Creating opportunity through self-service
On January 1st, I assumed the role of YNPN-NYC Board Chair. It has been a great first month, taking a 35,000-foot view of the chapter and its operations.
One of the value-adds of YNPN-NYC in the past has been a job board. Previously, anyone could post, just so long as they were a member. This was a great funnel to grow membership, engender community, and create a cycle of brand awareness and retention among employer and employee.
At the start of the year, our Board roster was a little light. Part of the “steep” learning curves of assuming my role, has been to figure out band-aids to carry the organization until we’re whole again.
As I set out to reimagine some of our tech infrastructure, including how we billed membership dues, the job board was a priority to sort out. At the very least, YNPN-NYC must continue to support the nonprofit community which we aim to serve in this capacity.
Through a bit of googling, and some luck, I stumbled upon JobBoard.io. It’s a turnkey solution that allows employers post jobs, candidates to find employers, and board operators to collect a fee for the service. For YNPN-NYC, this is found money around-the-clock.
What really sold me on the platform beyond the customer service from its CEO was that it’s inherently self-service was and we could brand it. Now, jobs.ynpn.nyc is the place to start your nonprofit career in New York City.
Sure, there are other big names out there. How cool would it be, though, to start a job interview talking about your mutual connection through YNPN-NYC and doing good in NYC.
Since the implementation of the new job board, we’ve had 36 jobs posted. Postings begin at $25 for a 30-day listing. Employers have the option of featuring the post for an additional $25. To celebrate, the launch of the board, I utilized the embedded couponing functionality. Until the end of the month, you can save 25% by using coupon code “launch” at checkout.
I’ve enjoyed watching the jobs come through during the work day. I have an integration through Zapier that posts to my Slack channel in real-time. There’s another automation that tweets new job postings to @ynpnnyc.
Thus far, postings have translated into $820 in found revenue for the organization that will be reinvested into expanding our reach and programming for members.
I’ve learned from this experience that sometimes the best way to capitalize on opportunity is to put it in the hands of the person on the other end of the transaction.
