What does it take to thrive?
Survival mode is exhausting. After hunkering down for months, we have felt the exhaustion personally, and we have seen it wear on the organizations we serve. We have watched nonprofits struggle, and even close their doors. We have watched colleagues ask “what’s next?” and felt the urgency to fill the gaps in the communities these closures have produced.
As challenging as 2020 was, the truth is, many nonprofits have been just surviving so long that we hardly even see it anymore. We have grown to accept working extremely hard to make ends meet, just barely, leaving too many organizations struggling for efficiency and against toxicity. Uphill, both ways.
Last year showed us the true cost of trying to do more with less: lack of resiliency in the face of crisis and, consequently, lost opportunities for mission impact.
Fortunately, last year also showed us something better: What a powerful force we are when we look at ourselves with new eyes. When we really see our potential and bring it to life, we thrive.
At Aperio, our vision for 2021 is that nonprofits get out of survival mode and thrive. We believe that in the wake of an eye-opening 2020, there is no better time for a wholesale reimagining and redesign of how we thrive as people, professionals, teams, organizations, missions, and communities.
Now is the time to thrive. And you have what it takes to do it.
In the coming year, we invite you to join us in exploring what reimagining means to you:
How do you find your ‘north star’?
How do you focus (for real though…)?
How do you claim your ‘agency’?
How do you rally your community?
Finding your north star
The first step toward thriving is to know: What are we thriving for? What are we striving for, and why?
For you, as a person and professional
For your team
For your organization
For your mission and the community you serve
What we know is that all big leaps start with a why—a why that not only makes sense intellectually, but truly moves us. That why is your north star, your guiding light as you navigate twists and challenges and choices of transformation.
Focusing—really
To truly thrive, we need to put our resources—especially our time—to highest and best use, every day.
When we are pulled in too many directions and mired in clutter, as we often are in the nonprofit culture, it is impossible to realize our full potential. The remedy is focus—not as a momentary concentration of attention, but as a lifestyle.
We need to orient everything we do around our north star. We need to define the priorities that will move us toward it, and then ensure that every aspect of our strategies, plans, and daily work serve them.
We need to change our habits. Among them, to start saying no, or not now, to things that do not move us toward our true goals.
Claiming your ‘agency’
So much that affects our lives lies beyond our control. That feels truer now than ever.
It’s overwhelming, and we should acknowledge that.
At the same time, we should acknowledge that in addition to the many forces beyond our control, there are others that we can control—more than we often recognize.
Together, we’ll explore how to pursue our north star with grit, focusing on what we can control and how to funnel our time, energy, and investment into the places that make a difference, no matter the circumstances around us.
Building your community
No nonprofit succeeds alone. And no fundraiser succeeds alone.
Community is the heart of what we do.
The most important work that any nonprofit leader or fundraiser does is to spark connections, learn what motivates others, build trust, and cultivate high-impact partnerships—with donors, within our organizations, and within our industry.
No matter what your role in fundraising, you are a leader on your team, in your organization, and for your mission.
Together, we’ll explore how to embrace that role and thrive in it.
In the meantime, we wish you a happy, healthy start to the year. We look forward to working alongside you to thrive this year.