A Growing Non Profit does Good, Better in a Shared Office
A Growing Nonprofit Does Good, Better in a Shared Office
Seeds of Hope began as a family endeavor begun by a husband and wife who split their time between the West Bank and the Kansas City area. Over the past ten years, it has grown into a sophisticated multi-national nonprofit organization working to bring long-term change in the Middle East through education, economic development, cultural exchange, and humanitarian aid.
Here’s how the right office space can help Nonprofits maximize efficiency and revenue:
Connecting Staff Locally and Internationally
While the majority of the staff is located in the West Bank, there’s a small but mighty team of administrators in the Kansas City area who until recently were working independently and, as they would come to discover, inefficiently. When Tracy, the new finance director, started, she quickly saw an opportunity to connect local staff to the staff on the West Bank, and to do that, she needed to help them make the shift from working in separate home offices to working together in a professional office environment.
In addition to housing the full-time staff, the office acts as a hub for part-time staff, who use the office to participate in virtual meetings with the Jericho office via video conferencing.
Increasing Productivity
Before moving to their new space at Office Evolution, Addie, Seeds of Hope’s Director of Communications, described herself as scattered and less productive than she would like to be.
For the past several years, she had worked from her home, which was full of distractions with three children and no dedicated workspace. Since moving to the new Seeds of Hope office at Office Evolution, she has not only become more productive, she has enjoyed the professionalism of going to the office every day and rediscovering how “juiced” she gets just being organized and having a clear identity outside her home.
Discovering untapped Resources
While there have been myriad benefits to the individuals of working together in terms of increased professionalism and reduced distractions, there have been some unanticipated benefits to the organization that came about simply because they are now sitting together and having informal conversations.
As Addie tells it, something really cool happened this summer, when she noticed something she didn’t understand. She said that if she had been working at home, she probably would have just dismissed it, but since Tracy was close at hand, Addie asked her about it.
“She said that if she had been working at home, she probably would have just dismissed it”
That off-hand conversation led to the discovery of additional funds on their donation platform that had been overlooked. While these funds would likely have been uncovered during a routine audit at the end of the year, the organization was able to put the funds to use sooner thanks to a powerful face to face conversation. This increased collaboration has also led to larger grants for the organization, as well as stronger connections with donors, leading to increased retention.