“All labor that uplifts humanity has  dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."  Dr. Martin Luther King

FOR NONPROFITS

Consulting and training, leadership skills, employee burnout, volunteer or intern management

Consulting for nonprofits requires understanding the delicate balance between the funding sources, the vision and services of the agency and the actual needs of the constituents.

Nonprofits have the unique position of juggling the needs of the ones they serve with the mission or vision of the funders who supply the resources necessary to provide the services. This can be extremely stressful and create a whole set of challenges impossible to predict. Since many nonprofits deal with marginalized individuals or individuals in crisis there is a tendency to put things 'on the backburner', particularly during lean financial times. Employees and employee relations can stay on that 'backburner' for months and even years. Though certainly not ideal, employees may go along with this because they seem to be surrounded by a greater need. But this can turn into a crisis itself and many good employees have left organizations disillusioned and determined not to work for nonprofits again.

My services include (but are not limited to) training, coaching to:

• improve communication, cross program relations and create employee unity. Nonprofit employees often times have to be more adaptable and flexible with their job descriptions and program implementation. Relations can become strained between co-workers and management if employees are not able to communicate effectively.

• teach your managers and supervisors the skills of leadership. Skills they can practice and use to build better relationships in and out of the office. Leadership that comes from the authenticity of each human being, not a canned step by step formula to be followed.

• train your leaders how to spot and help to prevent employee burnout. From a management perspective, burnout is the quickest way to lose experienced staff and hard to control.  And staff working without established and agency recognized boundaries will be less productive and organized and less effective with the clients. Learn how you can create a system that  will raise awareness and help to prevent burnout.

Volunteers/interns can be a important part of the work force of nonprofits. Yet many nonprofits can not afford to have a designated employee to manage volunteers/interns. Do you know WHY your volunteers/interns give their time to your organization? Do you know WHAT motivates your volunteers/interns? Do you have structures in place so it is clear to the volunteers how they operate in your organization? Do you have contracts, orientations? It is imperative to train anyone working with your volunteers/interns the art of volunteer management. It can be a simple yet consistent part of your program work to set up a system that attracts and increases your staying ratio for volunteers/interns. (NOTE: Organizations with interns with need a slightly different system).

Other areas of service:

• Program development

• Community building and organizing

• Conflict management, conflict resolution, conflict transformation training and facilitation

• Documentation of policy, processes and procedures

Bryan Hudson
tel: 404.643.4677
email: bryanhudson@bellsouth.net