Kia Croom’s Post

Four ways Fundraisers can Create Boundaries at Work 🤔 Ask Yourself 🤔 Is it necessary for me to participate in this meeting? In fact, I want to say no to useless meetings and then say, you know, is it necessary for me to participate in this meeting? 👩🏿🔧 Internal Expectations 👩🏿🔧 When asked to produce work products, weigh in or provide feedback, etc, manage internal expectations to give yourself sufficient time to deliver without working under the gun. 📅 Block Out Focus Time 📅 Some days you need to actually get shit done. No interruptions, no donor calls, no meetings. To the degree that you can, carve out focus time even have a conversation with your supervisor and level set him, her, or them around the need for focus time blocks. 💪🏾 Sit with your Decision 💪🏾 When asked to make difficult decisions are otherwise. Sit with your decision. Give yourself time to ruminate, search your heart and soul, and respond only after doing so. Do not succumb to groupthink and workplace pressures. You deserve time for careful thought and self-reflection. I hope that these four tactics help someone to create healthy boundaries at work. You deserve it. #KiaCroomFundraising #Nonprofit #Fundraiser #TheGoToBIPOCFundraiser #Social Justice

Some great lessons from a Charity CEO. I particularly like the prioritising internal comms - so important. If there is one rule of communication - it is that we rarely communicate as often as we should. Informed employees will be much more engaged, and it will reduce the gossip, fear-mongering and minimise the effectiveness of the shadow side of organisations. #internalcomms #coaching #ceos

Great post from Steve Allman. In addition, I'd add create a realistic weekly #schedule (to include time for travel, to action tasks from meetings). I'd also spend time triaging on a daily basis, and when emergencies arise. Being busier causes #burnout and sickness whereas this approach helps ensure key tasks are achieved What works for you in juggling life and work? #Empowerment #achieve #WorkLifeBalance

Probably something here for everyone to reflect on. Taking timeout to reflect on how you work is importantly first step to effecting meaningful change and improve your leadership.

7 steps to burnout this year-end giving season 1. Don’t ask for help. Ever. Take on everything yourself. 2. Do more than you did last year. Yes, the gala AND the year-end appeal AND the Giving Tuesday campaign AND the holiday event and and and. Never eliminate anything. Only add. After all, your [board member/ boss/ insert ignorant person here] suggested it! 3. Don’t ask for more. If you do, only ask for 20% increase. 4. Complain. You don’t have time. You’re under-resourced and under-staffed. Who has time to have a real conversation about what you need? 5. Work a 10 hour day updating the website or collecting company logos. Busy work. No money raised. 6. Don’t reflect. Don’t learn from what works or doesn’t work. Just keep doing what you’ve always done! Go go go! 7. Be fake. Suck it up. Pretend you’re ok. Isolate yourself and hide behind a mountain of obligation and a forced smile. Advocate for yourself. Get real about what you need. People are more than willing to step up. You don’t need to go on 100 meetings in the next 3 months if you have a handful of donors who could give half of your goal. Focus. Say no. Ask. Invite. Follow up. Rest. Enjoy your life. Speak up. We need you to thrive. #fundraising #majorgifts #philanthropy #nonprofits

Do you wondered what Journey to Hope is all about? 🌟 Our mission is simple yet powerful: to empower individuals with the skills to navigate life's toughest challenges. With a focus on holistic well-being – including physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual support – we're here to guide you through every step of your journey. Discover how we can help you thrive, even in the face of adversity. 💪 #Empowerment #JourneyToHope #journeytohope #JTH #support #hope #gethelp #supportgroups #nonprofit #journey

All too often, missed deadlines point to a lack of capacity on nonprofit teams. A project timeline can be clear and agreed upon by team members on one day, but when new and/or additional tasks and projects get added to workloads the next day without taking into account current workloads and commitments, they can affect teams’ abilities to meet deadlines, or at the very least, add to their stress levels. Assessing and reassessing priorities and having frank discussions about capacity can help alleviate the stress of juggling competing and mushrooming priorities. “More” isn’t always better; “more” can lead to more missed deadlines, more employee burnout, and more fundraiser turnover.   #nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #burnout #nonprofitburnout

I advocate time tracking for many of my nonprofit clients to gain a clear and realistic assessment of where their work time is being spent. This practice helps them make informed decisions on how to allocate their time, ensuring alignment with high-priority projects and objectives. The main goal is to identify priorities, allowing for delegation, postponement, or elimination of certain tasks. It's not about cramming more work into an already packed day and calling it "efficiency." Protect your time and sanity; you'll be more productive and happier with your work. #nonprofitleadership #nonprofitfundraising #timemanagement

#OrganizedOctober Tip of the Day. Find someone to help you clean your mind. I was feeling paralyzed by overwhelm yesterday. I sat down with my life partner this morning and he served as my professional organization coach. I don't know if you've ever hired a pro organizer for your closet or house before, but BASICALLY what they do is go through your stuff and put things into three piles - trash, keep, and donate. This can be shifted to business and life. What are the things I want to stop doing (trash), what are the things I want to keep doing and schedule time for (keep), and what are the things I want to hand off (donate). This morning we just went through the keep and outlined a basic day to day schedule to reach my goals, knowing that meetings shift things. I am meeting with someone for some of the hand off tasks that compliment my keep items today, and I haven't made a list of what to trash EXCEPT new ideas (they can be hoarded away in a list) and feeling overwhelmed. So many of you commented on my post a few days ago about "What do you think is the most important thing to do after you have gotten clear on your goals?" with timeline and a deadline. That's what I did this morning. While I've gone through these exercises before, I hope this one sticks. #goals #accountability

2 critical questions to ponder: 1️⃣ What happens to your nonprofit if you burn out? 2️⃣ How much more can you achieve for your mission when you prioritize your well-being? As nonprofit leaders, it's easy to get caught up in helping others, managing gratitude, fundraising, and essentially, "saving the world" 🌎 But how are we showing up for ourselves? Take a moment to reassess: ➡️ Are your work boundaries healthy? ➡️ Do you celebrate achievements, big or small? ➡️ Can tasks be delegated to lighten your load? By evaluating what drains us and taking steps to prevent burnout, we pave the way for sustained impact. Need more help? Consider seeing a counselor or other professional therapist and go deeper. Its important to take care of ourselves so we can be in the game for the long-haul. #nonprofitleadership #SelfCare #BurnoutPrevention #nonprofitdirector #fundraising #fundraiser #nonprofitleadersh