Community Is The Way
Check out this new offering for you to find the community you need!
Last week, I attended (and presented a break-out session at) the SOLD-OUT Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Fundraising Conference.
Can I tell you about the vibe?
Tense.
Over-filled.
Stressed.
A break-out session on the so-called “Great Wealth Transfer” had every seat filled and folks sitting all over the floor and standing in back.
My presenting partner, Betsy, wandered from one session where the topic was something like impending layoffs… to another discussing recent federal executive orders that were threatening everything everyone in the room cared about.
The keynote speaker, President of the McKnight Foundation Tonya Allen, unapologetically spoke truths about the seemingly earth-shattering context we’ve all been living through… and how much we need to rally, to counter the forces systematically dismantling the shared civic life we know we need.
Amidst all of the gloom…
… and doom…
… and heaviness…
… and tension…
… Betsy and I realized we were extra-glad we had decided to present a session focused on community care, where we would intentionally create a pop-up community of care within the conference… and teach and practice with tools that would help our attendees do the same in their day-to-day.
Our session was joyful.
Our hearts were lighter, when we left it.
And yet again, my belief in community was renewed.
Friends, I believe in this stuff.
Like, believe believe in it.
Community is the way.
Community is the best end we could ever reach…
… and it is the best means to reach whatever end we might desire.
Community is also THE best way to survive times where we are feeling targeted, threatened, extra-stressed, at-risk — just ask anybody you know who belongs to a community that has been marginalized throughout history.
Our Black siblings…
… or our disabled siblings…
… or our trans siblings…
… or or or so many other groups.
Any of these groups will tell you this truth.
And now, during this era where groups that never felt targeted or marginalized before are suddenly having that experience too, it’s long-past time for us all to gratefully receive and learn from the lived experience and wisdom of those who know.
Community is the way.
Friends, we were never meant to do this work alone.
Community work is ecosystemic work.
When we’re working to better our communities — especially if we’re fundraising, especially if we’re working in nonprofit organizations — we need to be connected with each other… and collaborating with each other.
I’ve known this for a long time, and I’d say that I’ve prioritized this kind of community-weaving at every stage of my career as a nonprofit fundraiser.
This community I’ve grown has been magic…
… and supportive…
… and essential to my success…
… and grounding…
… and an essential gut-check and accountability, when I need it…
… and joyful…
… and so much more.
I can’t imagine doing this work otherwise.
In the last week, I put a poll up on LinkedIn with a query to see how many of my fellow nonprofit fundraisers felt the same.
I’m happy to see that, of all the folks who’ve responded so far (you can respond too, by clicking through that image above!👆🏻), 85% have responded that community is absolutely important for them in their work.
And I’m feeling some concern for the 15% of my comrades who answered either “Sometimes Yes” or “Not So Much.” In short, I wonder how much more stressful these last few months have been for them.
I’m concerned about all of you.
And that is why I want to help YOU grow the same kind of community that I have, with purpose and alignment.
So.
Here’s my offer to you:
Community-Weaving for Fundraisers
I know how it is for you — intimately.
Because I’ve been there.
And I know that, many days, you forget to take lunch…
… or you feel like you can’t.
And I can’t abide by that.
I want to make sure you take a good break from your work — in the middle of the day — at least once or twice a month.
So I’m creating that container for you:
➡️ A virtual space, open on Zoom, twice a month
➡️ Noon-1:30PM CST on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays
➡️ All you have to do is show up
➡️ Eat your lunch
➡️ Take a breath
➡️ And grow and weave your community of fellow nonprofit fundraisers, as I facilitate that process between y’all
➡️ In between these sessions, continue the conversation — continue the weaving with each other — at the space I’ll host on WhatsApp
I want this to be the support you’ve been craving.
I want this to be the breath-of-fresh-air you’ve been seeking.
I want you to find a whole new level of groundedness in care… in collaboration… in connectedness… in solidarity… in knowing-you’re-never-alone.
I want us all to learn a whole new way of being together.
What do you say?
Will you join us in community?
Life is hard right now. Community work is hard right now. I know. I feel it, too. Stress has always been an inherent part of this work…but it’s been exponentially multiplied lately. The world feels like it’s on fire. And still, we’re expected to keep on truckin’ everyday. Friends, we were never meant to do this work alone.
Community work is ecosystemic work.
When we’re working to better our communities — especially if we’re fundraising, especially if we’re working in nonprofit organizations — we need to be connected with each other… and collaborating with each other.
Check out my newest offering:
➡️ Community-Weaving for Fundraisers ⬅️
… and get on the Waiting List to join us!
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