Supporting the People Behind the Work
Every day, nonprofit staff across Spartanburg County show up to do meaningful and often challenging work. The Mary Black Foundation believes it is important to not only support our nonprofit partners through funding, training, and convening, but also support the well-being of the people behind the work.
Last Fall, the Foundation offered 18 funded partners with revenues of $2 million or less the opportunity to enroll in an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). At the beginning of this year, 13 of those organizations enrolled through the Foundation’s plan at no additional cost to them. Together, those organizations represent more than 115 full-time and part-time employees. This is an offering the Foundation hopes to continue offering each year to our partners.
An Employee Assistance Program is a voluntary, employer-paid benefit that provides confidential, short-term support services for employees and members of their households. The Foundation’s plan includes counseling sessions, financial and legal consultations, referrals and case management support, and resources related to parenting, caregiving, career development, health and well-being, and more.
For many smaller nonprofit organizations, offering benefits like these can be difficult due to cost or capacity. By extending access through our existing plan, we were able to provide additional support in a way that was simple to implement and meaningful for the people doing important work every day in our community.
“The Mary Black Foundation looks to support our many nonprofit partners with resources beyond our grantmaking dollars,” said Mary Black Foundation President & CEO, Molly Talbot-Metz. “This includes capacity building, offering training, convening, and advocacy for our sector.”
“After learning that foundations in other communities were offering EAP to their funded partners, I explored the idea with our benefits provider through TogetherSC. It is a small benefit that can provide big impact for an employee that needs additional support or resources.”
While this is relatively a small step in supporting the well-being of our partners, we are grateful for the opportunity to help connect nonprofit workers with resources that can support them professionally and personally.
