Making it easier to make a difference.
There’s a moment in every nonprofit’s growth where the work becomes bigger than the team that’s doing it.
Maybe your programs are expanding. Maybe your fundraising is gaining momentum. Maybe your community need has increased - and your organization is stepping up to meet it. Whatever the reason, the turning point often looks the same: you’re ready to hire.
And when you find the right person - the candidate who gets it - it’s exciting. It’s hopeful. It feels like progress.
But it can also feel like a sprint.
Because once you say “yes” to the right hire, the clock starts ticking. You want to move quickly. You want to make a strong first impression. And you want to get them into the work as soon as possible, without missing the details that protect your organization and set your new team member up for success.
That’s where Bearing Tree comes in.
The Part of Hiring That’s Easy to Underestimate
Most nonprofits know hiring takes time. Posting the job, interviewing, selecting the right person - that’s the visible part of the process.
But what often surprises leaders is how much weight sits in the handoff between selection and start date.
This is the stage where:
It’s also the stage where a candidate’s excitement can turn into uncertainty if the process feels disorganized.
The truth is: a great onboarding experience starts before the employee ever walks in the door.
Our Role: You Recruit. We Help Bring Them Onboard.
You know your mission, your culture, and what kind of person will thrive on your team, so you focus on choosing the right person for your mission - and we help you bring them onto the team smoothly, professionally, and on time.
But once you’re ready to make an offer, we step in as your HR partner to make sure everything that follows is consistent, compliant, and easy.
This includes:
Offer letters that are accurate and compliant
We provide the offer letter template for your organization - and it’s not just a “fill in the blanks” document.
It includes your organization-specific benefits information and required compliance language. For example, Bearing Tree monitors federal and state salary thresholds and helps ensure offers are structured correctly. Hiring across state lines (or even within one state) can introduce complexity that many nonprofits don’t see coming. When needed, we flag situations where a role may require time tracking and overtime pay based on compensation level and location.
Once you complete the key details (title, compensation, start date, reply deadline), we review the letter and approve it - or suggest edits - before it goes to the candidate.
Start dates that set everyone up for success
A new hire’s first day might feel like a small detail, but it’s one of the biggest drivers of a smooth onboarding experience.
Bearing Tree start dates are typically aligned to the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month (with minor holiday adjustments).
And because onboarding and payroll setup involve multiple steps behind the scenes, we require that the offer be accepted at least 10 business days before the employee’s start date.
When organizations loop us in early, this timeline becomes easy to manage - and it prevents last-minute stress for everyone involved.
After the Offer: We Take the HR Onboarding Lead
Once the candidate accepts, the focus shifts from “recruitment” to “welcome.”
This is where we take over the HR onboarding process and coordinate directly with the new hire.
We manage the steps that are essential - but easy for busy nonprofit teams to lose track of -including:
And we stay engaged beyond Day 1 to ensure benefits enrollment is completed within the required window.
What This Means for You
Every hire is an investment - not just in your organization, but in the communities you serve.
Bearing Tree exists to help nonprofits grow in a way that feels sustainable, compliant, and well-supported. If you’re a current partner planning to extend an offer soon, we’re here to help you get ahead of the details and create a smooth start for your new employee.
And if you’re considering HR support for your organization, we’d be happy to talk through what Bearing Tree can take on - so you can keep more of your time and energy focused on your mission.
Hiring the right people is how organizations scale impact.
And our job is to make that easier.
Making it easier to make a difference.