These pandemic lessons must stay, full stop.

How do you feel about the power of two vaccine shots taking you back to normal (which I understand could mean different things to different people)? Should we use those two doses to leave the pandemic chapter to history books – something we have wanted to do ever since all this started? I am not an anti-vaxxer (in fact, I am due for the second dose in two weeks), and this article is not about vaccines either. I am raising these questions because I believe as an Indian immigrant in North America, I have the power and privilege to observe two worlds – India and North America. And the two worlds are on a different spectrum of cataloging the last 16 months in history. Moreover, I also get to talk with many intelligent individuals through consulting - we agree that the effects of a pandemic on our mental health are more than we realize. So, with such varied after-effects of the last few months on our health, I ask again – should we use those two doses to leave the chapter of the pandemic to history books?

No, the pandemic lessons must stay. In an urgency to begin new chapters of a pandemic-free world, we cannot unsee or forget all that we have been through. Especially if some of those lessons have the power to make us empathetic, curious, and action-oriented towards things that we always perceived just as another “norm”. As a philanthropy enthusiast, I am listing five lessons from the nonprofit world that we need to remember without any statute of limitations. By no means is this a comprehensive list. If yours could look different than mine, then I encourage you to add them to this list.

#1. Mental health is real and non-negotiable aspect of life.

Burnout, fatigue, anxiety, or depression – all of that always existed. But perhaps it was not until we were confined within four walls and at a million zoom meetings that we started to see the manifestations of unacknowledged emotions in us. Now that we have only just begun to realize that this subject needs its due importance, we must carve out space and time in our lives to reflect on our emotions for all things that we otherwise conveniently perceived as “this is how it works” or “that’s just life”. Self-care begins with giving yourself the space to gain self-clarity on what YOU need and then acting on it.

#2. Sustainable work-life balance does not have to be a luxury.

Long working hours, laptop screens starting way before nine and going way after 5, monitoring phones for small beeps and notifications, or dreading Mondays – aren’t these the common symptoms of a “working professional”? They existed even before the pandemic for many of us, and perhaps a few months added back-to-back zoom meetings to that list. But, no matter how many times leadership repeats “take a vacation day for your self-care”, that mantra doesn’t translate into sustainable work-life balance easily. Sustainability is a sum of three ingredients – Prioritization, letting go, and being okay with the failures. While most organizations appreciate the word prioritization, what is missing in action is the other two ingredients. We must realize that the last few months have indeed affected us beyond than we understand. We have seen lost jobs, family, and friends losing their jobs or, worst, losing people from our circle. “Back to office” plans and taskforces must reflect the time to heal from such traumatic experiences. One aspect of that includes answering the question – what does sustainability mean to our organization, and what do we have to learn (and unlearn) to achieve it?

And this is quickly becoming non-negotiable for a chunk of our current workforce. Check out #greatresignation.

#3. All constituents are important – and donors are only a part of that long list.

Pandemic showed an uptick in donations and donors for many nonprofits. Volunteering was another area that saw an upsurge all over the world. For the past few months, many organizations are working on keeping the momentum of this generosity. In this struggle of staying on the radar of supporters, while we acknowledge that all constituents contribute meaning towards the mission yet, why is it that donors (or top donors) get the most verbal and written attention? Two common responses that I have often heard from my clients and networking chats are –?

• because they affect the fundraising goal
• because I would rather have 2 $5K donors than 20 $500 donors

Perhaps pandemic only highlighted a need for us to pause and acknowledge this always existing practice. And though I understand where the above rationale is coming from, what it is missing are two pieces:

1. When you share an organization-wide acknowledgment, consistently, that all your constituents are important, you begin creating space for capturing right and additional data points. And, the more relationship-based data points you collect, the more you are making an opportunity to map metrics that can affect your fundraising goals. Thus “because they affect the fundraising goal” could have a different answer.
2. When was the last time you reviewed portfolios of your fundraisers? With the right balance of portfolios (aligned with the strategic plan), supporting technology, and customized engagement strategies, the question is no longer 2 $5K donors?vs. 20 $500K. The question becomes how do both groups have a fulfilling experience for which they connected with your mission.

So, do not hesitate to slow down and think with your team - about how you could involve all your constituents and create a symbiotic partnership amongst the groups.

#4. Social injustices exist in the community around us, and we must actively work on them.

The past few months have shown us, sadly repeatedly, that social injustices exist and have existed in the world around us – be it the fight for racial equity or the heart-breaking injustices against Indigenous children. But can the outpour of our grief and anger be enough? If we seek to make an impactful transformation, we must create a deliberate space in personal and professional lives to consistently contribute to the work behind such change. Those spaces could be a mix of time, money, wisdom, patience, and the flexibility to learn what it needs.?

#5. To achieve equity, we might have to rebuild from scratch – and that is okay.

This point is my favorite on this list – being okay with building from scratch. As we continue to learn what equity means (around, for, and to us), we will come across processes that may be salvaged with deliberate tweaks and fixes. But some processes may need completely breaking it apart and building something from the ground up. Those well-intended actions could induce some anxieties, especially when:

a). we do not know the exact outcome of the rebuild yet, and

b). we all have timelines and accountabilities in our roles.

Understand that it is okay not to know all answers and perhaps even fail when we are trying to unlearn. We do not get the luxury to collectively see the opportunity of redesigning our processes every day. Now that the pandemic is giving us such a chance, I say we fearlessly experiment to rebuild what is needed and fail fast in the process.