Developing a Competitive Employee Benefit Package for a Nonprofit Entity

Corporate office: 131 West Tyler Street, Elkhart, Indiana 46516 Contact: Tina Fraley, CFO; responsible for finance, human resources and operations. Council on Aging of Elkhart County Inc has been operating for 45 years as a non-government, non-profit entity serving the aging and disabled. The organization serves the 3rd largest aging population in the state of Indiana with a vast range of services including transportation, in-home care, Medicare consulting, money management and more. As a non-profit, our mission is to serve those in our community in an effort to foster wellness among those unable to attain a quality-of-life without assistance from external resources. Consistent with many other non-profits, our efforts are bound by financial resources. With 96% of our clients needing financial assistance to access transportation for medical services and in-home care for personal welfare, the margin on which we operate is minimal, which limits both pay scales and benefits available to employees. The market in our area is saturated with low-skill employment opportunities, which is frequently the demographic from which our organization utilizes for Driver and Caregiver positions. In addition, competing providers in this area do not operate as non-profits or with low-income fee scales (e.g., Medicaid insured clients). Developing a benefit package which will allow us to be competitive in attaining and retaining employees is critical in our ability to meet the current demand for our services. We have experienced an increasing demand on our services for 5 consecutive years, a demand which cannot be met with the current employee output. The package will require creativity in its components, as it will need to possess value to a broad age demographic and be affordable to Council on Aging. As a result of this course, students will gain an understanding of the aging populations needs (representative of all communities across the United States), the influential dynamics facing mission driven organizations, the barriers to success of mission driven organizations operating in a profit-driven environment, and the understanding of competitive wage/benefit packages and their influence on an organizations success. This course is best suited for those pursuing careers in human resources or organization management.