Nonprofits are the Light – Let’s Shine

In many ways we can finally glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel: 121.5 million vaccine doses have been given to people around the nation. The number of new infections has been on a steady decline for the past two months and spring has arrived, allowing people to emerge from their dwellings and COVID bubbles and begin to enjoy safer social activities outdoors.

At the same time, new variants of the virus bring concerns about continuing the downward trend in new cases. We have collectively lost and continue to lose too many people – loved ones, colleagues, neighbors. 

The combined emotional toll of the pandemic, a national reckoning with racism, incredible economic distress and an overwhelming political landscape has worn us down. Nonprofit leaders are exhausted - I’m witnessing increased signs of burn-out. Nonprofit professionals have given so much to hold our communities together and they are feeling depleted.

Uncertainty still hounds us and makes us hesitant to claim a re-imagined future and make strides toward a new vision. Community needs continue to increase in many cases, adding to the burden of service already placed on organizations’ shoulders. Our creative and strategic mindshare have been zapped by the above-mentioned emotional toll and energy drain of the prolonged crisis. And, I believe, fundraising is likely to get harder in the coming year, not easier.

Yet, we have to be drawn to the light. We have to find and fuel our optimism. Why? Because the nonprofit sector shines the light that gets people through crises, models the values our nation was founded on and provides the joy of art, music, performance that raises society out of survival mode. Nonprofits are the light for so many.

We also need to do it because the world has handed us an opportunity. We have reached an inflection point as Rita McGrath discusses in her book Seeing Around Corners. There is no “going back.” The world has changed too much: the communities nonprofits serve and their needs are fundamentally altered. The fundraising world is forever shifted. Office space is a concept that will never quite be the same. Meetings will always have the option to be conducted virtually. We can’t return to the way things were. We have no choice but to move forward, despite uncertainty, if we want to thrive again and remain relevant. We have to forge a new path. And we have to imagine a different future to make that happen.

So how do we do it?

It’s time to set your course and drive toward it. If you do it well, rather than further depleting your energy and resources, you will begin to refuel. Those who take on the task now will have a full tank, a great plan and a light of your own making – your vision, your north star – in sight.

So let’s do this!

STEP 1: Your team can’t help you envision the future or make a plan until they have some fuel in the tank and feel reconnected after a year of distanced work and constant shifts. Give them a break. Take time first to reconnect relationship, teams, etc. Click here for ideas on how.

STEP 2: Envision a new future – one that energizes you and your team. One that serves your mission. One that is rooted in the new needs and new dynamics of those you serve. One that is also rooted in all that you have learned this past year about what maximizes impact and what doesn’t. Dream boldly – you’re imagining on a new future here, not a wishful return to an old future with incremental progress. The world was turned upside down – it’s calling on us all to reimagine our role, our potential and how we make transformative impact. You didn’t work this hard this past year to just go back to how you were doing things before.

STEP 3: Make a plan. How will you achieve this bold new vision? What will it take? What do you need to pull it off successfully and boldly? How will you get started?

When we have a vision we’re excited about and a plan we can follow, we source renewed energy – even in the toughest times. Your creative and strategic mind will begin to flourish again. And you can stop responding to crises and start driving to a future of your own making.

If I can help you think this through – contact me at katie@joyofleading.com. I believe you can do this. I want to help you be successful.