There’s a good chance the last six months have been unlike any other period of your career.
The Chronicle has been keeping tabs on how nonprofits professionals have adapted to the changes — and the steps they’re taking to stay emotionally healthy.
Job Searches in the Time of Covid
At many organizations, job interviews have moved to Zoom. In some cases, nonprofits are making offers to candidates they haven’t met in person.
For groups looking for new CEOs, development experience and financial literacy are more important than ever. Organizations are asking candidates how they think about the future and whether they understand what donors are grappling with.
“We’re seeing an increased interest in finding a leader who has a demonstrated track record of bringing funding into an organization,” says Ericka Miller, a partner at nonprofit search firm Isaacson Miller. “There’s an even greater emphasis on that piece of the role and wanting to understand how the candidate thinks about generating revenue in these somewhat uncertain times.”
The Chronicle’s Eden Stiffman talked to leaders who are trying to fill open positions and to people who are looking for new jobs to get a sense of what the hiring process looks like during social distancing.
Pink Slips for Fundraisers
In recent years, demand for development professionals outstripped supply. The recession has changed things. Some fundraisers have been laid off.
It’s tough to say how many fundraisers are included in the record-high unemployment figures. But layoffs may be more likely at organizations that were already struggling before the pandemic.
There’s no right way or easy way to make decisions about furloughs and layoffs, says Cherian Koshy, director of development at Des Moines Performing Arts.
“When we talk about lifeboat ethics, there’s no good decision about who needs to be tossed off the boat and who gets to stay on,” he says. “Everybody’s roles are essential in some nature; otherwise, they wouldn’t be on the boat in the first place.”
Fundraisers who have lost their jobs spoke with Eden about how they’re coping.
Stress Forces Fundraisers to Take New Approaches
Fundraisers who are still on the job face new pressures brought on by the recession, pandemic, and national reckoning on racial justice.
The crises drive home how important the money they raise is to advance their organization’s mission — in many cases providing services to vulnerable people — and to ensure that their colleagues keep their jobs.
“The psychological weight of that has been a lot to deal with,” says Alan Yu, head of development at the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families.
Yu, who lives alone, was worried about becoming isolated at home without his usual social outlets, so he made it his top priority to stay connected with his friends, family, and church group through weekly online hangouts. He says those virtual get-togethers help him stay connected with people outside of his work world and avoid the loneliness that comes with working and living in the same space.
Maria Di Mento talked to fundraisers about how they’re dealing with the stress — and their advice for fellow development professionals.
‘Be Gentle’: How to Stay Healthy Emotionally
Many nonprofit professionals, whatever their role, are feeling overwhelmed.
“It’s not some kind of lack of capacity, of not being strong enough, that’s creating this sort of fragility that we’re all having right now,” says Teresa Mateus, a trauma specialist and co-founder of Trauma Response & Crisis Care for Movements. “It’s a function of our stress response to a traumatic experience, which is being felt individually as well as collectively.”
Margie Fleming Glennon spoke with experts to find out what nonprofit employees can do to take care of their mental and emotional health.
One tip: Focus on one or two tasks you want to do well each day.
There are so many external factors we can’t control these days and hundreds of things we may feel compelled to do, Mateus says. To avoid being overwhelmed by all the tasks that need attention and feeling a lack of control, identify a small number of goals each day and focus on them.
