Choosing love in nonprofit work

These are the remarks I gave at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit's Annual Conference on October 13, 2022 - our first in-person conference since 2019.

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Thank you for joining Minnesota Council of Nonprofit’s Annual Conference, here, in person, in St. Paul, or in Dakota Imní?aska Othú?we, our village along the white cliffs. And these white cliffs are in harmony with the Wakpa Tanka, “great river,” or Ha-ha Wakpa, “river of the falls,” otherwise known as the Mississippi River.

There are almost 1000 people joining us during the next two days. Clearly, we are ready to reunite, collectively take a breath, celebrate each other, and to simply be with people who understand the joys and the exhaustion of working in this vibrant and diverse nonprofit sector.??

It is ok to feel strongly about this moment. As nonprofit professionals, we are too often used to putting aside our own personal needs for community, forgetting that in order to take care of others, we must take care of ourselves first. I hope that these two days bring you with what you need to rejuvenate, pause, and take the time we never seem to have to learn from each other and build new networks and connections.?

As much as we want to rejoice this time together, the reality is – we are facing some momentous challenges as a sector. While MN nonprofits still represent a strong 14% of the economy, less than 5% of us were successful in receiving Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loans and generally left behind on government relief funding. The cumbersome process to apply for the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) will most likely yield the same results. We have also lost over 30,000 workers since 2020. Volunteerism, individual giving, and public trust have declined according to a recent review by the Independent Sector . The recent allegations of fraud on intermediary organizations and the subsequent national attention have put pressure to increase regulations on nonprofits. And the demand for our services continue to increase. Funding sources remain stagnant. It is critical to remember that the pandemic is not over, especially for the most vulnerable in our state.?

?So many of us have not been able to come up for air when the next urgency of the moment come at us like relentless waves.?The problems nonprofit organizations are expected to solve and the gaps we are expected to fill are complex and inter-sectional. We continue to lose critical talent due to our inability to compete in the market as workers rightfully demand adequate pay, benefits, and human-centered workplaces. Leaders are expected to be experts in programming, fundraising, HR, finance, running a business...most likely without adequate training, not to mention the unwritten job description to unclog toilets, fix the printer by nudging it with your hip just in the right place, update social media we don’t understand while working on computer that is probably as old as your youngest staff member. I’ve certainly been there. You know, if you know.???

Personally, it has been exhausting navigating systems that seem to have been designed to make us fail. I’ve shed countless tears and constantly feel the weight of anxiety, loneliness, despair, and anger. I’ve certainly questioned my worth in accepting this leadership position especially during a pandemic and then immediately felt the guilt knowing the privileges I hold and not doing enough with those privileges. I know it’s not rational, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

And yet, I’ve never questioned my choice in pursuing a career in nonprofits.?

The on-going narrative is that nonprofit professionals should feel good that we are contributing to our collective efforts to make this world a better place. And while I feel strongly that we need to continue to advocate with funders to stop the practice of underpaying our employees in exchange for good vibes and karma; I also don’t think we should minimize the love and the joy in this work. We work with passionate, brilliant, and creative people. When times are tough, we are nimble and bold. We find those little spaces where we can make a positive impact, however small. It is joyful to witness people and communities take care of each other and succeed against all odds. In the words of the great and late bell hooks, Love is an action. We choose to love. We choose a career in nonprofits because despite our constant proximity to hardship, we can’t help but choose to be optimists.?

And I cannot imagine working anywhere else.?

Before we share more joy by celebrating our unsung heroes and our keynote speaker LeAnn Littlewolf , co-executive director of American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO ), I have some asks of you.

Nonprofits are one of the last remaining non-partisan spaces in this increasingly divisive world. We need elected officials who understand and will advocate for the nonprofit sector and the communities we serve. Every election is important of course, but this upcoming midterm election, we are poised to see some significant turnover in our legislature. You have the trust of your communities. We have some beautiful voter engagement guides . Please use them and let us ensure that nonprofits have the support and partnership we deserve from our government.??

We need to protect the nonprofit sector from harmful and redundant additional oversight. As a transparent sector that relies on public trust, nonprofits have the most to lose when individuals in our sector commit fraud, and we welcome appropriate oversight. Loosened during a unique period of time, regulations are returning to a more stringent system. The system did work in catching bad players, bad businesses, and bad intermediary organizations. It is infuriating that so much focus is on the few bad actors in our sector, when there is so much to celebrate the work you do every day to support communities and challenge systems. MCN and our partners are gearing up to educate lawmakers about the intricacies of our sector and to advocate for oversight that fits various segments and balances the need for flexibility in our work. Please, when you hear from Marie or Ileana, look closely at their information and requests, and remember the power we have as a collective.??

You know that providing benefits is an important factor for attracting and retaining talent; and we need to be the sector that prioritizes the health and well-being of our workers. BenefitsMN is an association health plan sponsored by MCN, in partnership with Gallagher and Medica. Now in its third year of operations we count over 100 organizations and 1200 lives as members throughout the state. BenefitsMN was created to meet a long-standing ask from our members to pool our collective power for sustainable and affordable healthcare; our continued growth will ensure nonprofits can offer competitive healthcare options to their employees and contribute to our collective efforts toward sustainability. Your trust is in good hands – my colleague Margie Siegel and the BenefitsMN trustees lead with their values and commitment to strengthening Minnesota’s nonprofit sector.?Rates for 2023 are now out. Please join us.?

Finally, let us continue to center our values of equity and justice in our work, and not let political narratives or our exhaustion cast this vital work aside. This work shouldn’t be divisive, and I believe nonprofits should especially know this. For far too long, nonprofits were often left out of decisions that benefit businesses – even though we are businesses too. The belief that nonprofits deserve a seat at the table was one of the reasons why MCN was founded. Similarly, we need to ensure organizations closest to traditionally marginalized communities are heard, policies and processes designed around, for, and by them, and have what they need to meet their missions. Rural communities continue to struggle. Disparities continue to widen by race and ethnicity. Organizations with small budgets need capacity building support. Equity simply means that everyone has what they need to thrive, what you need may be different from what your neighbor may need. From a place of abundance, generosity, and compassion, our equity work needs to be embedded, normalized, and celebrated.?

MCN will continue to provide relevant programming that responds to your needs. Our sector research will be utilized to advocate on your behalf at local, state, and federal levels. We will continue to advocate against unnecessary burden especially to organizations with the least amount of resources. Thank you for being a member and supporting all of our collective work. Thank you for choosing love.?