What do you do if your work-life balance is affecting your fundraising career?

I would flip this as it’s not about “me,” but rather it’s about the priorities of the nonprofit and the priorities to serve the people who benefit from the nonprofit in the best way possible. 1) Assess your nonprofit’s priorities by talking to the people you serve. 2) Assess your leader’s priorities by talking to your leader. 3) Assess your team’s priorities by talking to your team. The lay it out and re-prioritize to embrace and support the mission of the nonprofit while identifying and addressing the top 3 things you need to prevent burnout.

Assessing your priorities is a great first step to managing work/life balance, and really finding a way to have balance. It is important to decide what matters most to you both personally and professionally. As you assess your priorities, I'd recommend tracking them against a weekly, monthly, and/or annual calendar to not only get a sense of what your priorities are, but when, and where when it is applicable, they are. Once you can see when and where your personal and professional priorities lie, you can assess what is and is not working; you may discover that simple changes like getting up a half hour earlier, or cutting out some screen time, will give you back the time you need to find the balance you are looking for.

To balance work and life while excelling in fundraising, leverage time management tools like Trello or Asana. Set clear goals, prioritize tasks, and use productivity techniques like the Pomodoro method to stay focused. Delegate tasks where possible and communicate openly with your team about workload expectations. Remember, a balanced life leads to better performance in your fundraising career.

"A goal without a plan is just a wish" A. de Saint-Exupery Establishing a clear plan with organizational buy-in is essential. The most important aspect of a fundraising plan is creating a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization, fundraising is a team sport. Fundraising plans eliminate operational chaos and create a set of strategic boundaries, ideally eliminating constant strategic adjustments. Our role as a fundraiser is to rally a community around a mission. Managing so many variables creates unique challenges and requires intellectual agility. Set boundaries, trust your skill set, you're the expert.

When I accepted the role of executive director I knew this would be a marathon — not a sprint. I negotiated for PTO, put the time on my calendar, and stuck to it. Best. Decision. Ever! You’re going to be pulled in a million directions. You’ll have big decisions to make. Some people will agree with those decisions, and others will challenge you. You’ll work with those in need, volunteers, staff, donors and board members. You’ll speak to large and small groups, sharing your organization’s story constantly. You’ll have to think about finances, Human Resources, how to do A LOT with limited resources, and your creativity will be stretched. It’s rewarding, but if you don’t take care of yourself — you’ll burn out. My advice? Don’t burn out!

Managing your time is so critical. I like to map my time out as strictly business, strictly personal, and then the additional time that can swing either way. By doing this, I set a clear standard to devote to my priorities. For example, Sundays are strictly personal; I use these days to spend time with my family, and do not mix any of that time with professional work. Evenings on most weeknights are swing times; if we are just hanging out and a quick call or task comes across my phone, I might take care of it while relaxing and enjoying mostly personal time. And work days are focused on getting professional priorities accomplished. Breaking up my time this way helps rank my priorities against time devoted for those priorities.

Start by communicating your needs clearly and directly. Use tools like scheduling apps to manage your time efficiently and set boundaries between work and personal life. Prioritize tasks using productivity tools like Trello or Asana. Seek support from mentors or coaches who can provide guidance on managing workload and stress effectively. Regularly review and adjust your strategies to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life.

Make sure you rest as hard as you work. Commit to fully switching off when you’re off. It is honestly true that this allows some of your most creative thinking, so doing so benefits and adds to your work life and productivity. Find a role where your senior team and colleagues value wellbeing and support it. Fundraising can be tough and take its toll. Lastly, let go of what you can’t control. This one is a game changer.

Making space to revel in the sense of a job well done is so important. A terrific resources for this is the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace—bc appreciation is not a one-size-fits-all thing. We’re predisposed to overemphasize setbacks and minimize success, so celebration requires lots of intention. Add to that the fact that there is ALWAYS another fundraising goal to work toward. Ask any higher ed fundraiser about the difference between the way they feel on June 30 and the vibes on July 1. Celebrate! Celebrate yourself, your team, your enterprise.

Fundraising is a dynamic industry. It's important to recognize that and communicate it with your friends and family. There are times, in between major fundraising pushes and deadlines that things are slow and time is abundant to spend away from work tasks. There are other times when you have to be dialed in and the tasks are going to probably take up more time then your 40 hour work week. If you are comfortable in the environment, and manage expectations with both work and life, you can really enjoy the slower times, and crush your professional goals when things are hot.