People and culture are the heart and motor of an organization. TSNE has been a fiscal sponsor for more than 60 years, and in that time, we’ve learned that much of what drives an organization’s success is having a culture that puts their staff first. After all, people are an organization’s most critical and important asset.
As TSNE’s Chief People and Culture Officer, I am passionate about us humans, what makes us unique, and how our differences make us better and stronger when we come together for a common goal. TSNE’s values reflect the belief that treating every individual as a whole person plays an important role in achieving our goals for justice, progress, and impact. I am excited for the opportunity to help build a working environment where people belong and flourish every day. The team I lead puts these values into practice for ourselves and the more 400 staff who work in our fiscally sponsored organizations.
Human Resources Support for Our Fiscally Sponsored Organizations
TSNE’s comprehensive fiscal sponsorship makes us unique from many other fiscal sponsors. In addition to sharing our 501c3 status, we provide a suite of back-office supports in key areas: legal, grants management and compliance, financial management, and most importantly for me, human resources.
The members of the human resources team provide more than just benefits for our fiscally sponsored organizations (FSOs) — we are their thought partners in helping them approach every situation with an equity focus. Our FSOs have ‘different personalities’ and we work with them to meet them where they are, and provide guidance that best matches our common goals. This includes working with them on their transitions from on-site working models to virtual or hybrid models, encouraging and guiding them to explore what and how they can integrate additional benefits to their staff, to even the most simple but effective strategies such as giving their staff an extra day off. We strive to be a partner in our work with them.
How We Take Care of Our Staff
In addition to supporting our FSOs, we are also building a culture at TSNE where people feel a sense of belonging. This doesn’t happen overnight and it also can’t be accomplished by just following a static strategy. The process is dynamic and adaptive to change. It takes a commitment to actively assessing and understanding social changes in the world and implementing the right strategies at the time. This is one of the reasons why I am always eager to learn and share strategies with others of what are the things we can implement to achieve this goal.
In October 2022, I attended my first National Network of Fiscal Sponsors gathering. This yearly event brings fiscal sponsors from across the country to meet each other and share ideas. I had the chance to sit in on a really enjoyable session called “Taking Care of Fiscal Sponsorship Staff,” presented by Fractured Atlas. This session happened to be the only one related to people operations, which is a critical area that needs more space and attention.
As I listened to some of the strategies for staff care, compensation, benefits and engagement, I felt delighted that TSNE had been at the forefront of implementing many of them. A large part of our people-first strategies in these past years have been focused precisely on staff safety and health care. We’ve started carefully updating and designing policies that address not only paid-time off (PTO) or leave use, but also considering the challenges that the pandemic, our ‘new normal’, and the horrific effect the escalating racial and gender violence have on our people and culture.
Learn About Fiscal Sponsorship
TSNE fiscally sponsors organizations and groups working toward a more just and democratic society, across the country and around the world. We act as a trusted partner, providing the financial and administrative support and resources they need to strengthen their operations, build their organizational capacity, and focus on achieving their goals, while increasing their impact.
Interested in fiscal sponsorship? Schedule a meeting with us.
About Luzdy Rivera, Chief People and Culture Officer
Luzdy brings to TSNE comprehensive experience in human resources operations for the nonprofit and healthcare sector. She has specialized competencies in strategic leadership, and talent management and development, which includes leadership culture, performance management, employee engagement and change management. She thrives in the work of organizations that positively impact and make a difference in the lives of people and society. Luzdy has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a Major in Human Resources from Metropolitan University.