By Akilah Massey, Exponent Philanthropy
Exponent Philanthropy’s main office is in Washington, DC, but Membership Manager Linda Zimmerman works from her home in Vermont and has for more than a decade. A handful of other staff members also work remotely.
We know that many funders are working this way too.
- Family members have moved away, and the board is working in several cities.
- A small foundation’s sole staff person works from her home office.
- A philanthropic couple is busy with grantmaking to nonprofit leaders across the world.
- An employee comes into the office three days a week but spends the other two working from home.
After all, telecommuting has grown almost 80% since 2005. Better networking technology, social networking services, videoconferencing solutions, and cloud computing mean it’s easier than ever before to work remotely. I think it’s safe to say that working remotely is a new normal.
With that, we’ll all have to figure out ways to make it work for us. I don’t have the answers, but I do have ideas that remote workers or telecommuters – and those who work with them – can consider.
