Interrupting the Nonprofit Burnout Cycle

Let us know if this cycle sounds familiar:

You find an organization with which you deeply connect. The mission is amazing and so in line with your values! Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, you jump on board, heart open, mind and body ready to work tirelessly to “fulfill the mission.”
Then, the reality sets in: The hours are long; the pay is mediocre; there’s a lack of healthcare and benefits, challenges with donor expectations are frequent, the leadership is not as tuned-in as you’d hoped; the career ladder seems non-existent. In fact, you feel like the organization expects you won’t last. The nonprofit burnout cycle begins.
So, you search for the fulfillment that once lit a fire under you. You find another organization with which you deeply connect. The mission is amazing and so in line with your values! The staff seems engaged and committed to the work! They’re totally changing the world!
You exit one nonprofit, disenchanted and exhausted, and enter another, full of hope for the mission and the promise of social change. Thus continues the nonprofit burnout cycle, again and again.

Interrupting This Cycle Might Look Different Than You Think…..

What if the problem wasn’t finding the “right” non-profit organization? Or the perfect “mission-aligned” team that matches your values and provides fair compensation? Or finding better nonprofit donors with achievable expectations?

What if the problem has to do with how you and your team are relating to your work in general?

We ask because here’s the truth: there is no such thing as a perfect workplace. Or a perfect team. Or a perfect donor. Or a perfect job.

And what we do know from experience is that many folks working in the nonprofit sector firmly believe that their purpose is to be of service to others; which is why nonprofit, mission-driven work is so appealing.

But we also know this: as much as you love helping people, being in the business of helping others is also exhausting.

Because being in the business of helping others often results in:

Tying your sense of worth and purpose to your work.
Becoming burned out with nothing left to give (to yourself or others).
Finding yourself consumed by others’ problems and energy.
Taking on the problems, energy, and emotions of the clients and communities you’re serving as if they’re your own, which adds to your already high stress levels.
The work being unsustainable in the long term.
Sometimes becoming resentful of the very people you love to help.

This is what experts like to call the Nonprofit Burnout Cycle.

And we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be a cycle.

Because, as it turns out, your work doesn’t have to define your sense of purpose.

If your energy is locked up in trying to live up to the pressure of living your purpose (of helping others), then it can’t go where it belongs, which is focusing on serving your non-profit’s community.

Imagine if……..

Your work had zero effect on your sense of purpose
You could manage the complexity of your donor relationships because you literally have more energy to do so
You had more time and energy to think through creative solutions to budget constraints
You had clear boundaries in place to better manage your energy and therefore your relationships with one another and your community

All of this is possible when you and your team have the tools you need to manage your energetic capacity.

We’re here to give you those tools.

We want to teach you how by sharing tangible tools we’ve each used with clients throughout the past 5 years to help them shift their relationship to the nonprofit burnout cycle so they can do the work they love sustainably.

This workshop is for you and your team if:

You’re tired of finding yourself in continual cycles of non-profit burnout (see above) and/or “service to others” fatigue
You’re tired of reaching a point in every job where the work feels unmanageable and unsustainable
You’re ready to learn tools to disrupt and shift your lived cycle of helping until you literally can’t anymore.
You confuse your sense of purpose with the perceived success of your non-profit work
Have a general pattern of showing up excited to serve and help people and arriving home with nothing left to give

In this workshop, you will:

Learn the basic science behind energy management and regulation so you can recognize when you’re at capacity and can course correct
Understand the difference between acknowledging client problems vs. absorbing their problems so you can preserve your energy better
Distinguish between what it means to have a purpose and what it is to be of service so you and your team can rest, celebrate and appreciate your accomplishments
Create (more ease) clear and actionable boundaries between your purpose and your non-profit work
Learn simple tools to reduce your stress and manage your energy regardless of client issues, board challenges and team dynamics
Be introduced to Emotional Freedom Technique (‘Tapping’), one of many emotional regulation techniques and energy management tools to support you in real time when you are at capacity (i.e: when you are f**king done)

Details

Where: Zoom or in person

Duration: 2 hours

Price: Pricing starts at $7k

For more information and pricing please reach out to bianca@biancagabrielle.com and bri@brionnaned.com

Meet Your Guides

This workshop is hosted by neurodivergent best friends Bianca Wilson and Brionna Ned. Bianca is an artist and clinical EFT practitioner who supports her clients in clearing, protecting, and managing their energy while building and sustaining a creative life. Brionna is a trained nervous system regulation coach, liberation strategist, and writer who supports folks in moving through the goo that is the in-between (transitions). They each have 5+ years of experience in their work and have personally navigated the challenges of being hyper sensitive while maintaining a career of serving others.