The recognition is built on confidential surveys administered by Energage, asking workers about leadership, benefits, communication, purpose and more. Results are benchmarked against national data gathered from millions of employees, and only organizations with strong, verified feedback earn honors. The award cannot be bought, underscoring its credibility.

Below are the special award winners, with what each honor represents.

Small employers

• Benefits Package Award: — recognizes an employer with the most satisfying pay and benefits, based on employee feedback about compensation and support
• Doers Award: — honors an organization that consistently delivers results and maintains strong day to day execution
• New Ideas Award: — celebrates a culture that encourages innovation and embraces fresh thinking from employees
• Trusted Leadership Award: Tony Jimenez, CEO, — reflects strong employee confidence in leadership, direction and decision making

Midsize employers

• Clued-In Senior Management Award: — recognizes an organization whose senior leaders who are well aligned with employees and attuned to what is happening across the organization
• Communications Award: — honors an organization that keep employees informed, connected and engaged through clear communication
• Meaningfulness Award: — highlights an organization where employees feel their work has purpose and impact
• Trusted Leadership Award: Laura Kennington, chief growth officer, — signals high levels of trust in leadership and confidence in the company’s direction

Large employers

• Direction Award: — recognizes a company that provides clear vision and confidence about where it is headed
• Values Award: — honors an organization that lives its core values in day to day operations
• Well-Being Award: — celebrates an employer that prioritize employee health, wellness and overall well-being
• Trusted Leadership Award: Anthony Pierce, partner in charge of ��D.C. office, — reflects leadership that employees consistently trust and believe in

Largest employers

• Appreciation Award: — recognizes a company where employees feel valued and appreciated for their contributions
• Managers Award: — honors front line managers who invest in their teams and support employee growth
• Work Life Flexibility Award: — celebrates organizations that promote balance and flexibility in how employees work
• Trusted Leadership Award: David Bowker, partner in charge of D.C. office, — highlights leadership that earns strong employee trust at scale

Across all categories, the awards reflect the same standard: authentic employee voices.

Hundreds of organizations participated in the 2026 process, but only those with strong survey participation and high scores earned recognition, reinforcing that these honors are driven by real workplace experience.

Check out all of the �鶹���� Top Workplaces coverage���ԴǷ�!

Source

That was the message from Bob Helbig, media partnerships director at , the research partner behind the program, during a recent interview on �鶹����. He said the awards stand out because they are based entirely on employee feedback, with no outside influence or subjective criteria.

“This is based 100% on employee feedback. There are no other factors that go into it,” Helbig said. “It’s a really great chance to listen to workers about how they feel about their experience.”

Spreading a wide net

For the 2026 awards, nearly 10,000 organizations in the Washington region were invited to participate. Thousands of employees were surveyed, and ultimately 342 employers earned recognition as Top Workplaces, reflecting strong results across a range of workplace culture metrics.

To ensure fair comparisons, organizations are grouped by size — small, midsize, large and largest — recognizing that the employee experience can vary significantly depending on the scale of a company.

Among this year’s top performers were:

• in the small category
• among midsize companies
• in the large category
• among the largest employers

While competitive pay and perks often get attention, Helbig said the data tells a different story about what truly drives employee satisfaction.

“The common misperception is that it’s about pay and perks,” he said. “But what we’ve found consistently … is people want to feel appreciated in their roles.”

Pay not the incentive some might think

Helbig said the data suggests that employees are most motivated when they feel valued for their contributions, connected to their teams and confident in their organization’s direction. A sense of purpose also plays a key role, with workers placing high importance on meaningful work and alignment with broader goals.

“They want to feel like they are individual contributors to their organization, they’re part of a team, everybody’s moving in the same direction,” he said. “There’s meaningfulness in their work, and they have confidence in the leadership.”

That sense of appreciation, he added, can outweigh even financial incentives.

“If you’re treated lousy, that paycheck is not going to make you motivated to go to work every morning,” he said.

Looking toward 2027’s top workplaces

The survey process is ongoing, with Energage already beginning outreach for the next cycle of awards. Companies can choose when to survey their employees over the coming months, allowing flexibility in participation while maintaining consistent standards for evaluation, Helbig said.

The result is a recognition program that reflects real workplace experiences and highlights organizations that are getting it right where it matters most, according to the people who know them best.

As Helbig emphasized, the value of the Top Workplaces designation lies in its authenticity.

“It’s a chance to listen to employees,” he said, and in doing so, to better understand what makes a workplace truly stand out.

Check out all of the �鶹���� Top Workplaces coverage���ԴǷ�!

Source

For many would-be entrepreneurs, buying a franchise feels like a smart shortcut.

The brand is built. The system is proven. The roadmap is already there.

But that sense of security can be misleading.

“People think they’re walking into a turnkey operation and everything will be fine,” said Paul O’Reilly, who specializes in business law and leads the Franchising Practice at . “They don’t understand the potential pitfalls in front of them.”

The result? Costly surprises. And, in some cases, financial distress that could have been avoided.

For The Legal Lowdown on �鶹����,�� O’Reilly shared valuable tips about how to go in with your eyes open and negotiate the best franchising agreement upfront.

Don’t get swept up in the pitch

Franchise deals often start with polished sales presentations and a sense of urgency.

“The salespeople are very good at their job convincing the franchisee that they really don’t need outside expertise,” O’Reilly said. They also provide the “best-case scenario” on the potential revenue, he added.

Buyers may be told that a franchise location is in high demand, creating pressure to move quickly.

“Once the sales team senses your excitement, it is all over for you,” he said. “It’s that type of pressure: ‘You need to sign now before you lose the deal.’ ”

What to do: Take a step back before deciding. “Walk away, take a deep breath, call a lawyer,” O’Reilly said. A short pause upfront to dispassionately evaluate the franchise agreement can prevent long-term regret.

A franchise is not a shortcut, it’s a business

Certainly, there are advantages. A franchise can simplify branding and systems, but it doesn’t remove responsibility.

“People tend to forget they’re running a business. They’re the boss,” O’Reilly said.

You are still responsible for:

• Hiring and payroll
• Taxes and compliance
• Rent and build-out
• Day-to-day operations

What to know: If something goes wrong, the burden falls on you, not the franchisor. “If you don’t understand the playing field, don’t get on the field until you’re ready,” O’Reilly advised.

Know your break-even point — exactly

One of the biggest blind spots for first-time franchisees is the money math. The most critical way to reduce risk and drive success is to fully evaluate costs, all the costs, O’Reilly said.

“Break down all your definite and potential costs on a spreadsheet, and find out what that bottom line is,” he said.

Your spreadsheet should include:

• Rent and utilities
• Payroll and staffing
• Loan payments
• Franchise fees and royalties
• Marketing contributions

The result can be eye-opening. “You might find that you have to make $50,000 or $80,000 a month just to break even,” O’Reilly said.

What to know: If you don’t know that break-even number and how long it takes to get to it, he added, “you shouldn’t be getting into the business.”

Hidden costs can add up fast

What’s in the franchising agreement and the disclosure document matters, but so does what isn’t clearly spelled out. Beyond your core cost structure, some of the biggest surprises come from these gray areas.

“Identify the costs that are not assessed but can be assessed,” O’Reilly said.

That gray area can be broad and will depend on the type of franchise:

• Mandatory training or retraining
• Software or system upgrades
• Store remodels or refreshes
• Extra operational support

“Refreshing your space may cost $60,000 or $100,000,” he noted. And sometimes franchisors require that you buy from a list of approved vendors.

What to do: Follow one rule to cover yourself, O’Reilly said. “If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.”

The risk is personal not just professional

“You’re going to be personally guaranteeing the franchise agreement, the lease, the equipment,” O’Reilly said.

And what someone uses to guarantee that agreement can extend to:

• Personal savings
• Home equity
• Retirement accounts

“Some people have depleted their 401(k) and then they end up going bankrupt,” he said.

What to do: Before you sign, understand the fine print and also what failure could cost long term, not just upfront.

Support isn’t always what it seems

Make sure the agreement details exactly what support the franchisor provides, for what amount and for how long. “Often, people go in assuming that they’re getting a lot of support, and they really might not unless they pay for it,” O’Reilly said.

Even required fees may not translate into results. “You’re paying for marketing and, frankly, some franchises do nothing locally,” he said. “How will you drive foot traffic to your business?”

Plus, if a franchise fails to meet corporate standards, a franchisor might require a trainer to come in. And it’s typically the franchise owner who pays for that required training, O’Reilly said.

What to do: Review all the support details in the franchising agreement and understand all the compliance expectations. Then, ask questions. Ask for changes too. Many things are negotiable, O’Reilly pointed out.

Plan your exit before you enter

“What happens when you leave? That’s something people don’t really look at,” O’Reilly said. But planning the exit or renewal strategy should be part of the initial planning process too.

Contracts often include clauses that affect your exit:

• Limit your ability to sell
• Restrict transfers
• Allow buybacks below market value

“Often, if you’re successful but decide you want to get out, the franchisor won’t renew you. Or the metrics are often nowhere near the fair market value if the franchising agreement has a clause that corporate gets the right to buy back the franchise,” O’Reilly said.

What to do: Before you sign, make sure the franchisor has detailed what happens at the end of the agreement and that those terms are acceptable to you.

Build your team — early

People generally have the enthusiasm to become an entrepreneur, but not necessarily the full skill set. “You need a lawyer, you need a good CPA, you need someone who understands business,” O’Reilly said.

Most people wait too long before assembling their team of experts, he cautioned. In his conversations, he estimates that “80% have not been prepared” before they signed their agreements.

What to do: Do an assessment of your knowledge and the related business acumen you bring to the franchise. Then, hire employees or third-party contractors who can fill the gaps. (And add that to your cost spreadsheet.)

The bottom line

Franchising can be a powerful path if you do the work upfront.

“Think: Can I do this? Before signing any agreements, get educated as to your options,” O’Reilly said.

Because once you sign, the commitment is real and legal options can get expensive fast.

For more legal tips and advice, visit The Legal Lowdown on �鶹����, presented by .

Source

For many business owners and senior leaders, a company website feels like a solved problem. It looks professional, it functions properly, and it’s been live for years without incident. But that sense of security can be misleading.

Website privacy compliance is no longer a background issue. Changing state laws, increasingly aggressive enforcement and evolving technologies, from analytics tools to AI-driven chatbots, can turn routine website features into unexpected legal exposure.

“What we see most often is not bad intent,” said Joshua Glikin, a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and technology law at . “It’s routine, overlooked issues that create liability.”

For The Legal Lowdown on �鶹����, we asked Glikin to identify the most common lawsuit risks hiding in plain sight on business websites today.

1. Your privacy policy doesn’t match what your website is actually doing

One of the most common website compliance failures is a disconnect between what a company’s privacy policy says and what the website actually does behind the scenes.

“There are so many ways that a business can be liable for what happens on their website,” Glikin said. “One of the most common is that their privacy policies, assuming one exists, do not accurately reflect the data collection and use practices of the company, and they don’t comply with applicable state laws.”

This mismatch often stems from organizational silos, he said. It happens organically if not addressed. Marketing teams choose tools. IT teams implement them. Business leaders focus on growth and operations. Rarely does anyone step back to confirm that all of those decisions are accurately disclosed in a single, legally compliant policy, Glikin noted.

“I’ve never seen an intentional bad-faith outdated website policy,” he said. “It’s usually because the business people, the marketing people and the IT people don’t really know what the others are doing.”

But intent doesn’t matter under most privacy laws. Businesses are responsible for what their websites do, not what leadership believed they were doing, Glikin pointed out.

2. An outdated privacy policy is a legal liability

Many executives assume that if their privacy policy was compliant when it was written, it remains compliant today. That assumption is increasingly risky.

“Even if a privacy policy was viable and compliant a year ago, that doesn’t mean that it will be the following year,” Glikin said.

Over the past several years, more than a dozen states have passed or expanded comprehensive privacy regulations. California, in particular, continues to amend and strengthen its requirements, often influencing enforcement nationwide by both attorneys general but also plaintiffs’ lawyers, he said.

“Website privacy policies are just never set it and forget it,” Glikin said.

From a legal standpoint, a stale policy can be worse than no policy at all. Outdated language can affirmatively misrepresent current practices and become a written exhibit against the company in litigation or enforcement actions, he warned.

3. Cookies, tracking tools and analytics create risk you still own

Tracking technologies are one of the fastest growing sources of website lawsuits, particularly under state privacy laws that require disclosure and consent.

“All of these data collection practices and sharing policies might be happening on your business’ website without you even knowing it,” Glikin said, “because different people control coding, marketing decisions and business operations.”

Even businesses that attempt to comply sometimes fail on execution. He described a case where a company installed a cookie consent pop-up but then forgot to configure the technology behind it.

“They intended to comply with cookie laws,” Glikin said. “But they forgot to turn on the cookie collection filter. Data was collected whether users clicked ‘accept’ or ‘decline.’ Clicking the button had no meaning.”

Legally, that type of gap can be devastating. Businesses, not vendors, are responsible for ensuring that consent mechanisms work as advertised.

“If the actual practices of the website don’t mirror what your policy says,” Glikin said, “you’ve got the potential for trouble.”

4. AI chatbots can quietly introduce new privacy risks

AI chatbots have quickly become standard on business websites, but many companies deploy them without fully understanding how they collect and use data.

“These AI chatbots often collect information consumers voluntarily provide,” Glikin said. “The real trouble starts when that data is stored, integrated into company records or shared for marketing and advertising purposes.”

In many cases, existing privacy policies never contemplated conversational artificial intelligence tools. As a result, companies may be disclosing less than the law requires — or nothing at all — about how that chatbot data is handled.

“You have to think about policies specific to what the chatbot collects and how that data is used,” Glikin said, “not just your general privacy policy.”

AI tools can quietly expand a company’s data footprint, creating privacy and cybersecurity exposure that isn’t discovered until a complaint or investigation forces the issue.

5. The “We’re too small to matter” assumption is wrong

Perhaps the most dangerous misconception among business owners is the belief that website privacy laws only affect large companies.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is, ‘I’m just a small business. Nobody’s going to care about my website,’ ” Glikin said. “That’s simply not true.”

Small and midsize businesses are frequent targets for private lawsuits, especially in California, where plaintiffs’ firms actively search for noncompliant websites nationwide.

“You don’t have to be very good to break into a small website,” he added, “and small businesses often have just as much personal information.”

Because the internet doesn’t distinguish between company size, businesses may be subject to laws in states where they don’t operate physically but where their websites collect consumer data.

Gentle reminder: Website privacy requires ongoing maintenance

Website compliance isn’t about checking a box. It’s about treating privacy the way businesses treat other operational risks — with ongoing review, clear accountability and expert support, Glikin said.

The main thing is to ask the question: Does my privacy policy meet our current digital and business practices? Typically, a simple review by an experienced lawyer can determine potential risk, and the burden of complying isn’t high, he said. All in, it might require two or three calls.

“Your website is just like your company’s new truck. You can’t just let it get old and never maintain it.”

Source

This content is sponsored by EagleBank.

It all started with a family-run filling station in Beltsville, Maryland.

Today, Miller Automotive Services is still family-run, but it comprises both a bustling fleet services and commercial fueling business as well as a growing industrial property management company in Prince George’s County.

From the start, when brothers Carl and Mark Miller realized that there was a need for full-service fleet services easily accessible from Interstate 95, it became clear that a local banking partner was a critical need.

They wanted to create something uncommon in the area and acquiring the right property would require a bank loan, said Carl Miller during �鶹����’s Small Business September 2025.

The purchase of an 7.7-acre property that could support a large fueling depot, repair shop and fleet storage “was our first foray into commercial banking,” he said. “That was over 20 years ago, and we’ve been working with EagleBank ever since.”

Building a relationship that adapts

views partnering with EagleBank as a smart business strategy because of the Washington, D.C., regional bank’s commitment to community vitality.

“With the larger banks,” Miller said. “You’re a name and a number. But is invested in the community. They’re financing restaurants and small businesses right here in our community.”

That proved fundamentally important as the Miller family has expanded into industrial property management in and around the Beltsville location of Miller Automotive Services.

“I never hear the word ‘no’ or, ‘I’ve got to think about it.’ It is straightforward because we have a track record,” he said. “They do their due diligence too, but you can’t go running down that road and commit funds without knowing that your bank or your lender is there to help you.”

For EagleBank’s part, it’s all part of its “Relationships FIRST” philosophy — being flexible, being involved, being responsive, being strong, said Scott Reading, the vice president, commercial and industrial banking relationship manager at who works closely with Miller.

“We love to be in the community, out doing things and being a part of it and giving back,” Reading said.

Agility matters when making deals happen

As Miller Automotive Services has continued to buy and provide industrial property to businesses in PG county, knowledge and speed have been key success factors in the diversification of the business.

Good properties rarely sit on the market for long, Miller said. “When something does come up, you have to move quickly,” he said. “I can make a phone call and say, ‘Here’s what we’re looking at,’ and get an immediate answer.”

EagleBank not only financed the original purchase of the site where Miller Automotive Services is located but also the entire buildout, which includes a fleet repair facility and a commercial fuel depot that features high-speed diesel pumps along with gas and diesel exhaust fluid.

Additionally, as an extension of the Millers’ business plan, via their CAMARK commercial real estate companies, EagleBank has continued to provide funding for various commercial property acquisitions that have further allowed the Millers to “repeat success” and in doing so build an impressive industrial real estate portfolio, Reading said

But it’s not just about each deal, both Miller and Reading said. The pair typically chat at length at least twice a month. That personal connection, in good times and when timelines get tight, cements a bond that outlasts any single transaction, Reading said.

“One of the most fun things about my job is getting behind the scenes at the business — getting in the warehouse, getting my hands dirty, seeing the actual space, learning about what makes you successful,” he said.

Trust creates loyalty in banking partnership

Miller’s intimate knowledge of the Beltsville’s real estate market is matched by EagleBank’s commitment to local entrepreneurs. Jessica Macias Vasquez, vice president, business banking relationship manager at , put it succinctly: “Our goal is to be a trusted partner, someone who understands your business, advocates for your needs and supports your long-term goals with the right banking tools and resources.”

The pairing has created long-term loyalty on both sides, Miller said.

“They stayed with us, and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve been so loyal over time. They believed in what our dream was. They believed in what we were going for, and then it happened, and it keeps happening over and over again.”

To learn more about how EagleBank partners with small business, . And to discover more insights for entrepreneurs, startups and SMBs shared during �鶹����’s Small Business September,��click here.

Member FDIC, EHL

Source

This content is sponsored by .

Being cool was never Jeff Black’s intent when he began buying from local farmers to supply produce, meat, eggs and more for the kitchen of his first restaurant in the Washington, D.C., area.

“I was buying local before it was cool or hip or fashionable,” Black told �鶹���� during our Small Business September 2025. “It was because the product is better. It was closer. It just made so much more sense.”

That local approach began in the mid-1990s and has since become an intentional strategy for how the addresses every aspect of its business.

“If you own a business, you’re in a community — part of the fabric. You need to hold yourself to a higher standard. We looked at local banks, local professionals, local subcontractors,” Black said. “I started seeing the value of keeping the money in the community.”

By working with local businesses and suppliers across the metropolitan D.C. region, the restaurant group is investing in the communities where its restaurants — Black’s Bar & Kitchen, Black Coffee, Black Jack, Black Market Bistro, BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and Tilt — are located.

More than just a bank

Choosing to partner with businesses across the D.C. region — whether for food and kitchen supplies, financial needs or other back-office services — is how Black began working with .

The bank opened its first branch in 1998 in Rockville, not far from Black’s first restaurant. Black said EagleBank’s own growth has matched his business’ expanding lending needs, making it a reliable long-term partner.

“In many ways, both organizations have grown up together,” said Kevin Gaughan, 1st vice president, commercial and industrial banking relationship manager at .

Working together, Black and Gaughan expanded the business holdings of the Black Restaurant Group. For several years, Black rented his restaurant locations. But over time, he has partnered with EagleBank to buy several of these properties and invest in new locations from the get-go.

“They’re always able to handle our lending needs,” Black said.

Partnership is a two-way street when it comes to learning

He attributes the close relationship that he has with Gaughan, other EagleBank leaders and managers at the Bethesda branch — just around the corner from Black’s Bar & Kitchen — to helping him successfully move into the commercial real estate arena.

That’s the goal: Help local businesses grow and thrive, said Jessica Macias Vasquez, vice president, business banking relationship manager at .

“We assist small to medium-sized businesses by providing them with specialized services like commercial real estate loans, deposit solutions, access to credit, cash flow mitigation, treasury management solutions, merchant solutions and more,” Vasquez said.

Black, though initially hesitant, said he embraced commercial real estate to secure long-term stability for his restaurant group. It helped that he could lean on his EagleBank team to understand the financial ramifications of his investment plans — particularly critical local aspects.

“I need partners who understand what’s going on in my market — not someone in another state who I see once a year,” Black said.

Regular conversations also often provide business intelligence. “Sometimes things will come up like, ‘Oh, by the way, did you know this is happening with this development?’ ” he said. “I get a lead that maybe I should go look at something.”

The partnership and the focus on community benefits Gaughan too — and other businesses that he works with across the DMV.

“Working with business owners like Jeff — really all of my small to medium-sized businesses — is fascinating work because you get to see how the economic and policy environment impacts these businesses in material ways,” Gaughan said. “It allows us to work with them as they adapt and pivot, while at the same time EagleBank is as proactive and collaborative as possible when tailoring financial services for the businesses in the communities we both serve.”

To learn more about how EagleBank partners with small business, . And to discover more insights for entrepreneurs, startups and SMBs shared during �鶹����’s Small Business September,��click here.

Member FDIC, EHL

Source

Kale. People tend to love it or hate it. Surprisingly, baked chips made from the curly greens are perhaps the most popular recipe with kids who take part in the Inova Healthy Plate Club.

That’s right, kids love kale chips. It’s by far the most beloved recipe among participants in the , said Kate Garsson, who launched the program in 2016 for Innova Health.

“When I run into students years later, it’s the one I hear they’re still making,” said Garsson, manager of program outreach and education for Inova’s Community Health Division.

The goal of the program is straightforward, she said. “Inova Healthy Plate Club is a program that teaches kids, specifically from under-resourced communities and Title I schools, how to learn to love vegetables, how to cook and basic nutrition skills.”

And the club does that by doing.

Getting up close and making meals with vegetables

The kids who participate either in person or through a virtual five-week program get to both cook and taste vegetables, everything from kale to brussels sprouts and more.

“We teach kids how exactly vegetables help their bodies — everything from your eyes, your brain, your memory, your heart, your bones, and there’s so many other ways too,” Garsson said. “And we make it fun.”

It doesn’t happen all in one, or even two, club meetings. “We all have been told growing up, and even as adults, ‘Eat more vegetables!’ But vegetables don’t always taste good if they’re not prepared the right way,” she pointed out. “And a lot of kids come into our program, and they say, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want to try vegetables.’ And we really try and turn that around.”

More than 2,000 kids — from kindergarten through high school — have taken part in the Healthy Plate Club since its inception at Francis C. Hammond Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia. The program partners with schools, community centers and apartment complexes to offer its cooking and nutrition classes.

“My goal is to bring this program to every single Title I school in our area,” Garsson said, adding that once the program finds a good match with a school or a community center, it will continue that relationship every year. It’s why the kids in the club usually do discover a love for vegetables — because they take part in the club year over year too, she said.

Delivering vegetables, a lot of vegetables

To teach hundreds of kids each year about vegetables, why to eat them and how to cook them, requires, well, a lot of vegetables.

“We give the kids the food that they need to cook with us — thanks to Truist Foundation,” she said.

and the Truist Foundation partner with the Inova Health program to provide food products as well as volunteers and even some fun little aprons to keep the kids tidy during club time.

“This ��support has made a huge difference in our program, allowing us to grow and expand and reach more children — everything from hiring staff to purchasing food,” Garsson said. “We all know food is very expensive right now, and we go through a lot of food when we’re cooking with large groups of children.”

Volunteers are also essential to the program. Truist employees have helped out in the club, directly working with the kids, rolling up their sleeves and chopping and preparing vegetables, she said.

“We really need people who are going to come week after week, so they not only get familiar with the students, but because it’s really important for our kids to see that there are caring adults who come every week just for them,” Garsson said.

Fostering a lifetime love of veggies

The club knows it’s succeeding, both from the stories its young participants share as well as stories shared by parents, who also often take part in the virtual club programs that Inova launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s continued that virtual program because the club can invite students from all over and reach a lot more students, Garsson said.

“We cook live on Zoom. We see kids in their kitchens at home with their parents, and even their siblings get involved. We’ve heard great feedback from parents. … In our post-class surveys last year, over 90% of parents said they’ve seen their kids eat more vegetables as a result of the program and make healthier choices.”

Source

When Lita Rosario-Richardson was a teenager, she attended the famed Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Boston — spending her afternoons studying music theory, taking piano lessons, designing costumes and practicing ballet, African and modern dance. In ways she couldn’t comprehend then, she was building a foundation for her future.

“I wasn’t particularly artistic. But I loved the arts,” said Rosario-Richardson, who now leads the entertainment practice at .

That love ultimately brought her back to entertainment after starting down a path toward journalism with a bachelor’s in communications from Howard University. She followed that up with a law degree from Howard’s School of Law, early work in securities and investment law in New York City, and then a job at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington.

But then, things took a turn. It just so happens that one of her Howard roommates was Crystal Waters. Yes, that��. “She called and told me she was offered a recording contract, and she needed a lawyer to help negotiate the contract for her.”

The album included the hit “Gypsy,” and it went platinum. The work on that contract for Waters kicked off , and she never looked back. She has since counseled and helped numerous singers and songwriters. Think SisQó, Missy Elliott, Mr. Cheeks, Das EFX, Big Pun and Peaches & Herb, to name just a few.

“Even the communications and journalism ended up being very helpful to me in entertainment law. It feels like everything ended up fitting together: my corporate law background and my knowledge of contracts — sophisticated contracts —because recording contracts, in particular music and film contracts, are actually very sophisticated contracts,” said Rosario-Richardson, whose specialty lies in entertainment contracts as well as helping artists with copyright issues and recapturing ownership of their work.

“These companies use major law firms to draft contracts that sometimes kids are signing, and they’re presented with these sophisticated contracts that can affect their entire careers.”

Hip hop celebrates the big 5-0

With her knowledge of entertainment law, involvement with numerous Black musical artists, work with the Recording Academy’s D.C. chapter and leadership of the Hip Hop Caucus’ Education Fund , Rosario-Richardson shared her thoughts with �鶹���� about what resonates for her as hip hop music marks its 50th anniversary.

Hip hop’s birthday, August 11, kicks off a year of events to celebrate the Black American music genre, widely attributed to DJ Kool Herc, who for Herc’s sister in New York City’s South Bronx. Hip hop mixes DJing, spoken word and rapping, break dancing and graffiti.

During her years working with Black musical artists, Rosario-Richardson has seen the hip hop genre inspire and drive change as a cultural phenomenon. It has even inspired her to help fight for and gain rights for artists, she said.

The genre is about more than music, having always had a focus on justice and change, Rosario-Richardson said. And though there will be much looking back over the course of the coming year as the world celebrates hip hop’s lasting impact, she’s looking ahead to what’s possible next.

What’s on the horizon for hip hop in the next 50 years?

“Hip hop is going to continue culturally, in the media and in the arts, to have an impact,” she said. “But what I’m hopeful for is that the creators of hip hop in the future have a better opportunity to own their work and to control the income from rights and to really be properly compensated for it.”

There’s long been a history of songwriters receiving more compensation than artists.

“Now, there’s the American Music Fairness Act pending. It would allow recording artists to be paid when their music is played on broadcast radio, which right now they’re not — only the songwriters are paid,” Rosario-Richardson said. “We’re hoping that can pass and provide significant income for the artists themselves, which is well deserved in the United States. It is one of the only major industrialized countries that does not pay that money to artists.”

She also is hopeful that the future will create opportunities for more women to enter the industry in roles other than as performers.

“You virtually see no women as producers. You see songwriting, but their songwriting credit is usually lyrics — not the musical composition. And it’s not that women don’t compose music. It’s just that for some reason, we’re not properly represented,” Rosario-Richardson said.

The ability for women to become more prominent across the entertainment industry will be more possible going forward because hip hop and digital technologies have continued to erode the power of the studio system, she pointed out.

“Studios are no longer relevant because you don’t need a studio to make commercial-quality music anymore,” she said. “You can do it all digitally.”

At first, hip hop artists took dual record players and, through “scratching,” turned them into instruments. They also used looping to digitally layer the same pieces of music over and over, while incorporating in other elements, to create the musical beds for songs. Over time, they have used other digital accessories — for instance, the talk box, which uses mouth sounds to affect an instrument’s output — to propel the hip hop sound forward alongside the growth of rap from spoken word.

None of that is going to stop, Rosario-Richardson said.

“Now, we have artificial intelligence, and we have no idea where AI is going to take us, particularly with hip hop. I know there are people out there experimenting now. We’ll see where it goes. A lot of the success of hip hop or the development of hip hop lives side by side with this digital revolution that we’ve gone through — because it wouldn’t have been possible without it.”

Source

The IRS has made it clear publicly that it will increase efforts to identify tax fraud and underpayments by individuals and businesses with annual income of more than $400,000. But what it didn’t say, and that it isn’t going to reduce, are audits of people and businesses making less than that.

“It’s not that the IRS is going to stop auditing people at or under $400,000,” pointed out Nancy Ortmeyer Kuhn, a lawyer and shareholder at . “It’s just that they’re not going to increase the audits. Since the audits for that category have been higher than other categories, many people and businesses are still going to be audited.”

In the wake of the passage of the debt ceiling legislation, Congress has authorized $60 billion for the IRS to spend on technology upgrades and to increase its auditing capabilities, which includesThe L expanding its audit staff.

New technology improvements notwithstanding, “the IRS is very good at matching informational returns from banks and employers — all sorts of sources — that provide taxable income to taxpayers. Their computers just spew out information request letters to taxpayers and then the taxpayer has to respond. After that, the case will be assigned to an agent,” Kuhn said. “But with improved technology, I think those computer-generated letters are only going to increase. And in some ways, the automatic letters are easier for the agency because so much of the initial work is ��done automatically.”

We asked Kuhn, who spent her early career working for the U.S. Tax Court and then the IRS, to offer advice on what people should do to ensure they don’t run afoul of the federal tax code and draw an audit unnecessarily. She shared five tips.

Tax Tip 1: Look at your previous returns

For starters, Kuhn suggested reviewing tax returns filed for the past two to three years because, legally, the IRS can only audit back three years. Given that the IRS has provided a heads-up that it intends to increase audits, taxpayers have time to amend those older returns, she said.

“See if the positions taken on those tax returns are reasonable. If there are any�� risky positions that were taken, the taxpayer might want to think about amending their return,” she said.

Often the penalty fee will be greatly reduced or nonexistent if a taxpayer amends a return before the IRS flags a return and sends out an audit letter, Kuhn said.

“It’s time for taxpayers to seriously look at their filing history and review the last three years. Taxpayers should be realistic about what is accurate and what is fair, and what an IRS agent might find if they look at the tax return.”

Given that it will take the agency a bit of time to ramp up its new capabilities, some taxpayers might be comfortable only reviewing the past two years, she added.

Tax Tip 2: Vet your records and documentation

Kuhn also encouraged people to make sure they can document any actions taken on those previous three years of returns and to be more careful going forward. Because the IRS intends to improve its technology prowess, it might be able to more deeply review returns and supporting documentation, or gain insights about what to seek from taxpayers during audits, she said.

In her experience, Kuhn has often seen people lose tax cases because they cannot provide the receipts or documentation to support their returns or claims.

“It’s another thing that people can do, regardless of income level,” she said. “Because if you don’t have the documentation, the IRS is not going to take your word for it. That’s just not how it works.”

Tax Tip 3: Be wary of over- or under-valuating assets

As part of its audit ramp-up, the IRS plans to hire more specially trained auditors.

“The IRS has said it’s going to bring in experts that will be able to provide valuations at a sophisticated level, that will be credible in court, and so taxpayers really need to pay attention to valuations claimed on their tax returns,” Kuhn said.

That puts the onus on people and businesses to provide credible valuations from trusted third-party appraisers, particularly for real estate and any type of non-cash donations, she said. “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true, and they need to get a reasonable valuation.”

Funds moved offshore are also an issue the IRS could target. “I’m sure that the IRS will hire agents that will be very well-educated in international issues because there’s a lot of money that could be collected from transfer pricing and funds that are being shipped offshore,” Kuhn said.

She also noted that this is another opportunity for taxpayers to amend returns if their review of earlier filings raises questions.

“This is a huge area of enforcement for the IRS,” she said. “I think they’re going to be looking at it pretty closely.”

Tax Tip 4: Expect more scrutiny of estate and gift taxes

There was a period of time when any estate tax return over a certain threshold received an automatic audit. “I suspect that will happen again,” Kuhn said.

She also said that it seems likely that IRS agents will delve more into gift taxes. “I’ve seen quite a few taxpayers that don’t file gift tax returns when they should,” Kuhn said. “There are ways that gifts can be structured, whether right or wrong, so that it eludes the IRS’ notice.”

Tax Tip 5: For businesses, keep employment taxes in good stead

For businesses big and small, it’s critical to properly manage employment taxes, she said. It’s an area where IRS already uses matching technology and may choose to invest in new technology, Kuhn said.

“The employer submits all these forms showing how much has been withheld from employees’ paychecks,” she said. “If the employees’ tax returns don’t match that, then it’s an automatic computer matching issue.”

The IRS is also vigilant in making sure that businesses pay the taxes to the agency that each business has withheld from its employees’ wages. “The employment tax collection division is very aggressive in going after those individuals that have not paid over the employment taxes — very aggressive. And I don’t think that’s going to change,” Kuhn said.

IRS will lean into technology

She also expects that the agency will be aggressive in its deployment of newer technologies that can help auditors do their jobs both more efficiently and more effectively.

“My experience with employees at the IRS is they’re very smart,” Kuhn said. “As long as they have money to get the equipment and to hire the people that can do this work, the IRS will take full advantage of artificial intelligence and other tools that will make their jobs easier and more effective.”

She advised people to get advice early should they face an audit, so that they can respond quickly and avoid excessive penalties and interest whenever possible. “It’s almost always better to settle cases if you are able to do so.”

Source

Before Vennard Wright launched his own company, he was well into a successful technology career that spanned both public and private sector organizations.

When Wave Welcome opened for business in 2020 — to offer a unique blend of business process reengineering, technology and digital career pipeline support — Wright felt confident that he had the business and technology acumen and experience he’d need from the get-go.

Almost three years in, with growing and expanding, Wright still feels that confidence but has also gained perspective on his own knowledge gaps.

“Most small business owners, and I’m certainly no exception, wear probably a dozen hats. We’re doing HR. We’re doing contracts, finance and administration. And I do have experience in a lot of those areas,” the Wave Welcome CEO said. “But legal is something I don’t have a lot of experience in, so I knew that that was a gap for me.”

Tapping into legal expertise

At the beginning of 2023, Wright filled that gap when he received a year of legal services from Shulman Rogers. He applied for the program at the end of last year after the law firm announced plans to provide free legal support to a local Black-owned business.

Wright had known about Shulman Rogers from acquaintances and also had heard a lot about its startup practice, NEXT.

“I was very intrigued by working with Shulman Rogers,” he said. “I saw this opportunity and was very excited about it — and just thrilled to be the company that was selected.”

Wright said that the partnership has already proved instrumental in helping him plot out what he called an aggressive growth strategy for the months ahead.

“My company has developed a product that we’re raising capital for right now. That is certainly an area where I don’t have any experience,” he said, adding that the relationship with Shulman Rogers “is paying dividends immediately because there were things they noticed I should be doing differently.”

He also expects that Wave Welcome will benefit from advice as it leases new offices in the coming year and in human resources as it grows its employee base.

“You should have certain things in place, like an employee handbook, policies and procedures, cyber risk insurance,” Wright said. “But if you don’t, if you’re not aware that those things exist or that you need them, you feel like you can skate by for longer than you should.”

Sharing what he learns

Wright also thinks that working with Shulman Rogers will provide him insights and perspective that he can share with other businesses and organizations that he interacts with as chairman of the Prince George’s County Tech Council.

Wave Welcome has its headquarters in the county, in Oxon Hill. Wright is on a mission to help make Prince George’s the wealthiest minority county in the country by 2030. “It’s a designation we had enjoyed for decades until Charles County overtook us as of the last Decennial Census,” he said.

He sees the challenges close up for Black-owned businesses like his own in the county. “Historically, black businesses start with less capital than other firms. That leads to trying to pursue outside funding. But as you go out to get outside capital, that creates additional complexities that we just simply don’t have the knowledge to address. So that’s one,” he said.

Another challenge? Access to large successful businesses that can serve as mentors and offer advice on scaling a company. “In Prince George’s County, there aren’t many companies that are above $100 million in revenue,” Wright said. “But you look at neighboring counties, there’s no shortage of companies that are above $100 million. If you’re a company who’s looking to get to $100 million, you don’t have access to people who can really talk you through that process.”

Helping expand the types of businesses that make their home in the county is one of the reasons his company has made building a digital career pipeline a business line in addition to technology services.

“We want to make sure there’s more diversity in the career pipeline. In my earlier jobs, I saw that there wasn’t a lot of diversity at the top levels. I wanted to make sure I addressed that by working very closely with colleges and universities and other groups to really cultivate greater diversity in that pipeline,” Wright said. He added that diversity does not just focus on race but also gender, age, neurodiversity and many other things.

Source

Mauloa. In Hawaiian, it means endless. It might seem like an unusual name for a private investment firm. But for Andrew Sachs that name is Goldilocks.

“We look at businesses with endless perspective because we’re not like most investment funds,” said Sachs, founder and CEO of . “For most funds, the whole goal is to make investments, sell the business and raise another fund — then repeat. That is not our goal. Our goal is to help build great companies, and there are no timelines.”

That approach, while unique, works and has proved successful, he said. The firm, which began as Sachs Capital in 2007, has helped 20-plus founder-led, family-owned businesses grow and flourish.

A fundamental ingredient in that success has been a 20-year partnership with lawyer Scott Museles, co-chairman of business and financial services at . �鶹���� talked with Sachs and Museles to learn how their pairing helped with the evolution of the investment firm.

Business acumen plus legal knowledge

“The lengthy relationship that we’ve had reflects the similar thinking that we have and also my experience as deputy general counsel of a Nasdaq-traded company and as a lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission,” Museles said. “I know the things that Andrew focuses on, and the things that are his pet peeves too. It allows me to be a better advisor.”

From Sachs’ perspective it’s a little more than that. It’s the mix of legal, financial and compliance expertise paired with business knowledge that has been most beneficial, Sachs said.

“Anyone can check a box. Anyone can write a document. And that’s not really what business is about. It’s understanding what’s a $10 problem versus what’s a million-dollar problem — what is never going to happen and what might happen,” Sachs said, adding that he views Museles less as a lawyer and more as his consigliere — a close advisor who can help him reach conclusions.

“The private investing where Scott spends a lot of time is very, very complicated and difficult. There are a lot a lot of variables that need to all come together,” he said. “Scott’s flexibility of thinking, creativity and understanding how I think is a huge asset.”

Embracing conscious capitalism

The two share a common perspective that a business, any business, is not solely about making money. “While making money is important. It’s just part of the outcome,” Sachs said. “Great companies improve people’s lives and create opportunities for people and their families.”

That’s also something that he views as fundamental to long-term business success, which drives the investment choices that Mauloa makes. The firm doesn’t aim to create the fastest or potentially highest returns, he said. Instead, it looks at all the stakeholders in a business and ways to improve outcomes across the board.

Mauloa embraces the concept of conscious capitalism, Sachs said. That requires evaluating all aspects of a business in making investments and mentoring the leadership teams, not just the total potential profit margin for Mauloa and the investors it brings to a business, he said. (Discover more about conscious capitalism in this story about Shulman Rogers and the restaurant group that runs Founding Farmers.)

“Andrew wants the founders of the businesses he invests in to be successful and happy and their employees to have a good experience,” Museles said. “He really structures his investments to be completely aligned with his founders.” The desire to help the existing business teams thrive earned Mauloa a spot on Inc.’s list of Founder-Friendly Investors in 2022.

“We see ourselves as supporting the backbone of America, small business, and keeping the leaders who have built those businesses in their positions,” Sachs said. “We come in and acquire the percentage driven by the numbers, and then we really become a partner in the business with the founders, with the management team — and for a length of time that is unknown.”

Source

Shulman Rogers hit the 50-year mark in 2022, but that’s less interesting to Managing Partner Sam Spiritos than ensuring the law firm keeps thinking like a startup.

“We continuously look at our practice and ask, ‘If we were starting our firm today, how would we do it?’ ” Spiritos said. “How do we become better? How do we incorporate technology into our offerings so that we can deliver more efficient legal services at a better value to our clients? What kind of culture do we want to have? How do we attract and retain top talent?”

That approach, always trying to stay fresh and innovative, is also one of the reasons he believes the law firm — serving clients nationwide from offices across the Washington metropolitan region — has been able to successfully expand its practice at a time when many firms and businesses held steady or even shrank.

In 2022, added 16 new lawyers to its ranks, a growth rate of 20%. Today, the firm has 90-plus lawyers and a support staff of more than 50. It also expanded its offices in Northern Virginia. The firm, which first opened its doors in Potomac, Maryland, in 1972, today has locations to serve its clients in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Law firm with a people-first culture

“We think about our growth goals as much as we think about wanting our clients and our people to be happy and successful,” said Matt Alegi, co-chair of the firm’s Mergers and Laterals Committee. “Yes, we have strategic plans, growth plans and a business plan that we continually evolve. But those plans all revolve around our cultural values.”

As Shulman Rogers has added new lawyers and new practice areas, it also has attracted top-tier attorneys, many from , Spiritos said.

“They gravitate toward us because it allows them to practice at the highest levels but also be in an office that’s closer to their homes or reduces their commutes and to be part of an organization where people actually like to come to work,” he said.

But the firm also looks beyond collegiate and law firm pedigrees when it brings on lawyers, Spiritos said. Wanting to both do great work and achieve a work-life balance — and become “part of the fabric of the firm” — matters too.

“We pride ourselves on being a best-in-class, sophisticated law firm, but it’s important for us to continue to attract people that can help us maintain that culture,” he said.

Creating full-service legal presence in Northern Virginia

Shulman Rogers has a similar perspective when it comes to its clients, he said.

“We really like to partner with our clients, not just execute legal documents and transactions,” Spiritos said. “We try to be thoughtful about what we can do for them, what relationships we can introduce them to, and what opportunities are out there that we can share with them. How can we help them be successful?”

It was the combination of wanting to have close relationships with clients and provide a location nearer where some of its lawyers and staff lived that led the firm to expand its footprint in Northern Virginia in 2022.

“By being day to day, onsite in Virginia, we can be more entwined in the community,” Spiritos said. “We can develop relationships that allow us to better help our clients and allow us to be in a position to grow our services for them too.”

Although the firm had a small office in Tysons Corner, during the past year, Shulman Rogers relocated and opened a new, larger, fully staffed office in the area. It also added a smaller full-time location in Alexandria.

For more legal tips and advice, visit The Legal Lowdown on �鶹����, presented by .

Source

Lori Swim has led marketing for Shulman Rogers for 25-plus years. It’s a job she clearly enjoys. But she will readily tell you that she loves helping lawyers and staff across the law firm take part in charity and volunteer programs in the communities where they work and live.

“A lot of our attorneys and staff are involved in community outreach,” Swim shared. “That’s always been, secretly, my favorite part of my job — being able to do that in addition to marketing our legal services.”

Although now has a staff of more than 150; services clients nationwide; provides dozens of practice areas supported by nearly 100 lawyers, many with big firm pedigrees; and has offices and facilities in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia, it continues to focus on differentiating itself from the big “K Street” practices by being part of communities across the metropolitan Washington region.

A strong piece of that is in Shulman Rogers’ DNA, Swim said.

“It’s always been a part of the fabric of the firm. Founders Larry Shulman and Don Rogers were very involved in community,” she said. “Larry established the automotive trades foundation and construction trades foundation in Montgomery County. Don founded the EagleBank Foundation and served as its leader for many years.”

Today, the Community Outreach Committee helps manage programs that support dozens of charitable organizations, nonprofits and foundations across the DMV, like the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.

Partnering to rid homelessness in Montgomery County

The law firm’s involvement with MCCH goes back almost two decades. “One of the reasons that we love working with MCCH so much is because they already have programs in place that work very effectively to help members of the community,” Swim said.

Over the past 10 years, lawyer Michael Lichtenstein served on the MCCH Board, the last three years serving as board chairman. The firm has partnered with MCCH on a variety of initiatives, from helping gather household goods for move-in kits and collecting food for Thanksgiving dinners to regularly serving meals at the coalition’s men’s shelter, which can house 200 men.

“We have some fabulous partners, like Shulman Rogers, that know that we can’t do it by ourselves. We really are doing this together,” said Lynn Davey Rose, interim director for development and community partnerships. “They have a role we have a role, and because we’re working together, 306 people in 2022 exited shelter and went into a stable and permanent home.”

Organizations like Shulman Rogers have and continue to be essential to MCCH tackling its mission, Rose said.

“The communities’ piece of ending homelessness is pretty significant,” Rose said, adding that businesses and organizations provide 20% to 25% of the financial support for the 32-year-old MCCH’s operations.

“If we didn’t have partners like Shulman Rogers, we literally couldn’t end homelessness the way we know it should be done to be successful,” she said.

Today, Montgomery County has about 577 people experiencing homelessness, according to MCCH data. “That is not a lot of people for 1.2 million to try and care about,” Rose said.

The coalition has been a part of a five-year, 34% decrease in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the county, she said. “But here’s what the challenge is: It’s not getting actually any easier to stay in your house. It’s getting harder every year to stay in your house.”

The lack of affordable housing increasingly makes ending homelessness a challenge locally. Plus, it’s a bit of an invisible problem, Rose explained. “Because people are bulking up. If we literally looked at the number of people that are housing insecure, that would be a huge number.”

For instance, a room that rented for $500 five years ago, today rents for more than twice that typically, at $1,100, she said. “We’re not necessarily having success at helping the larger community have reasonable housing expenses.”

Providing opportunities for community involvement for all

For Shulman Rogers, continually looking at how the law firm can help across the region is the focus of its Community Outreach Committee, which has 18 members. It’s why the committee continually works to support long-time partners like MCCH but to also look for new opportunities too.

“Our goal for any year is to really serve as many different communities as we can,” Swim said. “And we try to provide an avenue for everyone who wants to help to help.”

Source

There’s no getting around it: The last couple of years have been challenging for human resources teams in the social impact sector — particularly recruiting and retaining talent.

Since 2020, nonprofits have seen “decreases in revenue, decreases in funding, decreases in opportunities to host fundraisers, which for many organizations is a revenue lifeline,” said Lisa Brown Alexander, president and CEO of , a consulting firm supporting the talent management needs of social impact organizations. “We saw some contraction in where nonprofit organizations are financially. We also saw, on the reverse side of that, organizations seeing more demand for services, which led them to need to hire more people.”

The impact of those realities is clear from of leaders in social impact organizations, Alexander said.

HR leaders identified talent acquisition, performance management and talent-focused technology as their top three priorities this coming year. “That’s different than what we heard in 2022,” she said. “What we heard in 2022 was a focus on culture, learning and development, and performance management.”

The priority shift to a focus on finding and keeping employees makes sense, adds Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the , an advocacy organization focused on racial and economic justice for Black and immigrant workers.

~70%

Percentage of their annual budget that nonprofits devote, on average, to labor. Therefore, “that labor expense really needs to be shored up and sustainable,” notes Nonprofit HR CEO Lisa Brown Alexander.

SOURCE: Nonprofit HR

“In the last year or so, it tightened a lot because of the great resignation or great realignment — or whatever you want to call it — in the labor market, where people are leaving jobs and going to other jobs,” Dixon said. “In our sector, that means there’s competition for the best talent and also how you want to retain your talent as well.”

We asked Alexander and Dixon to offer pointers on what nonprofit leaders and HR teams can do in the months ahead to help with talent management despite the challenges. Here are five tactics they suggested.

Talent 1: Focus on strategies to keep great talent

While recruiting and hiring new talent are often top of mind for HR teams, both Alexander and Dixon recommended giving retention equal time in 2023.

Nonprofits must retain the talent that they have, Alexander said. “Experienced talent is hard to come by, so employee retention is critical.”

Plus, Dixon noted, it can have a downstream effect in an organization and lead to turnover. “If your organization is not doing the things that are important, like fostering leadership and development; making sure you have a positive, inclusive culture; you’re not paying attention to your lifecycle for recruiting, hiring, onboarding — all of those things, what does equity look like and all of those things — then we know that it’s usually the most marginalized workers that suffer,” she said.

Tactic 2: Keep pace with your competitors

A crucial element to both retention and recruiting is understanding your particular social impact niche’s pay and benefits landscape, Alexander said.

It’s incumbent on the HR staff to check in with how the organization pays people and to ensure pay is competitive. “Because the nonprofit next door is paying attention and can lure your talent away with a richer, more generous benefit offering,” she said.

Alexander also advises nonprofit leaders to make their “employer brand” a priority. “Think about your employer brand and how you show up as an employer,” she said. “Monitor your reputation online. That can make or break whether or not someone will decide to join you. Continue to invest in the culture.”

Yes, mission matters and attracts employees to social impact organizations, but a toxic work environment makes it hard to land and keep the best talent, she said.

Tactic 3: Invest in technology, particularly tech that supports your staff

Even NELP, which had moved to a hybrid environment well before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, found itself having to make adjustments for communications and collaboration, Dixon said. That said, it did have the technology in place for most of its staff to work remotely.

But that is not common across the social impact sector as a whole, Alexander said. “Our experience is that the majority of organizations were not as prepared as NELP was, with both technology and the cultural shift from in person brick-and-mortar to a remote environment — and then just getting managers accustomed to working with people and managing performance from a distance,” she said.

While NELP has tried to listen and respond to people’s flexibility needs, Dixon said, “there has been something lost from us being completely remote and not being able to have those informal conversations in the elevator or at the at the coffee maker.”

Nonprofits need to both invest in technology to make remote work and collaboration seamless but also focus on how staffs can build trust when people physically are together less, she said. “It’s really that balancing act that we’re trying to find and put our finger on what’s the right balance.”

As nonprofits continue to focus on their hybrid technology environments, they’re also investing in digitizing HR systems and processes, Alexander said. “Fifty-five percent of organizations that responded to this year’s survey are making it a priority to implement a human resources information system, that’s essentially taking the paper files that they have and making them available remotely,” she said.

Tactic 4: Be competitive in pay and benefits

Today’s benefits packages reflect what’s happening in the broad work world, Alexander said. The expectation of employees when it comes to benefits continues to evolve and change, sped up by recent world events.

“We know that organizations have really had to dial into things like wellness, flexibility, deeper investments in technology and what they provide people to be able to work effectively from home,” she said. “Those are all considerations that employers and leaders need to be thinking about.”

Dixon agreed and suggested also focusing on employees’ career paths to make sure that people have meaningful opportunities. That approach, along with providing development programs and reflective supervision, has lessened turnover at NELP and “helped insulate us in this tight labor market,” she said.

Tactic 5: Integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into your organization’s talent management

As with benefits, employees’ expectations on diversity, equity and inclusion continue to evolve within social impact organizations too, Alexander said.

In the “2023 Nonprofit Talent Management Priorities Survey,” attracting and hiring diverse talent — across all demographics, including but not limited to race, age, gender, identity or differing abilities — was the main talent acquisition priority. Two-thirds, or 66%, of HR leaders ranked it on their Top 3 list.

That said, organizations are at different points on their DEI journeys, Alexander noted.

Dixon added that because of that, “it’s very critical to be clear with folks about what you are trying to provide. If you are focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, what does that mean concretely? Let folks know what that means, and just be honest with candidates about your status and where you are in your journey.”

Source

Even before she started law school, Kimberly Skiba-Rokosky knew that she wanted to work with families and to tangibly make a difference in people’s lives.

But the path to the law she practices now at — a mix of divorces, family law, estate and trust litigation, and conservatorships and guardianships, particularly for disabled young adults and the elderly — evolved over time.

It’s a good balance between chaos and calm, Skiba-Rokosky says. And though “it sounds so cliché, it’s nice to be able to help people.”

Sometimes her work involves challenging moments in the conference room and courtroom, as contested divorces or guardianships can become heated and litigious. It requires being tough, sometimes aggressive, but kind, she said.

�鶹���� asked Skiba-Rokosky to talk about the legal needs of families with both young adults and elderly family members with disabilities and how to avoid pitfalls when ensuring continued care for them.

Q1: Can you talk about the special legal needs that a family should consider if they have a child or elderly adult with a disability?

Skiba-Rokosky: The most common issues that I encounter involve challenges for young adults who are in that 18- to 20-year age range. Parents become so accustomed to being the decision-maker for a minor child, especially a special needs child, that when a child turns 18, the parents are not thinking about the fact that the child is, in the eyes of the law, a legal adult.

What ends up happening is that, all of a sudden, providers — such as doctors and residential treatment facilities — stop communicating with the parent, who without further action, is no longer the person legally able to make decisions. Often, that’s where I come in.

It is amazing, though, because I have encountered some parents who have been able to navigate for several years after a child turns 18 — without a guardianship, conservatorship or power of attorney — just on providers turning a blind eye and not really questioning.

But when the lack of legal authority to make decisions becomes an issue, it usually becomes an immediate issue, because the parents are trying to do something critical, and they don’t have legal authority to act. I see this often when parents need to transition a disabled young adult from living at home to living in a group home or somewhere else.

Parents of disabled children are oftentimes so worried about, and rightfully so, providing care and getting the services in place while the children are minors that the parents don’t think about what happens when the children turn 18 from a legal perspective. The parents also may not think about, or act on, what happens down the road when one or both of them can’t care for the disabled adult.

I also see a similar problem with disabled and elderly adults. People do not really think through what will happen if and when they cannot make their own health care and financial decisions. And so they’re not establishing powers of attorney before they become incapacitated. Then, there’s nobody who can legally make a decision for the adult without another family member or friend going to the court to have a guardian and conservator put in place.

Every adult should have a financial power of attorney, an advanced directive or healthcare power of attorney, and a will, because a number of problems will be prevented by having these documents in place.

Q2: What’s the most critical advice you would give people?

Skiba-Rokosky: The main thing is, to the best that folks can, think ahead. And I know that’s so difficult. I have two young, healthy children, and I know firsthand that just getting through the daily routines with young kids while meeting our other basic obligations doesn’t leave a lot of time for much else.

But to the extent that you can, think ahead and talk to others about what services are available. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that a lot of the school systems in the D.C. metro area have special education teams that are willing to talk to parents about the different options that are available. Many local counties have good resources. The parents just have to know to look for them and then take the precious time to do so.

The same is true for disabled older adults — plan ahead. When issues arise, there often needs to be a quick response, but parents or other family members cannot act because the now-incapacitated adult has not thought about such circumstances in advance.

Q3: Are there different factors to consider for young adults versus the elderly?

Skiba-Rokosky: I’ll start with the elderly. The trend that I’m seeing is that folks are needing long-term care a lot longer, especially with dementia. Someone could end up suffering from dementia, and otherwise be healthy, and live a very long life but not be able to care for him or herself.

For all of us, before we age, that means really looking at our financial means and what we have in place legally, not just waiting until we fall ill or become incapacitated. Legal adults need to be thinking, “If I need long-term care, how am I going to be able to afford this?” Because the reality is long-term care is very expensive. Providing care for an adult, especially if he has dementia and needs 24-hour care in a secure facility or at home, is incredibly expensive in the D.C. metro area. So, thinking about those things for all of us in advance is really important.

In terms of the younger crowd, especially in the 18 to 24 age range, the thing that I say to my clients, often parents or other family members of the young adult, is to look at what’s available in terms of types of services. I’ve had so many families be very lucky to be in counties with good services — if the families are aggressive about finding the services and putting provisions in place to be able to make the best decisions for their loved ones.

I see so many families that just do not think ahead. Let’s be honest: Nobody can anticipate every single thing that will happen, but recognizing that a child’s status is going to change legally at 18 is really important.

Q4: Once you have your plans established, should you regularly review them for possible updates or changes?

Skiba-Rokosky:

First, here’s a bit of terminology for context. In Virginia, you’ll hear the words “guardianship” and “conservatorship” used. The guardian is the person who makes the incapacitated adult’s health care decisions, the residential decisions and so on pertaining to the person’s “person.” The conservator is the individual who makes the financial decisions and manages the finances for the incapacitated adult. A lot of the time, that person is one in the same.

In Maryland, we use slightly different terminology. In Maryland, the court can appoint a “guardian of the person” and a “guardian of the property.” Maryland does not use the term “conservatorship.” ��The conservator in Virginia is the equivalent of a guardian of the property in Maryland, and a guardian in Virginia is a guardian of the person in Maryland.

For the adult who has put an estate plan, including a financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney, in place to avoid the need for a guardianship or conservatorship, that adult should at least review the documents every few years while he or she remains capacitated to make sure that there are no changes that need to be made. Perhaps a named agent is no longer the right option or the adult’s views on long-term care arrangements have changed. It is important to remember that, once a person loses capacity, he or she cannot update estate planning documents.

If the plans are put in place by a court, there will likely be upkeep required by the fiduciary, the guardian or conservator who has been appointed, for example. For instance, in Virginia, conservators, depending upon the value of the money over which they are responsible, have annual reporting requirements to a commissioner of accounts.

There will also be what I call “practical upkeep.”�� The fiduciary will want to regularly evaluate expenses and income to ensure that the incapacitated adult’s resources are being used most efficiently.

With benefits such as Social Security income and Social Security disability income, there may not be annual maintenance required once eligibility is determined. The recipient will receive cost of living adjustments each year automatically, but the family will be obligated to check in with the Social Security Administration periodically.

It is advisable to look at residential arrangements, both for young adults and for the elderly, on at least an annual basis. “Is my loved one receiving the right care, the highest level of care that makes sense given the circumstances?”

Really, though, the critical piece is getting the plans in place. Then, the maintenance is mostly practical. Again, once somebody is declared incapacitated, he or she will not have the ability, from a legal perspective, to update estate planning documents or to make decisions. Once incapacity occurs, the agent under the power of attorney, or the guardian and conservator, if the court has to get involved, will make all decisions.

Q5: And what happens if a change is needed in the person who is serving?

Skiba-Rokosky: That’s something that is particularly important when you have disabled young adults. I always tell parents when I’m helping them obtain guardianship over their younger adults that they need to think about what happens when they, as the parent and now the guardian, can’t serve anymore, because it will likely happen at some point, as much as the parents would prefer not to think about it.

I remember one case that began in 2017, in which I assisted a family to establish a guardianship and conservatorship for their younger disabled adult. While we were going through the process, I said early on to the older parents, “Let’s think about what happens after you can’t serve.” They responded: “Oh, that’s not going to happen for a while. We don’t need to put those provisions in place.”

Only a couple of years after the guardianship/conservatorship was established, both parents’ health began to fail. The family has now spent a considerable amount of money and it has taken a number of years to straighten out the mess. Planning ahead could have avoided all of this.

In my opinion, the worst possible thing that could happen for a disabled adult, particularly a disabled young adult, is for there to be a disruption if the adult loses a parent who has been contributing to, or managing, their care the whole time. As a parent myself, I would feel so much less anxiety knowing that, if I am not going to be able to make the decisions, I have made provisions for somebody else to do so.

Source