We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Beth Fiorenza. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Beth below.

Beth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Showing clients you appreciate them is something I think most folks want to do – but it’s not always clear how to do it in a meaningful way. What’s one of the best examples of client appreciation you can share with us?

For the past five years, NourishPHX has given away purses stuffed with bath/body items to mothers seeking assistance in our food pantry and clothing closet. This project, called Pack-A-Purse was going to be a small but heartwarming gesture to the families that we serve. This year, we served more than 600 mothers with donated purses stuffed with everything from hygiene items to jewelry made by volunteers who donated the items.

Little did we know what joy these purses would bring to our community.

NourishPHX is a food and clothing bank in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona and serves more than 25,000 people each year.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

NourishPHX works to alleviate hunger and poverty in our community. I started working here eight years ago but have been in the human services industry for more than thirty years. NourishPHX is not only a food pantry, but a pathway out of poverty for many people experiencing hardship. We have a variety of programs for basic needs, but also have a Job & Resource Center to help establish long-term solutions for people. We are unique in that we open our doors to partners and other nonprofit organizations to utilize our space, conduct outreach and provide their unique services to the community. We serve more than 200 families per day and we are getting ready to expand our classes and workshops. Our upstairs space will be renovated this summer to include a Wellness Center. The Wellness Center will provide wellness classes, like yoga and sound healing, as well as skill-based classes, like sewing. NourishPHX has been around since the 1960’s and we continue to serve our community today with new and innovative programs. With a staff of nine people, most of our daily work in done by volunteers – some have been volunteering for twenty plus years!

We were not always NourishPHX (formerly ICM Food & Clothing Bank), this is a new name and brand to encompass who we are and what we do. We help nourish the mind, body and soul. We invite anyone to visit us to volunteer, donate and get involved with us.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

NourishPHX is a small business with a small staff. Being a nonprofit organization the way we generate revenue is different than a for-profit business, but the same business principals apply – we want to be successful, grow and help as many clients as possible with our resources. When I entered the business in 2018, we did not set goals or have a vision for the future. In 2018, we started planning and visioning about the nonprofit we wanted to be. At that time, we had a small budget of around $600,000 per year to operate. We created a visionary budget of $1 million for ourselves and achieved that goal within two years. Then COVID hit and we all know what happened. If we had not set goals and dreamed big, we would not have been ready for the crisis and could have possibly closed our doors. Instead we came together as a team, our donors supported us more than ever and we communicated about what we were experiencing along the way. The lesson here is to believe in what you do, communicate to anyone who will listen, set goals and dream big!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team while sustaining high morale requires a balance of psychological safety, communication, personal growth, and transparent accountability. High morale is driven by whether employees feel seen, heard, trusted, and connected to a larger purpose. Don’t stand over people and micromanage, give your team ownership of their work and the freedom to think about how they reach their goals. Every year, we solicit feedback from our staff and the clients that we serve with just a few targeted questions about how to make their life better – it’s amazing what small actions can do to boost morale. The staff also reviews me (the Executive Director) with my Board of Directors. I love the feedback on allowing me to be a better manager. Communication is the key to the employees owning their own work and knowing what road the organization is taking. I am a big promoter of a very open, transparent and accountable environment – the more everyone knows, the more loyal and hard-working they will be. Give praise on a regular basis for great work – everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated. When a difficult discussion happens, make sure it is swift and make expectations known. Finally, to boost morale, take the team out to participate in an activity or allow the team to volunteer together at your local food pantry!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.nourishphx.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourishphoenix/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NourishPHX
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nourish-phoenix-451356309/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nourishphoenix2183