E26: How Employers Can Provide Psychological Safety And Support for Working Parents with Lacey Kempinski, CFRE & Founder of Balanced Good

Lead with Heart | Philanthropy, Nonprofit Leadership, Nonprofit Management & Fundraising

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart Podcast. Today, I have Lacey Kempinski as my guest. She's a CFRE and the founder and owner of Balanced Good, a company that focuses on changing the way our sector supports parental leave and working parents.
We talk about what parental leave really looks like and how employers can develop some more responsibility around it. This conversation will be helpful to you, whether you are an employer or a parent. And I am so excited to dive in, especially now as I have a newborn and three kids under four.
In this episode:

• [05:30] What parental leave looks like
• [08:38] How employers can provide psychological safety and support for working parents
• [14:10] What employers can do to anticipate the gap that occurs from parental leave
• [18:28] Empowering organizations to be a part of fundraising efforts
• [21:41]What Balanced Good does to help execute work that needs to be done while parents are on leave
• [24:30]The ROI of working parents

NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“The challenge with [long parental leave] is stepping away from a role for 12 to 18 months leaves a huge gap for your organization. It also really disconnects you as a career-focused person from your career for that period of time.”
“Employers need to be ready at all times, even if you don't have an expecting parent on your team right now, to say, ‘Here's our parental leave policy. Here's how we support you beyond just the time you're taking away for your parental leave.’”
“People show up when they are given the flexibility to do so.”
“So often, I think we do such wonderful things in our sector for all of the clients and program users that we serve. But sometimes we fail to recognize that our staff also needs support. ”
CONNECT WITH LACEY
Lacey is a graduate of McMaster University in the Georgian Colleges Fundraising and Resource Development Program. She is a mission-driven fundraiser with nearly 15 years of experience, filled by a passion t

In 2012, I started a nonprofit in a small village in Malawi, living alone without water or electricity. Facing many challenges, I built a successful organization. This book is a tale of resilience, passion, and community strength. Discover the highs, lows, lessons learned, and unforgettable moments that shaped my journey. Whether you're in the nonprofit world, thinking of starting one, or just love a great story, pre-order HERE<

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CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Certified Stress Management Coach, and Certified EmC train the trainer. She is the Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, a nonprofit consulting and coaching business. She has worked in both small and large nonprofit teams in the human services, homelessness, and youth sectors; and she specializes in the EmC process, nonprofit leadership, board development, and fundraising. Haley is a passionate, impact-driven, experienced nonprofit professional whose mission is to empower, elevate and engage nonprofit leaders to build healthy, thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com