions about the future of membership dues, especially if you relied on for substantially for revenue. If you suspect that dues income will continue to decline, your organization might consider dropping dues altogether and restructuring. If so, examine other income sources for growth potential.
  2. Apply what you’ve learned
    Once you’ve gained a deeper understanding of your revenue picture, you can apply that knowledge to various aspects of managing your organization. For example, you can implement additional controls where financial exposure is identified and educate your management team on how to make pricing decisions.

You also will likely acquire information that can help you set annual goals and prepare your budget. For example, if your organization is too dependent on a single government funder, make boosting individual contributions one of your nonprofit’s strategic objectives. Be sure to commit staff hours and dollars to achieving that goal.

You’re certain to find many other applications based on the information you’ve learned. Remember to look for concentration risks and upward and downward income trends.

  1. Score with auditing techniques
    Auditors use income analysis methods, such as year-over-year trends and ratio analysis, to gain assurance that the revenue reported on your financial statements is accurate. You can use these tools to do so much more. Income analysis can reveal whether you rely on too few revenue sources or too many restricted donations, and enable you to compete more effectively with others in your field.

Reviewing the same information with an auditor’s eye won’t only help you pinpoint your nonprofit’s strengths and weaknesses, it will also enable you to initiate sensible changes.

lori-robertson Lori L. Robertson is a manager at VonLehman and has 29 years of accounting experience. She joined the firm in 2013, having been with Dunbar, Cook & Shepard, P.C. for seven years. She received her B.S. from Indiana University.

 

For more information on this topic or many other tax, accounting or business topics, contact your CPA, Business Advisor, or Lori Robertson, CPA, at lrobertson@vlcpa.com.

About VonLehman

Founded in 1946 and with offices in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, VonLehman is a leading full-service Certified Public Accounting, business advisory and business turnaround firm.

VonLehman provides forward-thinking accounting, tax, and strategic business advice to closely-held businesses, not-for-profits and governmental entities throughout the Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana region. See http://www.vlcpa.com for more information.

Jan 04

Living the dream

By Sponsor Insight

By Patrick M. Rooney, associate dean for academic affairs and research, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI |

In sports terms, Wes Boone is lighting ‘em up.

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy sophomore won a $100,000 scholarship in the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway last month. The 19-year-old won the award during halftime of the ACC Football Championship game last month.

His win is also a victory for sports-minded youth around the world who lack the most basic athletic equipment. To date, the nonprofit Boone founded in 2013 and leads, Gear Going Global, has provided sports gear to impoverished and orphaned kids in 15 countries around the globe, including Cameroon, Haiti, Nicaragua, Nigeria and the Philippines.

“For many of them, the ability to play some semblance of sports is food for their souls,” he said.

When Boone was a high school junior at North Montgomery High School, his mother showed the family a documentary, “Power to the People”, about life in Guatemala and Hoosier REMC linemen who brought electricity to three remote villages in Guatemala. Beyond the overall poor standard of living for many Guatemalans, what stood out to this teen was video of kids playing soccer with an empty water bottle — playing with trash because they didn’t have a ball.

[content_box box_type=”normal”]

Wes Boone, a sophomore at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, has already racked up an impressive list of accomplishments, including:

  • Creating a nonprofit organization, Gear Going Global, while still a high school junior.
  • Providing sports gear to impoverished kids in 15 countries around the world.
  • Receiving a $5,000 national scholarship from org.
  • Earning the Jefferson Award for Public Service.
  • Won the 2015 Outstanding Young Adult Indiana Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Indiana Chapter.
  • Is half way to a goal of collecting 500,000 pieces of sports gear in partnership with the Jefferson Awards’ Lead 360
  • Won a $100,000 scholarship in the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway in December 2015.
[/content_box]

“I’d been playing soccer since I was four or five years old, and I’d always had easy access to sports equipment,” Boone said. “I was awestruck that other kids didn’t have that. I asked my parents what I could do, and they told me I could make a difference.”

Boone set out to do just that. Beginning by asking family and friends to donate sports gear, he soon created a 501(c)3 organization. Three years later, it’s a global enterprise. “It’s just amazing how fast this has all gotten so big. I’ve been able to travel, speak and raise awareness for the needs Gear Going Global is working to meet.”

The Dr. Pepper award, which Boone won on live-national television during the Atlantic Coast Conference’s football championship game, follows other impressive accolades. In recent months he’s received a $5,000 national scholarship from DoSomething.org (an organization encouraging youth to engage in social change), the Jefferson Award for Public Service and the 2015 Outstanding Young Adult Indiana Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Indiana Chapter.

The Jefferson Awards’ Lead 360 program has now partnered with Gear Going Global to help the nonprofit reach a goal of 500,000 pieces of donated equipment. In the first nine months, the organization is halfway to the goal. The tally is tracked publicly online.

Many of the youth international organizations, which receive this sports equipment, send back photos of these local children using the donated gear.

“The most rewarding part of what we do is the look on the kids’ faces in those pictures. They work so hard just to try to have what they need to play sports. In some places, the coolest kid is the one who has a long-sleeved shirt they can stuff with newspaper and tie into a ball so they can play soccer,” Boone said.

This past fall, Boone got to see that look first hand, making his first international trip to deliver gear to kids at the Minmahaw School in Thailand.

“It’s a small school and the kids travel hours to get there. They’re creating a soccer team and this new equipment will help a lot. I even got to play a game of soccer with them, which was really fun.”

His experiences have inspired him to make leading the nonprofit, based in Darlington, Ind., his full-time job after commencement.

“Winning the $100,000 will allow me to graduate with a philanthropic studies degree from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy without any debt, which will help me grow Gear Going Global faster, and ultimately give the gift of play to more children in developing countries around the world,” Boone said.

patrick-rooneyPatrick M. Rooney, Ph.D., is associate dean for academic affairs and research at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.

Dec 22

Evaluating the right income strategies for your nonprofit

By Sponsor Insight

By Jamie Levine Daniel, assistant professor of nonprofit management, SPEA IUPUI |

Nonprofits often engage in earned revenue activities to generate revenue to fund their mission-driven programs and services. These market-based income activities can take many forms — some directly related to the organization’s mission, some not.

For example to generate funds, an art museum can charge admission to an exhibit, which is directly related to mission or the organization can sell food in a café, which does not have a direct connection to mission. Both generate income, but each may not ultimately affect the organization’s program/service delivery in the same way.

Certain revenue activities may, indeed, ultimately support the organization’s mission. However, these other activities may draw organizational attention and resources away from the mission-related activities. The connection between the earned-revenue activity and the mission matters, and the following embeddedness framework offers a way to assess whether an earned revenue activity will have the desired effect for an organization.

The embeddedness framework looks at two aspects of an earned revenue activity to evaluate its connection to an organization’s mission. The first is organizational technology or the resources (human, physical, capital, etc.) used to delivery both the earned revenue activity and the organization’s core mission-related services. The second aspect is the target audience(s) for both the earned revenue activity and the mission-related service.

If the organizational technology and target market for both the earned revenue and core mission activity are the same, or an organization monetizing what it already does related to its mission, the earned revenue activity is considered to be fully connected or embedded within the organization.

Consider the art museum selling admission tickets. The core service and earned revenue activities are not differentiated. The organizational technology required is the same, and the target audience is the same.

On the other hand, that same museum’s café would be considered external (or unconnected) to the mission. The resources needed to run a café differ from those needed to mount an exhibit. A customer can eat in the café without entering into an exhibit hall, further differentiating the earned revenue activity from the core mission activities.

If the earned revenue activity and the mission activities share only one aspect in common – either the necessary inputs or the target audience — then the earned revenue activity is considered integrated. It is not fully connected or embedded, nor is it external to the core.

The museum taking a traveling exhibit to a nontraditional audience — an elementary school, or a civic festival — could be using existing resources/processes to target new audiences.

Using revenue and program consumption data from the Cultural Data Project from 2007-2010, my initial research shows that embeddedness matters. Both embedded and external activities are positively connected to program attendance, a signal of core mission activity. In embedded case of admission tickets, the organization makes money on what it already does. In the external case of the cafe, since the activities are separate or external and that activity that does not make money for the organization, it would be easy to shut it down, without detriment to core activities.

However, integrated revenue activity show mixed results. These types of activities show a negative relationship to both access and attendance. The negative effect is especially visible when looking at earned revenue activities that use the same organizational resources used by mission activities. This is noteworthy given conversations many nonprofits may have about maximizing resources.

My findings are that earned revenue can serve as an important element of organizational strategy and sustainability, but the nature of the activity is important. By considering the connections between the earned-revenue activity and the mission activity, organizations can use the embeddedness framework to determine the best use of resources that ultimately best serve program outcomes and client interests.

jamie-levine-daniel Jamie Levine Daniel is an assistant professor at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI. She has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from Ohio State University and studies nonprofit management and nonprofit revenue trends.

 

Dec 14

Nonprofit finance study: Challenges for nonprofit finance professionals

By Sponsor Insight

By Jim Simpson, CPA and director, Financial Technologies & Management  |

In 2013, over 1.5 million tax-exempt organizations in the U.S. reported $1.74 trillion in total revenues and $1.63 trillion in total expenses, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics. That means nonprofits are responsible for reporting and tracking all that financial information.

In September, Abila, a nonprofit software company, set out to understand this current financial landscape and interviewed 350 nonprofit finance professionals. Specifically, they wanted to:

  • learn about the day-to-day challenges facing nonprofit finance professionals
  • define emerging trends in fund accounting and technology
  • apply how trends and challenges differ based on the organization

Nonprofit boards and leaders should pay careful attention to the Nonprofit Finance study. The study reveals that the trends are for smaller, leaner finance teams and the importance for leaders to improve the finance department by implementing more efficient software products and processes.    

Finance teams staff feels too many of their limited resources are spent on day-to-day activities, and not on more important strategic and planning activities. A typical finance team says they spend significantly more time than they would like in the following areas: helping other departments, month-end-closing, financial reporting, grant reporting, bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable and payroll processing. Their preference would be to spend more time with strategic and planning activities including strategic accounting, financial analysis, budget planning, and board engagement and development department activities.

Here are some key findings and study recommendations for how you, as a nonprofit finance professional, can overcome similar challenges.

  • Interruptions are common:It would help if other departments would schedule collaboration times and learn to self-manage their finance role to minimize interruptions to the finance department.
  • Nobody is above the basics:Nearly all financial/accounting professionals continue to be involved in the day-to-day activities of the organization. This is reflective of a trend towards smaller, leaner finance teams.
  • Funding is (obviously) key:Organizationally, finance/accounting professionals identify long-term sustainability and finding new funding sources as the biggest challenges.
  • Embracing the cloud:Larger organizations are moving to the cloud quicker, and see greater value and benefit to cloud-based software. Overall, most of the respondents see the cloud as beneficial, with security being the biggest area of concern.
  • Finance/accounting professionals want to focus more on strategy:By and large, respondents spent much of their time focused on either running reports or preparing for monthly presentations, and would like to spend more time on strategic and budget planning.

The full study is available for download at: http://www.ftmllc.com/training.html

jim-simpson Jim Simpson, CPA and director of Financial Technologies & Management, is a financial leader and trainer, Software Advisor, CFO advisor, controller and forensic accountant to nonprofit organizations since 1999, serving over 350 nonprofit clients. He has worked as a CFO, controller and software advisor for over 25 years.

Contact Financial Technologies & Management to learn how our firm can improve your organization’s financial management operations and capacity. You can schedule an appointment directly from the website at WWW.FTMLLC.COM, or email info@ftmllc.com; or phone at 317-819-0780.

Dec 08

Six best practices for managing unhappy employees

By Sponsor Insight

By Jeremy York, HR Field Representative, Synergy |

No one ever said that managing employees was an easy job. While most managers enjoy leading and developing their staff’s skills, dealing with unhappy employees can be challenging. At times it can be consuming, awkward, uncomfortable or confrontational. Unhappy employees can take up a manager’s time — time that could be spent encouraging top performers to keep up the good work. These are all reasons why many times unhappy employees and their behaviors are never addressed.

Encouraging dissatisfied employees to continue their behavior by not directly addressing it negatively impacts your business and can create a negative work environment. It can have an impact on others’ work, upset customers by offering subpar service, result in unsatisfactory job performance because they just don’t care and take advantage of company resources.

Recently, I read an article on Entrepreneur.com titled, “Six Best Practices for Managing Unhappy Employees” (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247595) that summed up how to deal with these employees in six simple steps. According to the author, unhappy employees can be made into star performers, if a manager handles the situation by applying the steps summarized below:

  • Assess the situation thoroughly. Don’t jump to conclusions, but really attempt to understand the “why” behind the situation. Use this opportunity to demonstrate that you care.
  • Don’t wait. The best time to address unhappy behavior is immediately. The longer you wait, the longer the situation can fester.
  • Privacy is key. Meet with the unhappy employee one-on-one, not in front of others. In case there is a sensitive situation driving the behavior, you want to be respectful of the employee.
  • Cool is the best temperament. Don’t allow yourself to get upset even if the employee is defensive. Speak gently and allow time for the employee to calm down if he or she is upset. Focus on the situation and not the emotion.
  • It takes time. Change isn’t always immediate, especially when it comes to human behavior. Keep in mind that the issue may not be resolved in one sitting and that you may have to meet with the employee a few more times to reach resolution.
  • Keep records. Document, document, document. Be sure to document your conversations and meeting outcomes. This helps keep everyone on track and also can be useful in legal situations. If the behavior doesn’t change, you may have to institute disciplinary action (performance improvement plan/written warning). In these instances, you definitely need to keep solid records.

Following these steps can help managers address discontented employees and their behaviors, allowing them to spend more time with employees who are successful at performing their jobs and adding positivity to the work environment.

JeremyYork Jeremy York, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a Human Resources Field Representative for Synergy PEO Services.  With over 15 years experience, he provides strategic and generalist HR support to local nonprofit organization leaders and their staffs. Jeremy has a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in Organizational Leadership and Supervision and a master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University in Management. He is the current director of certification for the Indiana State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and serves on the IndySHRM board of directors as the past president.

Nov 24

Prepare for and manage the unexpected

By Sponsor Insight

By BKD staff |

Businesses face numerous pressures that can threaten the organization’s viability and sustainability if a disaster occurs. Potential threats include:

  • Natural (tornado, earthquake, hurricane, flood, etc.)
  • Environmental (fire, network failure, power outage, etc.)
  • Business market (legal/regulatory issues, competitive pressures, reputational risks, etc.)
  • Social (terrorism, pandemic, social media, network intrusions/attacks, etc.)
  • Human (strikes, work stoppages, etc.)
  • Financial/operational (cost of capital, inherent process risks, calendar-based risk, etc.)

This list certainly isn’t all-inclusive. Many other threats could interrupt normal business operations. It’s imperative that specific threats to a particular organization be identified and prioritized by developing a Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis (RA/BIA). Upon completion of an RA/BIA, a Business Continuity Plan can be created.

Button Text
Nov 17

Lessons from the tank

By Sponsor Insight

By Chris Mennel, audit manager, Alerding CPA Group |

Millions of people have tuned into ABC’s “Shark Tank” to see whether amateur and experienced entrepreneurs can land a deal with one of the millionaire or billionaire sharks. We may watch for the entertainment value; but after seven seasons, there are real-life lessons to be learned.

In fact, selling ownership in a company isn’t much different than pitching an idea to a new program partner, potential donor or board of directors. To be effective, you have to know your numbers, be direct and exude passion.

Here are six important lessons that Shark Tank negotiations have taught:

Button Text
Oct 27

“Doing more with less” often means burnout for nonprofit staff

By Sponsor Insight

By Stefanie Krievins, coach and founder, Radiancy Coaching Partners |

Nonprofit employees are a mission-driven bunch and sometimes help until it hurts, often doing this work at the expense of our families, health and mental wellbeing.

In a 2011 study, Opportunity Knocks, a national nonprofit job and career services group, found that over 50 percent of the nonprofit employees they surveyed were burned out or were in danger of becoming burned out. In part, the survey found that when an individual leaves a nonprofit, the organization often redistributes the duties.

As positions are eliminated or people leave, according to this study, the nonprofit sector is extremely unlikely to refill those positions, even with temporary help or consultants. We simply spread the work out among the existing employees. The cliché, “Do more with less” is a truism in our work.

Burnout is most often related to how organizations are staffed. The marketing manager is a one-person department in charge of social media, print material, public relations, appeals, volunteer projects, working with the Board’s marketing committee, website technology, planning special events, and marketing for new clients, volunteers, and donors. This is done in the name of those the mission serves. In other sectors, this would be at least four people’s jobs (minus the volunteer management, of course).

It’s time that these practices stop.

We need (and deserve) a resource to avoid burnout, to teach those of us serving the hungry, homeless, refugees and abandoned children how to also take care of ourselves. As the studies show, and we’ve experienced, we can’t be great professionals and continue to serve otherwise.

Radiancy Coaching Partners is that resource. Coaching and group workshops are available for nonprofit staff, boards and volunteers. These services can help with advancing the mission through one-on-one consultations, team trainings, and retreats:

  • Managing time and productivity: saying “No” more often and “Yes” to the right things that advance the plan
  • Understanding communication and work styles individually and as a team
  • Training staff to implement strategic plans
  • Managing for accountability and follow thru
  • Reducing stress

An Indianapolis nonprofit program director and client shared the power of coaching. She said: “I’d always assumed that coaching was for high-powered executives, not regular people. Boy, was I wrong. I began working with Stefanie at a time when I was facing some daunting personal and professional challenges.

“I felt overwhelmed by the choices, and was becoming increasingly unhappy. She derailed my path of unhappiness, helping me to stop and look at things in a new way. I came away from the experience feeling more relaxed and much more flexible about my life. The challenges didn’t go away. It’s just that I have more tools available to meet them.”

I faced this same burnout on more than one occasion in the 10+ years I worked for charities. This is how I found coaching and a new way to contribute to organizations’ missions. Radiancy Coaching Partners provides coaching and consulting exclusively for nonprofits. Learn more about how this resource can help you and your organization at radiancycoaching.com.

stefanie Stefanie Krievins is the founder, coach and trainer at Radiancy Coaching Partners. She has a master’s degree in nonprofit management from SPEA at Indiana University, completed credentialed coaching training from Erickson International, and has more than a decade of employment and volunteering in the charitable sector in Central and Southern Indiana and nationwide. She lives in a low-income neighborhood in Indianapolis as a way to stay connected to the causes she’s most passionate about: homelessness, food insecurity and helping each person get the resources he/she needs to be their best self.