Wearable gadgets such as the Fitbit or the Apple Watch can help monitor stress levels and heart rates. They can also aid in implementing fitness plans, making them an invaluable tool in encouraging workplace health. With most individuals already having access to smartphones, this will allow for easy accessibility to certain health and wellness apps.

Here are five ways technology can improve workplace wellness and health.

1)  Less sick days. The use of fitness and health-related apps and/or wearable gadgets can decrease employee absence due to health concerns, as well as encourage a better work-life balance.

2) Nonprofit savings. Encouraging workplace health and fitness with the use of technology can help decrease employer healthcare costs, especially in the face of rising premiums.

3) Less stress. While bringing a dog to work would be the ideal option to help reduce stress, your organization may not allow this due to pet allergies. A wearable, such as a Fitbit, can help to decrease employee stress levels through breathing exercises, leading to a more productive and healthy team.

4) Improves company morale. Tracking eating habits, dietary plans, and lifestyle choices with the use of certain apps can help you create a stronger workplace culture, encourage supportive relationships, and boost team morale.

5) Overall health awareness. Using wearable gadgets can decrease the seated lifestyle that often influences the present day working generations. Employees have the ability to track their physical movements and set reminders to stand when sitting for longer periods of time.

The goal for any nonprofit organization in adding a workplace health and wellness plan should be to alter the mindset and focus on the actions that encourage preventative care. If an employer can have a team focused on their health and limit their sedentary lifestyles, both the employer and the employee will thrive.

The digital age has created a new outlook on how nonprofits are viewed from the outside world. Technology has allowed the removal of certain limitations in philanthropy—granting more exposure to the public on their efforts as well as allowing these organizations to be more prosperous. Such technological advances have given the sector the ability to improve and expand their outreach to those that are facing problems such as poverty, access to education or those affected by environmental devastations.

Introducing technology advances can benefit your organization in more ways than one. Such benefits will allow your organization to plan ahead, produce content tailored to your audience’s needs and overall create an efficient philanthropy.

Along with the benefits mentioned above, here are a few approaches nonprofits can consider when introducing your organization to new tech elements:

1) Use surveys to better engage your audience. A cost-effective way to gather intel on your biggest supporters is to send out a survey. This will give you the opportunity to gather insight on what messaging should be used to engage your audience and increase your number of donors. Surveys can help you save time by testing your messaging—your supporters can help you refine your messaging approach without wasting time and resources.

2) Create a website that is user experience focused. The design of an organization’s website should be primarily focused on the user’s view and navigation of the site. Displaying a variety of content, such as blogs, eye-catching images, social media posts and videos will allow the user an opportunity to engage with all forms and see which ones they interact with most. Implementing a test user experience can be a simple and cost-effective task that will help identify issues right from the start.

3) Use simple and engaging content to interact with your audience. Any content placed or shared on your social media pages should be directed back to your website. This will continue to increase the number of people that will engage and interact with your site. With a wide variety of social media applications, nonprofits have ample opportunities to increase awareness around the different programs they offer. Also, social media platforms can allow your supporters to share your mission and generate more communication about your organization.

As a nonprofit leader and advocate for your community, staying in front of your audience requires being current and consistent. From producing press releases, scheduling tweets, and putting in countless hours to produce a monthly newsletter, being on top of it all can be overwhelming Regardless of your constant efforts you know, deep down, that your marketing strategy always has room for improvement.

Since marketing is always a popular topic of discussion in the nonprofit world, the same question comes to mind—what more can we do to make people aware of our mission? How about an easier tool to promote our non -profit? Like a blog.

Don't think you need a blog? You're not alone.  While many nonprofits put blogging way down on their priority list, it could be a tremendously effective marketing tool for any organization. Here are four good reasons why your nonprofit should start a blog:

1. Create personal conversations

Like most nonprofits, you’re probably utilizing social media as a way to reach your audience and to display content to properly convey your mission. Social media has great value; however, it can be difficult to break through the noise. With a blog, you can focus more on developing content that will resonate with your specific audience without feeling the need to compete to be seen or heard.

2. Provide press coverage on newsworthy topics

Press releases are a great source of communication and a great way to get the word out about your programs and offerings. However, press releases can require fact checking, approvals and asking journalists to cover your work— which is often extremely time-consuming. With a blog, you’re the journalist. You can funnel the efforts of a press release into a post and then track its performance with analytics. Even with a small readership, your blog will be better received by your dedicated followers than a mass media audience who may tune you out.

3. Produce content that organically attracts donors

While mailing newsletters can still spark some attention, they tend to be glanced at and tossed in the recycling bin. We live in an age where if certain content can’t be emailed, posted or texted, it could be considered irrelevant. Here's where a blog can do the job for you. Your posts can be found forever on search engines and repeatedly promoted through multiple online channels. As your blog content gains traction, donors can share posts again and again via social media to attract new donors to your cause.

4. Connect with people on a more intimate level

Using short bits of content are great for social media and an easy way to share current events happening in the nonprofit sector. A blog, on the other hand, allows you to share stories of how your organization was able to make a difference. It provides an opportunity to tell in-depth stories that will create a deeper connection between you and your future donors.

A blog can become an essential part of your marketing strategy. Not only will blogs allow you to create content that is shareable, but it will also help you drive your marketing efforts. Plus, building a blog full of engaging content can make a world of difference in boosting your number of supporters and donations.

Just two decades ago, jobs were for life – even if you hated yours. Offices were often dark and dingy, promotions were rare, there was no such thing as ergonomic desks and even smoking was allowed indoors. Today, not only are office spaces bright and more cheerful but many companies are now offering the option to telecommute. There are also more efficient systems in place, better laws protecting employees and far better benefits than ever before. And let’s not forget the in-house gyms, team building excursions, methodical review processes, and the boundless opportunities to grow. So what gives? Why are so many U.S. workers unhappy at work?

Job misery can have a devastating impact on individuals, and their employers. Nowadays, there are countless studies surrounding the decline in employee engagement – Gallup, Randstad and Mercer, the list goes on. Gallup has been measuring employee engagement in the United States since 2000 and finds that a whopping 77% of workers say they hate their jobs.  Many report feeling no real connection to their work and state they are growing to resent their employers. Randstad has found that disengagement leads to some pretty bad habits - workers admitted that while on the job, they drank alcohol, took naps, checked or posted on social media, shopped online, played pranks on co-workers, and/or watched Netflix. The pressures modern day workers are clearly causing employees to feel burnout which is a natural reaction to stressful environments, or long workdays, but job dissatisfaction at this level usually occurs after long periods of unresolved issues.

One of the biggest problems seems to be having the wrong management in place. When the wrong person is hired or promoted to a management position, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits – nothing. When employees feel that their manager has little to no interest in them as human beings – their personal lives, their aspirations and their interests, especially at work – there is bound to be job misery. If you start typing “my boss is” into the Google search engine, you get options that include “crazy”, “lazy”, “bipolar”, “abusive” and “a tyrant”.

If you do the same Google search for “my job is”, it reveals a rather bleak outlook of life in the office by finishing your sentence with “killing me”, “stressing me out”, “ruining my mental health” or “draining my soul”. Those are some pretty strong comments and cause for concern. Most alarming of all – if you type “my job is stimulating”, Google assumes you have made a typo and suggest you must have meant “not stimulating”. Workers also feel they are expected to “do more with less” – blaming business owners who aren’t willing to expand their budgets to hire more people or provide better compensation to those already in place. Losing your best people because they’re stretched too thin can be costly so many employers are getting creative. Benefits can come in many different forms - ranging from flexible hours, stipends for commuting, increased vacation time or robust development programs.

It's important for employers to be aware of these situations, evaluate if they're a sign of a larger issue and identify what they can do to help. Workers crave development, advancement and purpose and when they don’t’ have it, they will move on.

“At the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, we believe strong nonprofits make stronger communities,” said Karen Brown, Vital Health Benefits Trust Director at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement. “Our nonprofit members rely on us to help them advance their mission.”

Center members receive a vast variety of services and support from the Center which include:

• Advocacy - A collective voice that speaks out on region-wide nonprofit issues so local governments understand that nonprofits provide core services that hold communities together.

• Education - A robust program of courses that ensures leaders and staff at every level can increase performance and impact of their services which drives greater impact to their respective missions.

• Networking - Opportunities for nonprofits to collaborate and connect with philanthropic, corporate, and government communities. Through these cross-sector connections, they provide the insights and solutions in real time to support them.

• Group Buying - A one-stop solution for high-quality, administrative and management assistance services.  The VitalHealth Insurance program is the most utilized benefit that offers medical, dental, vision, life and FSA plans to over 1,800 employees of nonprofit members in the District of Columbia, Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dedicated to representing nonprofit organizations for more than 25 years, the Center is proud to strengthen, promote, and represent members of the nonprofit community by helping over 50,000 individuals advance the mission of more than 800 local organizations. They embody every sector of the nonprofit industry and provide services and support to more than 9 million children, adults, and families around the world. To learn more about the Center for Nonprofit Advancement visit https://www.nonprofitadvancement.org/.

We all feel the rush of time around now, the holidays racing towards us followed by the ringing in of another new year. Before you know it, you’re wondering where the time went… for most 501(c)(3) organizations, November is the deadline month to exercise their state unemployment tax exemption for 2018. That means you need to act now.

Unlike for-profit organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits have the unique opportunity – as allowed by Federal law – to opt-out of the state unemployment tax system and instead only reimburse the state, dollar-for-dollar, if and when they have an actual unemployment claim. It can be a savings opportunity for many nonprofits who have lower claims than what they pay in state unemployment taxes—which are often driven up by for-profit organizations and other companies that go out of business, as well as state fund deficits and improper payments made in error.

The Unemployment Services Trust helps nonprofits to better manage their cash flow through proper claims administration and safety reserve building. With access to e-Filing capabilities, state-specific claims advice and a plethora of on-demand HR services, UST participants are able to streamline operations and reduce back-office paperwork burdens.

Last year alone, UST helped program participants save $27.8 million in unemployment claims costs. That’s millions of dollars more for the nonprofit sector and the communities they serve.

More than 2,200 of your nonprofit peers are already exercising their unique tax alternative with UST. Rather than overpay into the State unemployment fund – effectively subsidizing for-profit companies – wouldn’t it be more true to your mission to allocate that wasted overhead to your programs and services?

Submit your FREE Cost Analysis Formno later than November 15^th in order to meet the state deadline for 2018 enrollment – which for most states is December 1^st. Unfortunately, if a nonprofit misses the state deadline, they have to wait until the following year to exercise their tax exemption and join the UST program.

In order for diversity to be a part of a nonprofit organization, it must start at the top.  To achieve real and sustainable change in terms of racial equity toward those we serve, we must reflect that standard. According to a survey done by The Nonprofit Quarterly, CEO’s are concerned with the composition of their boards.  BoardSource completed a study that compared racial diversity on nonprofit boards in 1993 and 2010. Results showed little to no change in Caucasian dominance. In 1993, 14% of members were persons of color; by 2010 there was a slight increase bringing it to 16%. With that in mind, nonprofit organizations need to take the necessary steps to ensure that their organization is an example of acceptance and diversity.

Here are the 5 steps your organization can take to achieve board diversity:

1) Leadership must lead or it won’t happen

The primary goal is that the CEO and Board Chair share a commitment to an appropriate racial makeup—they must hold one another accountable for actions toward the goal. They should be visible leaders and spokespersons for achieving diversity by educating the sector and lobbying for organizational change.

2) Be intentional — make your claim

An organization’s values and mission must be clearly articulated and visible on all outlets, including their website— providing a clear picture on where the organization stands.

3) Create a baseline

First, conduct an assessment of your board’s demographics. Then, based on the results, identify the vision going forward. With this assessment, you can establish a measurable goal to increase racial diversity within your board.

4) Give a grand welcome

When bringing on new board members, be sure to be welcoming and that the orientation is authentic and thorough. Ownership of these processes should involve all of the current board members.

5) Move beyond the numbers

An increase in percentages of racially diverse members is only the first step.  Guiding new members through the flow of communication and onto the leadership track is essential.  Simply waiting and hoping that the pipeline will move members forward is an insufficient strategy.

We need to think beyond a simple checklist to create and maintain diverse board representation—it’s a long-term strategy for creating change through collaboration.

There is not one nonprofit organization that wants to cut programs it believes furthers its mission. But too often, nonprofits keep programs long after they’ve stopped being effective and worth the cost. Sometimes it is necessary to scale back or even eliminate programs so that funds can be better spent launching new initiatives that help the organization meet its core mission.

Communities are constantly changing and your nonprofit must be prepared to change with them. Do your homework and research what is working and what is not – never assume the effectiveness of your programs.

• Survey participants, members, donors, employees, volunteers and other stakeholders about which of your programs are the most—and the least—effective and why.
• Review your community’s demographic data for changes relevant to your program offerings.
• Ask the community what they know of unmet needs or new trends that should affect your programming decisions.

While you don’t want to eliminate anyone’s opinions, you do want to be careful about how the feedback is used to rid your organization of obsolete programs and create new ones. If one of your programs is clearly ineffective and another is wildly successful, the decision to redeploy funds to the successful program is obvious. And keep in mind that new programs can be variations of old ones, just re-vamped to better serve your nonprofits core mission, values and goals.

Undoubtedly, you already have goals in place that measure each of your programs progress. If you don’t, now is the time to set them up. Being able to easily identify what is working and what is not, is pivotal to your nonprofit’s success.

Before deciding whether to cut a program or start a new one, be strategic and realistic about your expectations. Being able to recognize when it’s time for a change and how to best use what funding is available will help ensure successful programs.

Through the Noise

Podcast Description: This podcast discusses why it’s important to understand and utilize SEO and SEM—search engine optimization and search engine marketing—when looking to amplify your nonprofit’s voice. Kiki L’Italien explains how to get to know who you are trying to reach, where they spend their time, and how to meet them where they are.

Amplified Growth is a DC-based digital marketing consultancy specializing in SEO, social media, and content strategy for associations and commercial clients. To learn more about Amplified Growth, visit their website at http://www.amplifiedgrowth.net.

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Through the Noise

Podcast Description: This podcast breaks down the difficult questions that surround a company acquisition and provides expert information on how to plan ahead, manage expectations, and how to support the people within organization during this difficult time.

BDO USA, LLP is known primarily as an accounting firm. The Management Advisory team supports organizations that are going through or considering change and focus on helping organizations identify the right technology for their needs by transforming their business. In addition, they help to plan and implement mergers and acquisitions for organizations across the globe.  To learn more about BDO USA, visit their website at www.bdo.com.

Through the Noise interviewed Elizabeth Scott, CEO of Brighter Strategies, to help nonprofit employers improve their overall effectiveness by building their internal capacity. Listen below or check out the full library of podcasts.

Podcast Description: This podcast emphasizes the importance of harnessing the emotional intelligence of staff members so that organization can do the most with what they have. Dr. Elizabeth Scott aims to provide thought leadership and high value organizational development consulting in an effort to strengthen the nonprofit sector.

Brighter Strategies is a non-profit consulting firm that works with non-profit organizations as a “thought partner” to help build capacity and make the most of their greatest asset—their human capital. To learn more about Brighter Strategies, visit their website at www.brighterstrategies.com.

To stay up-to-date on the latest best practice tips and cost-saving ideas just for nonprofits, sign up for UST's monthly eNews: http://www.chooseust.org/enews

In this 60-minute webinar, Jay Azar, Director of Not-for-Profit Practice Services at Lindquist, LLP, talks about how your organization can begin to prepare your accounting and financial reporting systems for these important changes.

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Displaying the current three fund categories of Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted and Permanently Restricted funds has changed to two fund categories of “Funds Without Donor Restrictions” and “Funds With Donor Restrictions.”
• Requiring the use of a classified balance sheet and allowing for display of assets with limited use.
• Requiring that information provided about expenses for the period will be presented both by functional and natural classifications for all not-for-profits.

After watching the presentation, you'll feel more confident and prepared for handling the accounting and financial reporting processes at your nonprofit.

Watch the webinar on-demand now.

This webinar series is part of UST's efforts to educate the nonprofit sector. Sign up to receive UST's monthly eNews for more free learning opportunities just for nonprofits like you!