Thriving Nonprofit Teams Start With This

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👋🏾 Hey! I’m Sid and this is The Philanthropy Futurist, a weekly advice column preparing you for the future of the nonprofit sector. Each Friday, I tackle reader questions about measuring impact, driving growth, and managing your nonprofit.

This Week’s Newsletter at a glance:

• Thriving Nonprofit Teams Start With This

• Philanthropy News From This Week

• Sid’s Book Recommendation

Thriving Nonprofit Teams Start With This

What if the biggest barrier to your Nonprofit’s impact isn’t funding, policy, or even public support… what if it’s burnout inside your own team?

We don’t talk about it enough, but the Nonprofit sector has (in many ways) been notorious for stretching people thin.

Passion often becomes the excuse for poor boundaries.

And just like in any industry… this formula usually leads to talented staff leaving, culture suffering, and organizations spending more time replacing people than advancing their mission.

Thriving teams don’t come from slogans about resilience. They generally come from making mental health a strategic priority, whether you believe it or not.

That means rethinking how we define productivity… because its not so much about hours logged or emails sent… but it’s more about the energy, clarity, and focus of your team.

When Nonprofit leaders treat well-being as central (and not secondary), everything changes.

Your team comes to work more engaged.. collaboration improves… and creativity shows up like never before. And yes, impact grows too.

Your team is a big part of your org’s infrastructure… a big part of the glue that holds up your mission.

This doesn’t mean you have to come with lavish perks or costly wellness programs… instead it can be much simpler… like building a culture where people feel safe to speak up, normalizing rest instead of glorifying overwork, and designing workflows that respect human needs.

Regardless how you see things… your team is your strategy. Everyone from programs, partnerships, fundraising etc— they all flow through the people who make them possible.

If those people are depleted, no strategy in the world will save you.

So please take this seriously… especially as we venture into the future of the unknown.

Because Stronger Minds = Stronger Missions.

If you’re wondering where to start, here’s a few practical shifts to consider:

1. Model balance at the top: If leadership doesn’t take breaks, staff won’t feel they can either

2. Make check-ins routine: Ask about workload and stress levels, not just deliverables

3. Reframe success: Celebrate outcomes and progress, not just time put in or sacrifice

4. Invest in systems: Streamlined tools and clear processes reduce unnecessary stress

5. Protect recovery time: Encourage vacations, mental health days, and meeting-free blocks when it makes sense

And if you’re in search for more clarity on how to approach well-being in the workplace, read this article I wrote in May for Mental Health Awareness month. It’s one of my favorite pieces. I’d also recommend maybe checking out the book of the week, below.

Hope this was helpful! Until next week! ✌🏾

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Philanthropy News From This Week

• Culturally responsive mental health services aid youth, Report finds

• Endeavor Foundation commits $5.22 million for student mental health

• Nonprofits face a tough funding landscape. They hope better storytelling will bring more donations

• These neurodivergent students are helping each other build more inclusive schools

Sid’s Book Recommendation

Each week, I recommend a book or film that has impacted my life in a positive way. My recommendation this week is:

Wellbeing at Work by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter

This book presents a practical and evidence-based guide for creating resilient, thriving teams by making employee well-being central to organizational strategy. Drawing on decades of Gallup research and interviews, the authors introduce 5 core elements of well-being: Career, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community. Learn more.

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