HR for Nonprofits
Senior HR support for Tampa Bay nonprofits of 5 to 100 staff — the same protection a large organization's HR department provides, at a cost a program budget can carry. I've held HR leadership roles inside nonprofits; I know what a board asks and what a funder audits.
- HR leadership, for-profit and nonprofit
- 20+ yrs
- less first-90-day turnover after a new-hire mentoring program
- 35%
- saved for one client by exiting a PEO
- $38K/yr
The ED is the HR department. That works until it doesn't.
- 01
No written policies, lots of good intentions
Culture carries the organization until a grievance, a termination or a funder's HR questionnaire lands — and there's nothing on paper to point to.
- 02
Grant-funded positions and the end-of-grant problem
Fixed-term roles, allocated salaries, and what happens on July 1 when the funding ends. Offer letters and job descriptions have to be written for it.
- 03
Volunteers, interns and stipends
The line between a volunteer and an employee is legal, not cultural. Getting it wrong is a wage-and-hour claim.
- 04
Board involvement in staff issues
Boards that hire the ED but end up in every personnel decision. Clear roles, a real complaint path, and a process the board can trust — without running it.
Where nonprofits usually start.
All seven are available. This is the order most nonprofits actually need them.
- 1
Employee Handbooks
The document funders and boards ask for first.
- 2
HR Compliance
Volunteer/employee lines, FLSA classification, required postings.
- 3
HR Outsourcing
An HR function inside a program budget.
- 4
Employee Relations
Grievances and terminations handled so the board doesn't have to.
- 5
HR Training
Harassment prevention and first-time-manager basics.
- 6
Recruiting
Program staff and the occasional development director.
That's the point. Most nonprofit clients work with me on a project or as-needed basis, and HR consulting is often treated as an administrative cost under grants — check your specific grant terms. It costs a fraction of a staff HR role.
Common, and usually a sign there's no process they trust. I help define the board's role — hiring and evaluating the ED, approving policy — and build a complaint and discipline process so they can step back from individual cases.
Sometimes. Stipends, set schedules and work that would otherwise be paid can all push someone over the line. I review each role against the FLSA and Florida tests and fix the ones that are exposed.
It depends on what the offer letter and job description said at the start. I write them so end-of-funding is a planned event, not a surprise termination — and handle the transition when it comes.
Nonprofits across the bay — St. Pete, Tampa and Clearwater especially.
All areasRunning a nonprofit and doing HR on the side?
Call, or send a message — whichever is easier.