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Forbes
16 hours ago
- Health
- Forbes
Why Nonprofit Leaders Should Prioritize Self-Care
Turcois Ominek is the chief operations officer of FreedomOrg. At many nonprofits, leaders have to guide their teams as they do their part to address social issues—many of which are complex and emotionally challenging. Simultaneously, nonprofit leaders have to juggle various priorities, such as fundraising, building grassroots campaigns and working on effective storytelling. I don't find it surprising that burnout is common in the nonprofit world. Consider this finding from a 2024 study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP): 'Burnout—for both nonprofit staff and leadership—remains a top concern for most nonprofit leaders, with half of nonprofit leaders feeling more concerned about their own burnout than this time last year.' I believe nonprofit leaders should prioritize self-care, and by doing so, they can help ward off burnout, maintain focus and clarity and model healthy behaviors for their teams. The Importance Of Self-Care Unfortunately, from my observations, some nonprofit leaders don't prioritize self-care due to various reasons, such as feeling guilty for taking time for themselves, not wanting to step away in light of resource constraints at their organizations and struggling to disconnect. But self-care, which the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as 'the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease, and to cope with illness—with or without the support of a health or care worker,' is vital. It's not selfish. According to one study that focused on caregivers, 'self-care decreases stress, promotes coping, and improves mental health.' In my view, self-care should be a leadership imperative. If nonprofit leaders neglect themselves, they can become burned out and unable to properly support their teams and work toward advancing their organizations' missions. I learned the importance of self-care the hard way. I used to not prioritize self-care as a nonprofit leader because I thought there were others who were doing worse. I didn't feel comfortable practicing self-care when not everyone was able to. But the turning point for me was when I got sick with a Covid-like illness. It was one of those cases where I was sleep-deprived, my immune system was down and I fell ill. I had a conversation with my doctor, and she told me that getting enough sleep, eating healthily and managing my stress would help me. She also told me that if I wanted longevity, I had to reconsider some things. So, I started prioritizing my sleep, and my self-care journey started expanding from there. Key Ways Nonprofit Leaders Can Prioritize Practicing Self-Care Practicing self-care can take many forms, such as exercising, tapping into a creative outlet and meditating. Regardless of how nonprofit leaders choose to practice self-care, based on my experience, there are several ways they can prioritize doing so. First, I recommend setting boundaries. Nonprofit leaders should define their work hours and say 'no' when necessary. That way, they can carve out time for themselves to practice self-care. Additionally, nonprofit leaders should delegate tasks and empower their team members to handle them. In my view, if you can't trust the team you're working with, they're less likely to be able to trust themselves, meaning you'll have to work extra time to tackle their tasks on top of your own. It's also important to schedule regular breaks, be it setting aside 20 minutes each day for a walk, taking a few days off each quarter, etc. Scheduling regular breaks, I've found, helps you stick to a self-care routine. How Nonprofit Leaders Can Encourage Practicing Self-Care On Their Teams In addition to practicing self-care themselves, I believe nonprofit leaders should create organizational cultures where self-care is championed. Teams are integral to leaders' success. Practicing self-care will only get nonprofit leaders so far if their teams are burned out and stressed. There are different ways nonprofit leaders can encourage practicing self-care on their teams. For instance, they can make it easy for staff to access mental health resources, have open conversations about recognizing and managing burnout and make it easy for everyone to step away when they need to. An approach that's worked at my organization is that, outside of being off for the holidays, we also have a big shutdown for three or four weeks every year. This enables me, the rest of the leadership team and every team member to focus on non-work things and decompress. Why Nonprofit Leaders Should Talk About Self-Care With Their Peers Beyond building cultures where self-care is celebrated at their organizations, I also encourage nonprofit leaders to talk about self-care with their peers, fellow nonprofit leaders. Exchanging information can help nonprofit leaders discover new ways to help themselves and their teams navigate self-care. For instance, through a conversation, one nonprofit leader might learn that another has given their team members the option to sign up for art classes or a discounted gym membership. That information could inspire the leader to do the same. Additionally, by talking about self-care with their peers, nonprofit leaders can make it more widespread in the nonprofit world. When more nonprofit leaders and their teams recognize the value of self-care and practice it, I believe they can more effectively advance the causes they're working toward. Forbes Nonprofit Council is an invitation-only organization for chief executives in successful nonprofit organizations. Do I qualify?
Forbes
30-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
Storytelling For Social Good: How To Inspire Action Through Compelling Narratives
Turcois Ominek is the chief operations officer of FreedomOrg. If you've ever donated to a nonprofit or volunteered at one, you might have been moved to do so because of a compelling story. Effective storytelling is a powerful tool for nonprofits. Compelling stories have the power to humanize issues, spread awareness, shift people's perspectives and inspire action around causes. Effective storytelling is an art that nonprofit leaders and their teams can excel at with the right approach. The Key Components Of Compelling Stories Compelling stories, in my experience, have several key components. First, they're authentic. Audiences have to feel that the stories they're reading, watching or listening to are rooted in honesty. Authenticity can be achieved by featuring relatable people whom audiences can connect with in a nonprofit's content. For instance, an animal shelter could produce a video series highlighting real people who have adopted pets from it. Granted, in certain situations, showcasing real people who have been helped by a nonprofit, or who have helped a nonprofit, can threaten their safety (such as in the case of people who have sought safety at domestic violence shelters). In such cases, nonprofit leaders should tread carefully and brainstorm creative ways they can tell authentic stories without endangering anyone's safety. However, in my view, stories should always be extracted with consent—and storytellers should truly understand the communities they're serving in order to create agency for them through the narratives they build. Another key element of compelling stories is that they are emotionally resonant. They don't just state that a nonprofit does a certain kind of work and ask for donations. Rather, they are told in a way that evokes empathy in others. Emotional resonance in storytelling, I've found, can be created by offering clear conflicts and resolutions (calls to action)—people have to understand what the problems are and how they can do their part to help solve those problems. If a narrative focuses on the problem but doesn't propose a solution, then people are likely to walk away from it feeling helpless. On the flip side, if a narrative only focuses on a proposed solution but not the problem, or doesn't explain the problem in simple terms, then people are likely to walk away not understanding why they're being called upon to take a certain action, such as donating or volunteering. Aggressive, confusing or presumptuous messaging can alienate audiences. The Basics Of Selecting Content Types And Platforms Building compelling narratives is only one part of the equation, however. Nonprofit leaders and their teams must consider which content types are most effective for packaging those narratives and which platforms to distribute them on. There are many factors at play when it comes to identifying the best format and placement for a story, such as elements of the narrative, the call to action, the target audience and an organization's goals. For example, a nonprofit trying to recruit more local college students to volunteer for its annual fundraising barbecue would likely be better off publishing short videos featuring former volunteers' testimonies on TikTok and Instagram than running TV ads. Nonprofit leaders and their teams should make considerations about accessibility and infrastructure as well, leveraging grassroots approaches when necessary. For instance, the community my organization serves faces infrastructure and affordability barriers that make internet access a challenge. So, when my team and I want to reach out to them, we usually do so by knocking on doors as opposed to posting on social media. I recommend that nonprofits experiment with different content types and platforms to see what resonates the most with their different audience segments. The Importance Of Assigning Clear Ownership To Storytelling Efforts It's important that nonprofit leaders and their teams provide input on the organization's storytelling initiatives. However, in my view, while input should come from across the organization, storytelling at a nonprofit needs ownership—there should be a dedicated person or team solely focused on content creation and distribution. Depending on their budgets and other circumstances, nonprofits can hire someone or a team internally, or seek out help through contractors or agencies. What matters most, I believe, is that nonprofits clearly designate ownership over storytelling, as ownership helps keep everything organized. When a nonprofit has a dedicated person or team responsible for storytelling, it helps ensure that the necessary time and expertise are invested in crafting authentic stories that drive action. For instance, I think one of the most important steps any nonprofit can take to improve its storytelling efforts is to have someone capture photos and videos at every event. If no one is tasked with the responsibility of doing so, or with the responsibility of hiring someone to do so, then it can become an afterthought, and nonprofits can miss out on valuable storytelling opportunities. In the nonprofit world, compelling stories are arguably the conversation starters and action drivers. It's vital that nonprofit leaders and their teams focus on creating interesting, authentic stories that center the real people they serve and work with, so that people can be moved to seek help, donate, volunteer and become advocates for causes. Forbes Nonprofit Council is an invitation-only organization for chief executives in successful nonprofit organizations. Do I qualify?
