One of the greatest casualties among non-profits is the burned-out CEO. Being the head of a nonprofit has always been a challenging job. The long hours, inadequate resources, and sometimes uncooperative or negative Board members can all take their toll on a person. Still, most people make nonprofits their careers because they know they are devoting their lives and livelihoods to making this a better world. At the end of a tiring day, they always came home feeling that somehow they did something good for someone.
For many of my colleagues, the straw that breaks their back is seeing all that they have worked so hard to create disappear, as large portions of their funding evaporates and significant services have to be cut. Meeting payroll was always tricky, but for many it is now virtually impossible. Letting staff go is personally wrenching, for these are the people who have selflessly given of themselves to enrich and ennoble the lives of others… to only be sent off to join the ranks of the unemployed.
What about all those wonderful people who been served and often saw the services transform their lives: the teen gang-bangers who are now committed to education, the addict who is recently sober and getting his life together, or the senior who will lose the companionship of others when the program closes? Many of these people owe their life and their health to the services we have provided, and for some, we can’t afford to continue provide that life-saving service.
I feel sorry for my colleagues. How can society turn its back on the neediest of the needy? What happened to the compassion and benevolence of this great American society? How is the executive supposed to rise above it all to provide inspirational leadership when inspiration is the last thing he/she feels?
The only hope is that this too will pass. Our society goes through these cycles, and this Recession will eventually bottom out and slowly funding will return, in a year, two years, whenever. In the meantime, we must be ingenious in ways to keep the services flowing.
In my opinion, at least two options must be tried:
• First, we must turn to the private sector, and particularly to individuals, to open their checkbooks. We are all suffering from reduced disposable income and charity fatigue, but a good story that is told well can still move people to open up their wallets to a worthy cause. We are, by nature, a generous people. The challenge is to find the inspiration in our successes and in the stories of those who need us, to reignite the passion and energies of our Board and our supporters.
• Second, we must more effectively utilize volunteers. Not just for clerical help, but to fill in wherever possible in administrative and even direct service. We must reach out to the retired and unemployed to devote some of their talent and time to step into the breach and keep these services going while we search for new income sources. Not only will these volunteers help keep our services going, they will bring with them a new enthusiasm and energy that we need so desperately.
A SHOT OF INSPIRATION CAN GO A LONG WAY
In my experience it has been that a little bit of inspiration and enthusiasm can go a long way. We must return to our organization’s Mission and Vision. We must reach out and ignite the dreams of others, and we must make fund-raising fun. The resources are there. We need to be awakened and renewed by realizing that if we share our dreams, others will join us.
Tags: Barrie, ceo, inspiration