Five things nonprofits can do to bring in the new year
We survived another year of unprecedented times, and we - like all the other canaries in the proverbial nonprofit coalmines - are tired! Many of us have changed jobs, cities, outlooks, etc., trying to find ways to take care of ourselves amid a myriad of macro and micro-level challenges. Many of us have embraced, or at least learned to cope with, the new (ab)normal, for better or for worse. By contrast, many nonprofits have been straddling the way things were and the way things are, clinging to the idea that the old normal is coming back and the ways things have been done will continue to be the best practice in the future. Now, don’t get us wrong, there are aspects of the new normal that some organizations have embraced – hello, remote work – but as we get more comfortable with changes to the status quo, nonprofits must follow suit in moving on from emergency mode to creating intentional practices that sustain its people. As we move into 2023, we want to see change! But like real, sustainable change. Not platitudes or performative change. If nonprofit new year's resolutions were a thing, here’s what ya girls would wanna see!
1) Intentional meeting scheduling. Please, for the love of the goddess Beyonce, stop with the back-to-back meetings! Back in the day, there were logistical barriers to having so many meetings. Especially for those of us that do coalition or other intra-organizational work, having to drive to a physical place made it more difficult to expect people to quickly jump from one meeting to another.
Lots of folks have opinions about what percentage of time should be spent in meetings, what time of day is best for meetings, what purposes should be served by meetings, etc. The bottom line is that every meeting should have a purpose (for more on this, check out Priya Parker’s book The Art of Gathering) that is specifically achieved by holding a meeting, and every person at that meeting should be necessary to that purpose. One way to combat overscheduling is to designate a no-meeting day, such as no-meeting Mondays, and use calendaring functions to indicate who is necessary and who is auxiliary for a meeting. Empowering folks to say no to meetings helps them prioritize getting tasks done over putting in unnecessary facetime. Periodically reworking or revisiting the substance of regular meetings (e.g. changing up the agenda, the attendees, the frequency, etc.) to ensure its alignment with its intended purpose: we love to see it! What better time than the start of the new year to reset expectations around meeting cadence and content?
2) Setting and keeping healthy boundaries. Please stop working on sick days and when you’re supposed to be taking PTO. Nonprofit leaders, please no more, “I’m sick so I won’t be checking emails, but text me if you need me.” No more sending emails, texts, and slacks at off hours. If you keep different hours than others, schedule send is your friend! Modeling healthy behavior and creating space for employees to set boundaries can help increase longevity and well-being. For example, consider creating a staff bio slide deck where your team can put their general availability, work hours, and expectations, such as preferences about communication mediums, what kinds of projects they work on, work styles and personality traits, etc. This helps people set boundaries around communication and work hours by creating a baseline of how they would like to be treated.
3) Deepen your role in the movement. Nonprofit service providers are doing valuable, life-sustaining work in our communities, AND must commit to addressing structural barriers that push people to their doors. We would love to see nonprofit organizations leveraging their collective power, resources, knowledge, and relationships toward change in addition to addressing immediate needs; we need emergency housing to address the root causes of housing insecurity. From participating in local coalitions to providing passthrough funding to smaller grassroots organizations deeply involved in movement work, nonprofits must be bold. Every nonprofit should get into the habit of supporting mission-related calls to action brought forth by activists, community leaders, and related organizations. Don’t know where to start? Reach out to local activists and coalitions in your area to ask how your organization can be involved. Concerned about lobbying rules and need clarity around what organizations can and can’t do? Bolder Advocacy can help you learn how to do movement work without running afoul of nonprofit rules.
4) Center care in your organizational culture. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that we need to take care of each other. The same applies to those of us working within the nonprofit sector. Many organizations have undertaken some form of DEI work, but training alone is insufficient to uproot deeply ingrained norms that center transactional relationships and productivity over well-being. This year, we would love to see organizations unpacking what it truly means to care for staff members and how we can incorporate community care practices within our organizations to care for each other. Take a look at Tema Okun’s beautiful work on naming the characteristics of white supremacy to determine how it may appear in your organization. Additionally, creating space for addressing harm, whether it's community agreements regarding interpersonal and other conflicts or creating a mediation process for when harm has occurred, it’s important to be proactive in naming and addressing harm when it occurs. Interrupting Criminalization also put out a virtual toolkit for transforming conflict in movement spaces.
5) Pay people for their work. First off, pay your damn interns. Periodt. We would also love to see organizations doing deep dives into what work has and hasn’t been deemed as worthy of compensation. For example, we’ve been part of all types of committee work not included in our job descriptions, such as internal DEIA, affinity groups, or wellness committees, on top of our regular day-to-day tasks. It’s time for staff to be paid to engage in committee work or, at the very least, be compensated with time. In other words, folks willing to dedicate time to improving the organization should (at the very least) have tasks taken off their plate in exchange for committee work. Work that helps foster inclusive, accountable, and celebratory organizational culture is both valuable and necessary, so let's treat it that way!
As we look forward to the next year, we are manifesting a more equitable nonprofit sector and being in community with other folks disrupting practices that don’t contribute to sustainable movement work. Want help creating your organization's new year's resolution? Contact Groundwork Co-Creative today for meeting makeovers, organizational wellness help, strategic planning, etc.
