By Jeff Jones

Will Baker knows his employees appreciate experiencing a culturally rich city more than going to another mind-numbing conference. Baker, chief executive officer of New York City-based Impact Coalition, uses his diverse surroundings and an innovative program to show his employees, mostly in their 20s and 30s, that the organization cares.

Since January, 2001, the nonprofit career development center, which trains urban high school and college students, has offered its workers professional development perks. The nonprofit pays for employee activities, such as a Mets baseball game, tours of the United Nations building, or buying a handheld computer.

"Lots of folks come and do work in New York City but don't really get to take the benefits of what that means," Baker said. "It also gives a sense of innovation that we're willing to do things a little bit different -- not just send somebody to a conference that may bore them to tears."

Individual benefits range from $500 to $2,000, depending on time with the nonprofit and can spread over various activities, Baker said. All six full-time employees are involved in the program, which costs approximately $6,000 annually, he said.

Not every nonprofit is surrounded by a plethora of museums and abundant nightlife. Still, every nonprofit manager can evaluate their programs, location and budget, and with a bit of creative thought discover plush, low-cost perks that employees appreciate.

Here are a few ideas nonprofits use to keep employees happy, healthy and productive, according to results of the annual NPT Salary Survey:

• Paying employees to use spouse's insurance;

• A stability bonus based on tenure and that year's profit;

• One north central foundation gives employees 30 days paid leave for making a living donation, such as bone marrow, kidney or a liver.

• Fitness reimbursements up to $50 a year per employee;

• Holidays defined by individual staff;

• Three bonus holidays at year's end;

Several organizations give employees Christmas week off. Employees at Bridgewater, N.J.-based Home Sharing got such a break with an interesting twist. This past holiday season Shuey Horowitz, executive director, offered her two staff members an endearing perk -- as long as you're near a telephone, you can stay home during Christmas week.

Thanks to call forwarding, employees answered office calls from the comforts of a living room or home office. "Call forwarding has been our biggest bonanza," Horowitz said. The service costs approximately $7 a month.

Working from home during the holiday season is a nice perk for employees at the $176,000 budget nonprofit that matches home providers with home seekers who can pay rent or provide services for reduced rent. "I have a new employee, (and) she was very happy to hear that she could stay home at Christmas," Horowitz said.

The flexibility comes in handy. During a December snowstorm one social worker was answering telephone calls at home instead of wading through snow-slowed traffic to the office.

Another Home Sharing employee has an allergic reaction to the office -- a converted schoolroom. "She tried to work in the office for a year and was constantly sick," Horowitz said. The idea of working from home developed and improved the worker's productivity, Horowitz said.

Actor Billy Crystal's character in City Slickers heads west to experience ranch life and bonds with others while gaining personal insight. Well, 14 employees at Chagrin Falls, Ohio-based Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center needn't leave their job confines to gain equine experience. They're enrolled in a monthly horseback-riding program accomplished on company time and on-site. The only qualification is caring for their assigned horse once a week, said Lynnette Stuart, executive director of the roughly $1 million-budget nonprofit.

"I think it is one of the factors that keep people happy in their jobs because they get out of the office," Stuart said. "They get to expand their own skill base, their own knowledge, and they get to do it while they're do something they love."

The program also promotes camaraderie among employees, she added.

The Therapeutic Riding Center educates and gives equine therapy to disabled people, which helps students improve balance and muscle tone, enhance independence, and increase self-esteem, according to its Web site.

"I would say that anybody who rides a horse experiences a lot of the same types of benefits," Stuart said.

Nearly half the center's staff of 30 part-time and full-time workers participate in the program, Stuart said. It costs the nonprofit approximately $150 a month.

Scouts oath

Other nonprofits offer simple perks that tie-in nicely with mission.

Patrick Craven, executive director of Bay Area Council Boy Scouts of America in Galveston, Texas, encourages himself and employees to live up to the scout oath of being physically fit. The nonprofit spends about $1,000 a year to pay employees' initial costs at an area health club and part of a monthly fee. Employees pay $10 a month.

Visitors to A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Ore., are likely to see employees' children sitting alongside mom or dad at the desk or milling about the museum. In a fortunate twist, the children help the museum test upcoming exhibits, said Pamela Vorachek, executive director of the children's museum.

Absenteeism nipped

A targeted program solved a critical problem for at least one organization .

Jackson County Association for Retarded Citizens officials had an absenteeism problem several years ago, so it started a program rewarding employees who don't use any sick leave during "critical" shifts.

If workers don't use any sick hours during certain times all year, such as a 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift for direct care workers, they receive a well-timed bonus of $250 in early December, said Arlene C. Ainsworth, administrator at the Scottsboro, Ala.-based nonprofit.

The approximately 10-year-old program "worked wonders" at the nonprofit, which provides better lives for families with children who have mental retardation and development disabilities.

The bonus is pro rated so if employees use up to eight hours sick leave they receive $150. The lowest bonus is $50 for 24 hours used.

Usually, 25 of 32 employees draw a sick leave bonus each year, she said.

"People just adored having the bonuses," Ainsworth said. "Nobody wants to be left out of that bonus."