Fixing Nonprofit Overhead Problems From the Inside, Out
Delaney Mullennix, the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast host, interviews Sarah Evans of Well Aware about fixing nonprofit overhead problems.
Nonprofit overhead costs can eat away at a budget, but there are ways to address the problem. Evans discusses having a background in NGO work and the nonprofit sector’s challenges. Challenges include high staff turnover rates and power imbalances within volunteer boards. Evans also shares her strategies for retaining staff, achieving a 60% greater success rate than the industry average.
Evans emphasizes the importance of having key staff positions for a nonprofit to succeed and discusses Well Aware’s human resource growth strategy. Additionally, She addresses the turnover problem, particularly in light of the Great Resignation.
According to Evans, society’s focus on minimal overhead rather than maximum impact is one of the nonprofit sector’s biggest challenges. She describes how this perspective can shift—the importance of measuring impact to demonstrate the value of a nonprofit’s work.
Overall, the episode provides valuable strategies for overcoming some of its most pressing challenges.
Sarah Evans has worked to change the way water projects are executed and managed in developing regions of the world. She has built a team of staff and volunteers who implement and advise on projects that are realistic and lasting through strategic partnerships, true community involvement and empowerment, hygiene and sanitation education, and impact measurement.
Under her leadership, Well Aware’s reputation for project success (100% vs 40% industry average) and cost effectiveness (averaging $15 per person for decades) has prompted numerous collaborations with other NGO’s worldwide to guide their water infrastructure projects. Evans and her teams work with the great potential that already exists in struggling communities while catalyzing development through access to clean water.
