GuideStar Blog

In April, I was honored to present and facilitate an all-day workshop for nonprofit leaders at the Oregon Nonprofit Leadership Conference on how to activate a culture of well being in the nonprofit workplace, based on my book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout. I also delivered a workshop to South Carolina nonprofits on the same topic hosted by Shine The Light, Nonprofit Forums. The participants were amazing and came up with some terrific strategies and action plans.

Many times the reaction to focusing on organizational culture and well-being is considered “soft” or “nice” stuff that does not lead to results or impact. There is now enough evidence from research that focusing on resilience in the workplace is an essential strategy for sustainable results.

Hi everyone. Before we begin today’s blog post a couple of things. First, please go write a review of a foundation on grantadvisor. (it’s like a Trip Advisor where you can anonymously review foundations). Second, if you’re an Executive Director or CEO of color, there is a Facebook support group for you, full of amazing colleagues: EDOC—ED Unicorns of Color, which stemmed from ED Happy Hour, which is open to all current and retired EDs/CEOs.

Speaking of amazing colleagues, one of the reasons I love our sector so much is the quality of the people we have. However, I’ve been encountering more and more professionals who have become increasingly jaded and cynical about the work.

Working at a nonprofit can be a pressure cooker. Trying to manage huge workloads with limited resources can easily trap us into thinking that working nights and weekends after a full day at the office is the answer. Overworking will not only steal your clarity but ultimately zap your energy.