Case Study
Relax, It’s Handled
Governance, Operations, Entrepreneurship
The Challenge
Non-profits frequently hit a structural ceiling. Despite having influential volunteer boards and critical mandates, these organizations lacked the professional staff to provide the instant infrastructure necessary for daily operations and major milestone campaigns.
There was a distinct market failure in Birmingham and across Alabama: few firms existed that provided this highly specialized set of operational skills.
Consequently, powerful volunteer boards were mired in the weeds of event logistics, wasting precious bandwidth debating the color of napkins for annual meetings rather than focusing on governance, fundraising, and aggressive advocacy.
They had the social capital to shift the regional economy, but lacked the operational chassis to execute without burning out their leadership.
Our Approach
My Role:Co-Founder and Managing Director
To solve this, I co-founded Relax, It’s Handled as a premier association management firm. We primarily served 501 (c)6 professional membership organizations as their central nervous center, providing fractional headquarters, fractional technology platforms, and fractional services such as board and membership management, financial operations, event production, and marketing and program coordination.
As one of the highest profile professional services agencies of its kind, Relax, It’s Handled rebranded how institutions perceived non-profit service delivery in Alabama.
Fifty percent (50%) of Relax, It’s Handled’s revenue was derived from recurring annual contracts with a diverse client base that spanned biotechnology, venture capital, and anti-poverty organizations.
The other half of our revenue came event and special projects management for 501(c)3 during their most pivotal milestones and moments — major anniversaries, unique campaigns, leadership transitions — without losing traction on their core business.
Internally, we built a scalable, commercial model. We recruited young, hungry talent and deployed rigorous project management software to train them, assuring replicable, consistent outcomes.
By specializing exclusively as a professional services firm in this niche, our young staff developed a profound depth of understanding. They cross-pollinated insights, taking tactical knowledge learned from a venture capital board and applying it directly to an anti-poverty initiative.
Association Management Portfolio:
Association of Fundraising Professionals (fundraising)
BioAlabama (biotechnology)
Birmingham Venture Club (finance)
Birmingham Society for Human Resource Management (human resources)
TechBirmingham (technology)
Southside Ball (youth sports)
Southeastern Employee Benefits Conference (financial services)
Sample Milestone Campaigns & Special Projects:
Magic Moments E-Campaign: Designed first-ever digital Fundraising campaign utilizing innovative technology and civic engagement. We set the pace for more than $500,000 to be raised in four years of this campaign.
Alabama Media Group – 50th Commemoration of the Civil Rights Movement: Designed and coordinated multi-faceted statewide commemoration of Alabama’s 50 years of civil and humans rights movement, including travelling photo tour, community events, and partnership with major institutions such as the City of Birmingham, The University of Alabama, and State Department of Archives.
Red Mountain Theatre Company Letter From A Birmingham Jail: Coordinated the operational logistics of a statewide tour for the dramatic interpretation of "Letter from Birmingham Jail” featuring an actor portraying Dr. King. Each city and venue included 11-community readers of a letter written to Dr. King.
Our Impact
The firm successfully transformed fragile boards into solvent, revenue-generating engines.
Over eight years of operation, Relax, It’s Handled raised millions of dollars for its clients and rescued hundreds of inefficient, wasted volunteer hours, redirecting that energy back toward high-level policy, industry advocacy and professional development.
Ultimately, we earned Blue Ribbon Award recognition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for our innovative business model and operational excellence.
In the end, the successful sale of Relax, Its Handled served as the definitive proof of its intrinsic market value and the enduring strength of the operational models we built.
$Millions Raised: Facilitated multi-million dollar revenue growth for client organizations across an eight-year operational lifespan.
100% Market Pioneer: The first firm in the Alabama market specifically designed to provide instant, professionalized infrastructure to non-profit boards.
National Recognition: Earned the Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for business excellence.
On A Personal Note
Co-founding, growing, and selling Relax, It’s Handled was one of the most gratifying experiences of my professional life. I learned a lot about myself.
Equally important, I learned how value is created and destroyed for the people I serve — past, present, and future.
Honestly,
Ed.