The Compassionate Cut is a Nonprofit Layoff Support Program that equips board members and executive leadership with the mindset, tools, and planning strategies necessary to navigate layoffs. We support you and your staff in making impossible decisions while honoring staff dignity, minimizing harm, and ensuring organizational continuity.

We offer Board + Executive Training, Leadership Coaching, and Staff Workshops (for those who are laid off and for those who remain). All services can be offered a la carte or in a comprehensive package.

Here’s The Hard Truth:

20,000+ documented, full-time positions have been eliminated since Inauguration Day.

And there are more happening each day. We’re keeping a close watch on data shared from The Chronicle of Philanthropy to understand how federal cuts and the new administration are forcing nonprofits to lay off staff as a way to save their missions.

We are here to help nonprofits make impossible decisions while honoring the staff who are let go and support the staff who remain. Layoffs are a part of nonprofit survival, and we believe that you can deliver layoffs while safeguarding staff dignity and team morale so that the important work can continue. We came into nonprofit work to change the world. Let's change how layoffs are conducted so they cause less harm and create space for a new beginning that is aligned with your values.

Intrigued? Join us for the next informational webinar on Friday, September 5th at 9am PT / Noon ET where you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at our program and get a clear picture of how this offering can support your team through difficult transitions.

Board + Executive Training

This 2-hour training is designed to help boards and senior leaders plan for layoffs with foresight and compassion. This training equips decision-makers with planning frameworks, communication tools, actionable steps, and practical tips to minimize harm and preserve organizational trust. We balance the practical with the emotional to holistically prepare for layoffs.

How We Can Help

Leadership Coaching

Organizational leaders and board members who are closest to the layoff process will receive one-on-one coaching to help navigate the transition. These human-centered sessions will focus on building emotional resilience and delivering practical tactics while helping leaders stay grounded, present, and responsive throughout the decision-making and communication process.

Staff Workshops

Organizations will receive facilitated sessions to guide staff at all levels through the layoffs. We offer training and support circles that are tailored to the unique needs of each population: the staff who are let go and the staff who remain. All staff will learn how to navigate the emotional resilience of layoffs while communicating with tact. Departing staff will learn how to kickstart their job search, while remaining staff will be supported in strategizing shifting workloads.

All services can be purchased à la carte or as a package–and can be delivered virtually or in-person. Please inquire here to learn more:

Your Facilitators

  • Shannon Bowen

    Shannon Bowen is a former C-Suite leader of nonprofits, bringing 20 years of experience leading development and communications teams. Not only has she been in the room when layoff decisions were made, but she has also laid off staff and been laid off herself. She brings hands-on, practical knowledge to the art of compassionate cuts. In addition, Shannon is a career advancement coach and job search strategist with her company Monsoon Leadership. She coaches people through the job search process to land their dream job, so Shannon is intimately familiar with the current job market and challenges that job seekers face. This experience combined with a deep passion for evolving nonprofit work culture to be more human-centered inspires her to pursue this deep and meaningful work.

  • Loretta Turner

    Loretta Turner has worked in the nonprofit sector for nearly 15 years and is the founder of Do Good Leadership Collective. Loretta brings deep expertise in emotional resilience and organizational healing, offering coaching and facilitation that supports nonprofit teams as they navigate conflict, uncertainty, and major transitions. She has worked closely with executive leaders and frontline staff during layoffs, restructures, and periods of crisis—providing the space, tools, and grounding needed to move forward with integrity. In the face of today’s political, economic, and social pressures, Loretta helps organizations tend to the emotional and relational impact of their decisions, ensuring that teams are not only operationally prepared but emotionally supported.

Listen to the recording from our July Informational Webinar

  • The Compassionate Cut program is designed for nonprofits that are anticipating staff layoffs. We recommend you reach out to us as soon as you sense a reduction might be necessary—ideally before decisions are finalized. The program provides opportunities for early planning to ensure your process is intentional and values-aligned.

  • Yes, we can support you in the midst of layoffs with coaching and staff workshops and support circles (for those who remain and those who are laid off). Please fill out this inquiry form to schedule a call and we can craft a custom proposal for you based on your needs.

  • Yes. We understand the sensitivity of layoff planning and offer discreet, confidential services during the early stages. We balance this with an intention to be as transparent with staff as possible so you can retain trust.

  • It means making hard decisions with care. Our program curriculum provides support in internal and external communications, a specific list of items to offer staff that are being laid off, practical training for staff that are reentering the workforce, action plans for staff that are staying, and emotional intelligence and resilience for everyone along the way. We believe hard decisions can be human-centered.

FAQ

  • No. The program takes a human-centered approach to staff departures and organizational resilience. We do not offer legal advice in our curriculum, but are happy to work with your lawyers, if needed. We do not advise on bankruptcy, employment law, loans, etc. We focus our training, coaching and support on how to use the resources you have to support the humans you employ to be cared for in the end and to be prepared to enter a job search.

  • We understand the urgency and intensity of these decisions, which is why we can meet you where you’re at, and on your timeline. Most organizations engage in a 1-3 month package, but we tailor the scope based on your organization's size and needs. The Board + Executive Leadership 2-hour Training and the 2-hour Workshops for Staff (those who remain and those who are laid off) can be scheduled at any time--however we have a limited number of full-process engagements for Q3 2025. We currently have two spots available.

  • We highly recommend that your organization engages in this program in an in-person capacity, although we are able to offer some programmatic elements virtually. The entire program is offered as a package, built with intention and care to bring all stakeholders through the process. However, there is an option to experience the following as one-off trainings: Board + Executive 2-hour Training: $2,500; Staff Workshops: $5,000 per workshop, which includes up to 3 hours of Discovery Sessions to incorporate your unique nonprofit culture and situation into the workshops. Please contact us for a quote for the full engagement cost as it is tailored to your unique needs. Travel costs are not included.