Inflight Briefing: 023

4 reasons fundraisers quit 📖

Fundraisers, nonprofits, and donors are all losing by sidestepping the issue of fundraiser turnover. Researchers have long identified the turnover rates and low morale as an epidemic in the profession, but little has been done to correct these trends. And as we move into greater market uncertainty, budgets are slashed, and teams are asked to do even more with far less. Burnout is going to loom larger in 2023 unless organizations meaningfully respond to these four reasons why fundraisers quit.

Moving toward metrics-based well-being 🎧

So many organizations love the sports analogy. But Arosha Bouwer, co-founder and CEO at Quan, brought up an analogy that most leaders fail to share, “10% is performance. 90% is recovery.” If we study how top athletes get so much out of themselves, we really have to understand how they rest and create that performance capacity. 

At the core of resilience is vulnerability. If people fossilize in the belief that everything is ok while they’re really hanging on by a thread, then there isn’t going to be the capacity to meet unexpected difficulties. With vulnerability, a lot of these problems can be anticipated or at least placed in a more reasonable perspective. Talking about parenting, Arosha has trained her children to understand that we’re all human. She says, “It’s nice that I don’t always have to be right. It’s nice that I can have an honest conversation.”

How to stop overthinking 📖

John Milton writes, “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven” (sorry, I don’t run into many opportunities to use my lit major). We can address all the external conditions that create burnout, but without addressing the mental patterns that reinforce stress and anxiety, we’ll collectively make little progress. Near the top of the list is letting go of perfection. As people, we’ll never really arrive, so making progress is much better than waiting for perfection. Don’t let this stifle your creativity and pride in your work, but look to find a balance between that pride and sharing your work with the world.

Getting off the burnout treadmill 📖

Our friend Becky Endicott, co-founder of We are for Good, recently spoke with The Chronicle of Philanthropy about her own journey through burnout. She bravely shared her whole story so that others could find encouragement, knowing they’re not alone, and reach out to find help. Becky ended up taking 12 weeks of medical leave to get herself back on track, but by paying closer attention at the first signs of burnout, which are often physical and not mental, nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and marketers can set themselves up for sustained success with just a little more self care.