S9:E5 Five Lessons on Nonprofit Job Quality from Worker-Led Research (Video)

Описание: Download the Episode Transcript in .pdf format (https://drive.google.com/file/d/140BM...)

In this episode of the Fund the People Podcast, you'll gain practical insights into how centering workers' perspectives -- and sharing power between employees and management -- can dramatically improve job quality in nonprofit organizations.

Host Rusty Stahl sits down with Brianna Rogers and Rob Hope of Rework The Bay to unpack a bold funding experiment supported by the James Irvine Foundation and conducted in partnership with Jobs for the Future. Eight California nonprofits engaged frontline staff as participatory researchers to examine their own working conditions and to co-create improvements with their organizations’ top executives.

The results challenge assumptions. While compensation is foundational, workers most emphasized voice, transparency, shared leadership, professional growth, and healthier work boundaries as essential components of a quality job. The project surfaced five key lessons:

• workers can surface what truly matters;
• leaders grow when they listen;
• power must be intentionally shared;
• strategies must be tailored to organizational context; and
• job quality is an ongoing process—not a one-time fix.

Through concrete examples—from four-day workweeks to anonymous feedback systems and participatory decision-making—this conversation offers nonprofit leaders and funders actionable ideas to advance shared leadership, transform funding practices, and elevate collective voice.

Part of our ongoing California Voices Series (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6gF...) , this episode is a roadmap for anyone committed to building nonprofit workplaces where staff can thrive—and where stronger internal culture leads to stronger community impact.

Speaker Bios:

ReWork the Bay Initiative Officer Brianna Rogers partners on ReWork’s fundraising efforts and leads our systems change projects focused on building worker power, workforce training and advancing job quality. Brianna grew up in Berkeley, attended Berkeley City College where she served as one of two student delegates to the Peralta Community College District, then transferred to UC Berkeley as a first-generation, re-entry student parent, earning her bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric Studies. While at UCB, Brianna developed innovative programming for the UC Berkeley’s African Student Development Center and the Department of Equity and Inclusion. She went on to receive her master’s degree from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, got her start in philanthropy as a National Urban Fellow at the Andrus Family Fund in New York City. In October 2020, she joined the San Francisco Foundation’s Partnership for HOPE SF team, where she worked until joining the ReWork team in 2022.

ReWork the Bay Director Rob Hope is responsible for leading execution of ReWork the Bay’s strategy, as well as fundraising, grantmaking, budget management and partnership building. Rob joined ReWork the Bay in October 2017, after serving as Chief Program Officer at Rubicon Programs. Prior professional experience includes all levels of workforce development direct services, program evaluation and policy analysis, and community building work. Rob has a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Vassar College and a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley.

For more on Brianna and Rob, visit the staff page of ReWork the Bay (https://reworkthebay.org/about/rtb-st...)

Links to Resources Discussed:

Featured Initiative:
• Rework The Bay (https://reworkthebay.org)
• Job Quality Project Report (June 2025) (https://www.jff.org/idea/from-the-fro...)

Project Partners:
• Jobs for the Future (https://www.jff.org)
• The PATH Group (https://www.pathgroup.co/)

Funding Partner
• James Irvine Foundation (https://www.irvine.org)

Host Organization:
• San Francisco Foundation (https://sff.org)

Participating Nonprofits Highlighted in the Episode:
• Canal Alliance (https://www.canalalliance.org/)
• Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs (CROP) (https://www.croporganization.org/)

Related Fund the People Resources:
• Playlist for FTP Podcast’s CA Voices Series (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6gF...)
• Report on FTP’s 2024-25 California Convenings (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kUmJ...)
• FTP Podcast Premium on Patreon (  / fundthepeople  )
• Fund the People - A Podcast with Rusty Stahl (https://www.podpage.com/fund-the-peop...)
• Fund the People Website (https://fundthepeople.org)