7 Reasons Why You May Need a Reminder That We're Not Here to Raise Money
... and why the Wisdom Circle for Philanthropy is for you
Friends, those of us working in this field of philanthropy/nonprofits/fundraising are not here to raise money. Not really.
The money is a sideshow.
The money is just the means by which we ensure the things we value happen. The money is also a vehicle through which we care for each other.
But the money is not the point.
The caring is the point, here.
Being in community is the point, here.
Our shared humanity is the point, here.
Over the time we’ve all been a part of this field — some of us longer than others — we’ve gotten our priorities out of whack.
We’ve also developed far too many bad habits, in our work.
The Wisdom Circle for Philanthropy is the means by which we’ll…
… re-learn better habits…
… find more holistic, healthier, effective ways to do our work…
… and regularly experience the joy in our work.
I know this.
100%.
You may suspect this too.
But ALSO, I suspect you may have some “buts” in your mind.
See if any of these resonate….
1️⃣ You don’t have time. To take lunch. To see friends. To do the strategic thinking you know you need to do. To take a breath. To actually do your work. Your days feel like you go from thing-to-thing-to-thing… and your to-do list never seems to get smaller. How can you be doing so much… and yet feeling like you’re running in place? You’re in a new management role… and/or you’re learning a new skill-set… and/or you’re got a team depending on you… and/or you’re really struggling to integrate your work and the rest of your life… and/or… I’m sure you can fill in the rest.
—> I know we all know what this feeling is like — and sharing in the camaraderie of being in that rock-and-a-hard-place situation… and helping each other transform it into something much more healthy, something that supports our holistic wellness, is one of the key purposes of the Wisdom Circle!
2️⃣ You don’t get enough opportunity for professional development. Taking a full day away for a conference? Probably not. Flying out to a multi-day opportunity in another state? Yeah right! Your org has given you a bit of funds for your professional development, but you don’t know how you’ll ever use it. Nothing seems to fit into your life and work, and nothing seems to be especially applicable to your work either.
—> The beauty of this professional development is that it was designed to fold into, and directly support, your day-to-day work. You can count on regular meet-ups for support and guidance, every month. You can bring any problem you’re facing — whether a tricky grant proposal or a fundraising letter you’re working on writing, a challenging issue with a teammate, or an ego-driven donor you’re struggling to build rapport with — and work through it in the Wisdom Circle, which will be part fundraising course, part problem-solving resource, part networking and community-building, part support group, part on-the-job training… and more…
3️⃣ You’re not sure if this is a good use of your time. If this is something that worries you, then the Wisdom Circle for Philanthropy is made for you. You’ve been a good soldier and learned the lessons taught to you in workplace after workplace — that your value is in what you produce, and that you can’t “waste” time on anything that is not purely productive.
—> That’s a problem… because you aren’t a robot. You’re a human being. Being in community is one of your key needs and, if you ask this question at all, you likely don’t know how to prioritize community in your life. You also likely don’t realize how much being in community will somehow make you better at your job than you’ve ever been before, just as an added bonus.
4️⃣ Can you even call this professional development? You’re not even sure how to budget for this… or whether you can justify it as professional development. Is it? Is this the same as a conference… or a webinar… or a training?
—> YES! This is professional development! Highly effective professional development, at that! You know what? I designed the Wisdom Circle to be the highly effective, applicable-to-my-actual-work professional development I have always craved. This will be different than most professional development you’ve experienced. You will learn so much from hearing what your peers are experiencing, and from witnessing how they are being guided through their own issues. This is not going to be a break-out session or webinar that only marginally applies to your work. This learning is going to be directly based on your work… and on the real-world problems and work of your peers too.
5️⃣ My supervisor will probably say no. Managing relationships at work, most especially those between workers and their supervisors, can so often be fraught. In my own experience, and in the experience of SO many of my colleagues, we so often are driven from jobs, propelled to greener pastures, by our relationships at work. They are far-too-often toxic and stressful, to some degree. Beyond that? They are rarely supportive, in the ways we need.
—> This is exactly why one of the major goals of the Wisdom Circle is to provide the support, guidance, and community care that all of us need to navigate our relationships at work, knowing how much they affect our actual work!
6️⃣ Things are super-tense and stressful right now. Yes! Things ARE super-tense and stressful right now! Also: I have yet to encounter a time in my career when they are not. For some reason or other. You too?
—> This abiding truth is why the Wisdom Circle is designed to provide a warm, safe, supportive, caring, healing container for you to re-fill your cup — and to learn new skills with which to approach your day-to-day work… that will actually help mitigate the stress you are experiencing!
7️⃣ You don’t have enough money for professional development. This is another enduring truth that has irked me throughout my career. Nonprofits never provide enough professional development for their staffers. And allocating money in the budget for professional development seems to always be an after-thought. Cuts need to be made? Professional development is usually one of the first victims. This seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face, if you ask me! A staff is literally how almost every nonprofit’s mission gets accomplished. No staff, no mission. Under-resourced, under-trained staff? Compromised mission. WHY isn’t professional development thus prioritized? I strongly believe it should be.
—> Given what I said above, of course I genuinely hope that your employer would happily fund your professional development via a Wisdom Circle membership. At the same time, I know how dicey the chances for that can be… AND I do not want anyone losing out on this kind of professional development, guidance, skill-building, mentoring, and support. SO! That is why I offer scholarships. I will be happy to offer you one, if you need it. Just ask! We’ll talk.
Friends, look at that list above again.
THESE ARE THE ISSUES we’re all facing, daily — the most stubborn, gnarly, toxic, seemingly unfixable problems we keep struggling with, the ones seemingly just woven into the fabric of our work.
And here’s the thing.
We can’t solve any of these problems with an academic exercise, with our minds or via some brilliant analysis. We can’t just listen to a lecture, podcast, webinar, or training… or think or write about it. Or even just talk about it.
We need to experience the antidotes, even and especially while we’re in the midst of the toxins, so that the antidotes can do their work.
On a regular basis.
Daily.
Weekly.
Monthly.
And before we know it, we’ll have been living our way into a whole new world of experiences, a whole new way to live and work.
The irony here is that, while considering whether or not we can sign on to healing ourselves and our work in this way, we’re doing a thing that is one of the ongoing systemic problems we need to heal: we are spinning our wheels while avoiding the things we know we need to do.
Why would we refuse the antidote to a toxin we’re ingesting… because we’re so busy ingesting the toxin?
The stress of this moment is not going to go away.
Not really.
New governmental decisions will affect our work.
The wealth inequity we’re all seeing will continue to develop.
Institutional funders will continue to be out-of-touch with our on-the-ground needs.
And you know what?
We’ll keep living our lives, doing our best to get by.
We’ll likely be faced with ever-bigger challenges, as the trajectories that we and our fellow humans are on continue to unfold.
Inflation will likely stubbornly persist.
Nobody knows what will happen with the U.S. stock market, but it will likely continue to confound our work.
When people tighten their belts, our jobs will become harder and stress us out.
The civil unrest and discord will likely continue to animate far too many of us.
Power will continue to favor the few.
Those in power will continue to cling to it.
True change — systemic and otherwise — will continue to seem out of reach.
And in the midst of all of that, the Wisdom Circle for Philanthropy will be quietly gathering — and incubating and growing a whole new world into being.
For the Love of Humanity is an online community made up of, and generously supported by, its readers and listeners (like you).
Your support — whether through a Supporting Subscription, or through leaving a “heart” or a comment on posts, or by sharing published pieces, or simply by bringing your presence here and helping to grow this community — is so appreciated.
Find For the Love of Humanity elsewhere and join us there too!