Remember being on a teeter-totter as a kid? You’d constantly adjust, adding or removing kids from each side, trying to find that perfect balance. Sometimes it worked. Often, you’d slam down hard when you hit the ground.
In my experience, running a nonprofit in 2025 feels remarkably similar.
The Burnout Crisis We’re Not Talking About
A recent Canadian study confirmed something we’ve all been feeling: nonprofit staff are experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout. For the first time, we’re seeing widespread “stress leave”—people taking short-term disability or extended time off because the workload has become unsustainable. Maybe it looks like calling off sick when you aren’t “sick”. You know those days.
The irony? This burnout costs nonprofits more money in the long run.
But here’s the catch-22: How do we pay people a living wage, create a peaceful workplace, and give staff more personal time, while simultaneously raising the funds to do that?
A Controversial Solution
I’m going to suggest something that might raise eyebrows: work less, and let your donors know you’re prioritizing staff wellbeing alongside your mission.
What does this actually look like? Let me channel la Madrina and grab a cafecito.
It means your volunteers and your Executive Director don’t have to work seven days a week or pull 10-hour days. The people you serve will still be there tomorrow. There are likely other nonprofits around you providing similar services.
And let’s be honest with each other. We can’t help everybody all of the time.
We don’t have the capacity as human beings. You can’t stay awake for 24 hours. You can’t magically grow money. You can’t personally reach every person who needs help, even with a small team.
Get Strategic: Niche Down and Prioritize
The solution starts with getting specific:
- Who are you serving?
- Why are you serving them?
- How are you serving them?
Once you’re clear on these questions, prioritize your people. Don’t hire a fundraiser or development director and expect them to single-handedly raise $100,000, $150,000, or $500,000 in a year—especially not in today’s climate. And that is even more true if you don’t have the data to support raising that money.
The Reality of Today’s Fundraising
Let’s take a quick look at what we’re facing as an industry:
Recent executive orders have threatened funding streams, particularly those focused on DEI initiatives. Tariffs and economic pressures are creating inflation that affects both our operations and our donors’ capacity to give. Individual donors are being pulled in multiple directions, asked to contribute to countless causes.
Don’t get me wrong! Fundraising, grants, donations, and other revenue streams can still be successful, but will take creativity and innovation.
This isn’t the time to promise the moon. It’s time to be strategic and sustainable.
The Cost of Ignoring Wellbeing
When we don’t prioritize staff wellbeing, we end up paying more:
- Sick leave increases
- Turnover costs money and institutional knowledge
- Burned-out staff provide lower-quality services
- Your mission suffers when your people are suffering
What If We Reimagined Success?
Instead of measuring ourselves by how many hours we work or how many people we reach, what if we measured our success by:
- The quality of service we provide
- The sustainability of our model
- The well-being of our team
- The depth of impact rather than the breadth
What if we told our donors, “We’re committed to serving our community and treating our staff well. Both matter. Both are part of our mission.”
Making It Work
This isn’t about being lazy or uncommitted. It’s about being strategic and sustainable.
It means:
- Setting realistic program goals based on actual capacity
- Building in recovery time and boundaries
- Saying no to opportunities that would overextend your team
- Being transparent with stakeholders about your approach
- Trusting that doing less well beats doing more poorly
You’ll see some of these ideas in my blog post about Action Bias.
Back to the Teeter-Totter
Just like that childhood teeter-totter, we’re constantly adjusting. The goal isn’t to eliminate all the bumps, but it’s to find a sustainable rhythm.
When you prioritize your people alongside your programs, you create something powerful!
Healthy, supported staff → Better service delivery → Stronger community impact → More compelling story for donors → Sustainable funding → Ability to continue supporting staff
It starts with a choice: Will you keep slamming into the ground, or will you find a better balance?
Your mission will still be there tomorrow. The question is: will your team?
What boundaries have you set to protect your team’s well-being? Share in the comments—other nonprofit leaders need to hear they’re not alone in this struggle.
Need help building a sustainable model that prioritizes both mission and people? Let’s talk. Book a free consultation with Madrina Consulting.
