A Model for Systematically Improving Nonprofit Workplaces

Fund the People: A Podcast with Rusty Stahl

Arum Lee Lansel, founder of ALL-in 4 Impact, shares her unique career journey from fashion design to international development, philanthropy, and venture capital. Driven by her immigrant family's experience and desire to create more equity, she has developed a deep understanding of how organizations can better support their employees. Her perspective bridges the worlds of venture capital and nonprofit sectors, highlighting the critical importance of investing in talent.

Drawing from her experiences at the Packard Foundation, and at the venture capital firm General Catalyst, Arum discusses the key lessons that philanthropy can learn from venture capital, particularly the emphasis on investing in people as the primary driver of organizational success. She introduces her "Thrive" model, a practical framework for nonprofit leaders to systematically improve their workplace environment, which consists of three levels: stabilize (basic compliance), support (creating conditions for best work), and sustain (building a culture of innovation and well-being).

In the episode, Arum argues that funders and nonprofit leaders must recognize that the success of their mission depends directly on the health, engagement, and development of their employees. By providing resources, creating supportive structures, and giving staff space to breathe and innovate, organizations can dramatically improve their impact and effectiveness.

Key Takeaways:

• Nonprofit success is fundamentally tied to investing in and supporting staff, not just program outputs.
• The "Thrive" model provides a structured approach for nonprofits to progressively improve their workplace environment.
• Funders should view staff investment as a critical strategy for maximizing organizational impact, similar to venture capital's approach.
• Creating "space to breathe" for nonprofit workers is a form of equity and resource allocation that enables innovation and sustainability.
• Small nonprofits can start improving their workplace with affordable, targeted interventions, even without a full-time HR staff.

Bio:

Arum Lee Lansel is an accomplished leader with two decades of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropy, international development, and venture capital sectors.

Arum’s journey has taken her through vastly different work cultures and operating environments. Formerly she was Vice President of Learning & Development at General Catalyst, a leading venture capital firm with over $32 billion in assets under management. At GC she served as an HR leader where she led change management, shaped the culture, and designed employee development and performance management systems using a growth-mindset lens. She is certified in Employee Relations & Investigations and has led many trainings and facilitated tough conversations. Arum designed and spearheaded GC’s first racial equity initiative and helped GC become a DEI leader within the VC industry.

Arum led program operations at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She worked with nonprofits across the globe to support their organizational effectiveness and designed capacity building strategies. She helped shape the organizational effectiveness team’s theory of change and designed and led monitoring, evaluation, and learning strategies. Arum was also a core member of the initial funder collaborative of several large foundations working to combat the “nonprofit starvation cycle” and encourage funders to give unrestricted grants and pay for the real, indirect costs nonprofits incur to fulfill their mission.

Resources:

ALL-in 4 Impact

[email protected]

Arum Lansel on LinkedIn

Buying vs Building

Talent-value chain document in FTP Toolkit

Jamaica Maxwell podcast episode

You can find all the episodes of this podcast plus our blog, toolkit and other resources at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fundthepeople.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And we invite you to learn from all the amazing past guests of Fund the People - A Podcast with Rusty Stahl at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fundthepeople.org/ftp_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.