The Hidden Benefits of Nonprofit Fractional Staffing
Small nonprofits that follow a traditional staffing model are faced with a dilemma. They need a diverse set of skills in fundraising, finance, program development and operations, but they may only have the budget to make a very limited number of full- or part-time hires. For example, even just within the area of fundraising, a nonprofit may need someone with skills in grant writing, annual giving and corporation relations. However, that combination of skills is hard to find in a single nonprofit professional, and even if that unicorn of a person could be found, they would almost certainly command a larger salary than most nonprofits can afford. Fractional staffing for nonprofits offers a bench of seasoned nonprofit specialists who can be engaged to join your team virtually, supplying a curated set of skills for precisely the number of hours and number of months you need them.
The expected benefits of nonprofit fractional staffing include:
Ability to pay for only the amount of time you really need, even if that’s as little as 10 hours a month
Ability to get the precise skillsets you need
Ability to engage a seasoned professional or professionals who can begin work almost immediately (no advertising, interviewing, notice-giving, etc.)
However, our clients and our team are constantly making me aware of other inherent benefits. In this post, I’ll be sharing four lesser-known benefits of nonprofit fractional staffing:
Enabling Greater Focus
A full-time staff member at any small nonprofit wears many hats and is often pulled off task to address the urgent need of the moment. While this can make every day new and exciting, it can be very difficult to focus time and attention on routine tasks and in-depth projects.
A fractional staff member or team is typically brought on board to address a specific challenge – perhaps to help launch a corporate fundraising program, regularly update data in a CRM, or manage a website refresh. Because they are not asked to take responsibility for the entire organization, as an Executive Director must, they are able to dig in and produce great results in their area of focus.
Even better, by taking a special project or routine tasks off an Executive Director’s plate, a fractional staff member or team can free up an Executive Director to focus on the tasks only they can address.
Sharing Best Practices
Fractional staff members are only rarely full-time, so they see how a variety of challenges are being met across different organizations. They can often suggest solutions to their clients, ones that have proven successful for others.
For example, many small, volunteer-driven nonprofits struggle to store and efficiently share documents, images, data and other critical files. More Than Giving team members can often assist with setting up file storage and file sharing solutions that will stand the test of time and enable both on-site and remote volunteers and staff to collaborate on an equal footing.
As email marketing tools have evolved, we’re also finding many clients struggling to leverage them effectively in their marketing and fundraising efforts. Our team has been able to help many nonprofits utilize more features of the tools they already have or add new tools and teach staff members how to use them.
Keeping Your Organization Dynamic
In a more traditional staffing model, you are tethered to the skills of the volunteers and staff you have already. However, the nature of a growing organization is that needs shift and change. When a fractional team has met the challenge you’ve engaged them to address, you can quickly and seamlessly adjust your fractional team to meet the next challenge and the next.
Identifying Areas of Need
Sometimes an organizational outsider is best positioned to help identify areas for improvement. One of our Nonprofit Virtual Assistants was brought into a nonprofit professional association to assist with member outreach and onboarding. She recognized that there were some underlying challenges hindering growth of the organization’s membership, so she recommended the organization engage a More Than Giving Co. Senior Consultant. Our Consultant examined the association’s current board and committee functions, resource development, administrative support and more. Leveraging her recommendations, the association has now built an infrastructure that will allow them to deliver member services more effectively and efficiently, which should ultimately help them retain and attract even more members.
To explore whether a nonprofit fractional staff member or team could help your nonprofit achieve even greater success, schedule a complimentary, 30-minute consultation with me here.