Philanthropy, as well as other service-based work, place even more demands on our strained capacity. Plenty of data reveal increased stress levels on nonprofits since the pandemic. Yet, we have to assume high stress levels, compassion fatigue, and burnout are mirrored for funders as well. A 2019 UK survey found that 80 percent of charity workers experienced workplace stress, and a staggering 42 percent reported that their job was not good for their mental health.

Sharp shifts in funding priorities is one key source of this heightened stress because it entails major changes: updating policies, systems, and other apparatuses to make these shifts, gaining staff and board consensus to make changes within traditionally slow-moving institutions, administering funds so that grantees quickly receive funds in response to urgent, evolving needs. Some philanthropic staff have felt a two-sided squeeze—internally and externally—on one end, pressure to support grantees in crisis during twin pandemics, and on the other end, lethargic or bureaucratic responses to quickly deliver necessary changes.

The result is a deeply unwell sector that is struggling to admit its own challenges in the name of service.

Fortunately, more funders are recognizing the internal costs of these times, and more people are no longer in denial about their well-being in the sector. A closer look at the following four areas can further improve your well-being as we continue to live through a time of deep change.

  1. Address burnout at its source. Burnout is defined as emotional exhaustion and negative attitudes toward one’s job. Its characteristics range from physical manifestations to diagnosable mental health concerns. The American Psychological Association attributes burnout to more than just a heavy workload.
  2. Treat Stress Seriously. Stress is normalized in our professional lives, especially in the United States. A majority of workers are nearly maxed out on their stress levels most of the time, particularly around difficulty of their work and due to long hours.
  3. Tend to grief. Although grief—a natural response to loss—underlies our formative emotional experiences of change, it is seldom tended to outside the context of a death.
  4. Be willing to change your support. As you are changed by our times, what you need will change, too. I often observe, in my role as a healer, that people are in the midst of tremendous transition but never reassess their support system.

Read the full article about philanthropy burnout by Richael Faithful at PEAK Grantmaking.