How Servant HR helped Shepherd Community Center grow and protect its mission through Better HR
Shepherd Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the near east side neighborhood of Indianapolis. Under the leadership of Executive Director Jay Height, the organization has grown dramatically over 28 years – from a staff of 3 with a $100,000 budget to more than 120 employees and a budget exceeding $10 million. Shepherd’s mission centers on connecting with and supporting their neighbors through relationships and community programs.
SHEPHERD COMMUNITY CENTER PROFILE
The Company: Indianapolis-based nonprofit serving the near east side for 40 years; focused on breaking the cycle of poverty through community development
The Challenge: Rapid growth after launching a childcare facility in 2020; scaling from 3 employees to 120+ without the budget to hire full-time HR, legal, and benefits expertise
The Partnership: Active client since 2020; Servant HR provides fractional HR advisory, benefits administration, compliance guidance, payroll, and on-site employee support
The Outcome: Sustainable growth with staff longevity, generous benefits (70% employer-paid), and employees freed to focus on mission, not HR headaches
"They're not a vendor, they're a partner. They share in the mission of Shepherd."
The Challenge
In 2020, Shepherd opened a childcare facility, smack dab in the middle of COVID.
While this single move catalyzed exponential growth, it also exposed a critical gap: the organization was too big to handle their HR on their own, but they couldn’t afford to hire HR specialists at the level their growing complexity demanded.
Additionally, as a values-driven nonprofit committed to paying living wages and providing generous benefits, Shepherd needed an HR partner who understood its operational challenges.
But they also needed someone who knew (and believed in) the deeper mission behind their work (and they knew that it would require a special partner to meet both of those needs).
“We looked at several options and talked with different companies,” says Jay. “Trust and relationship were so important to us, however, and Servant HR is really, really good in that area.”
The Solution
When they knew they could get high-trust, deep-relationship, and high-level professional support (without the cost of a full-time hire), partnering with Servant HR for fractional HR expertise became the clear choice.
Partnership in Action
The Results
Sustainable Growth: Servant HR enabled Shepherd to scale rapidly while avoiding costly mistakes that often come with trying to manage HR internally without proper expertise.
Staff Retention: With Height’s 30-year tenure and staff members who have stayed 20-25 years, Shepherd demonstrates that investing in employees through competitive benefits and living wages pays dividends in loyalty and longevity.
Mission Focus: Staff can concentrate on serving neighbors rather than worrying about HR administration, insurance disputes, or compliance issues.
Cost Efficiency: “The money that I’ve set aside for health benefits? They make it go further,” Jay says. “Otherwise, I would have to hire people to do what they’re doing, and it would cost more money, and I might not get the same expertise, or the same buying power.”
Impact on Mission
For Shepherd, the partnership with Servant HR isn’t just operational. It’s missional.
By paying living wages, providing generous benefits, and hiring neighbors from the community they serve, Shepherd is breaking cycles of poverty from the inside out.
The organization pays 70% of health insurance for all employees, regardless of family size. Not as a recruiting tactic, but as a reflection of who they are.
