In his 1975 hit song “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", Paul Simon writes:
“The problem is all inside your head
She said to me
The answer is easy if you
Take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle
To be free
There must be fifty ways
To leave your lover”*
Of course, the nimble songwriter was referring to ending a
romantic relationship and the song became a huge hit because who hasn’t felt
trapped inside a dead end romance at some point in their life? We all know the
pain and sense of loss that comes when a partnership we’ve invested our heart
and soul in comes to an end.
In the same way, the investment of self that most of us give
to our professional lives mirrors, and in some cases (perhaps more frequently
that we would like to admit) even eclipses that of our personal lives. The
common notion that we spend more time with our co-workers than our family
members is all too true for many.
Having spent the better part of my adult life working in the
nonprofit sector, I readily admit that I am guilty of caring too much about
work and not enough about my personal wellbeing. It seems to come with the
nonprofit territory as an integral part of the job description….”other duties
as assigned… including working impossible hours and meeting outrageous goals.”
This sense of fierce commitment to the organization is
especially true for those who bear the responsibility for fundraising. We have
been told from the beginning by countless members of our profession, that we
are the ones entrusted with safeguarding the organization’s mission.
In her book, Donor
Centered Leadership, Penelope Burk, well respected researcher, consultant
and fundraising expert, reveals that the average amount of time a fundraiser
stays at his or her job is 16 months. Sixteen months! Let that sink in.
Most reasonable people would agree that amount of job
turnover is too high for a group of professionals who give so much of their own
time, talent and treasure their jobs. But Burk’s research is solid and even the
most skeptical observer of the nonprofit world can read confirmation of these
findings revealed the seemingly endless listing of job openings at charities.
It should come as no surprise that the top three reasons for
leaving are 1.) To earn a higher salary, 2.) To have more opportunities for
professional advancement and 3.) “Due to a clash with the organizational
culture.” While the first two are fairly straightforward, the third speaks to
the high level of stress fundraisers feel and the lack of support they receive from
their executive management, boards of directors and volunteers. Fundraising can
feel pretty lonely when no one seems to understand or appreciate what you are
up against. Also, a general mindset by boards and organizational leadership that
puts pressure on the fundraiser to generate as much unrestricted cash as
possible in the shortest amount of time while ignoring the real need to build long
term quality relationships with donors for the ultimate sustainability of the
organization, fuels the flame that leads the fundraiser to run quickly out the
door as if the building were on fire. This is terrible news for the nonprofit
sector and for the culture of philanthropy as a whole.
So, what is a dedicated fundraising professional to do
except to prepare for the inevitable fact that one day – perhaps not quite as
soon as in the next 16 months – but almost certainly at some point in your
career, you will decide that you cannot keep trying to spin straw into gold or
bear the thought of one more special event that isn’t.
But, even after you decide to leave and change
organizations, the break-up, no matter how amiable or mutually beneficial, is
seldom as effortless as the simple rhymes of a song. Another reality uncovered
by Burk is that most seasoned fundraising professionals spend very little time
looking for their next position – with so many job openings and many consulting
firms searching for talent – a new job is almost assured. So while the
fundraiser can look forward to a new opportunity with new challenges pretty
quickly, no one just packs up their cardboard box of mementos and walks away
without looking back.
In my own career I have experienced my own share of job
moves and for the most part those top three reasons for leaving hold true for
me, too. Each move has brought financial
security and professional advancement that is personally rewarding. I enjoy
learning new information and meeting new people, so for me the adjustment
period after making a move is relatively short and painless.
The truly hard part
has always been the necessity of having to stop caring about my
former nonprofit home.
Like an old romantic interest, a job at a
nonprofit organization can get under your skin. Ask anyone who has ever worked
for one and they will tell you the one truth I have learned in more than two
decades in this profession – eventually a nonprofit will break your heart.
Okay, now if that sounds overly dramatic to you consider the
essence of what we fundraisers do – build relationships. We are the ones who
are charged with the task of caring, nurturing, guiding, safeguarding,
developing, and connecting individuals to our organization and then asking them
to have the trust, confidence and care required to provide support to the
organization financially. In our efforts to build donor loyalty to the
organization, our hearts naturally get caught up in the process. When your job
is to ask people to care, naturally you actually do care, too. We are
passionate about our work and this passion is what enables us to do our jobs
well.
For those of you reading this who don’t already know, the
word “philanthropy” comes from the Greek word “philanthrōpos” – loving mankind – we really do care about
the people and organizations we work for – it is literally at the heart of what
we do.
My recommendation
for those of you who are in the midst of a transitioning from one nonprofit to
another or for those who one day will be making that transition (the research
clearly tells us that ALL of us will face this situation) is to allow yourself
to time grieve but to move on and for goodness sake, stop caring about your former flame.
Specifically,
understand that once you leave you are no longer responsible for the wellbeing
of the organization or its donors. No matter how the organization might change
or what actions the board will take, you cannot continue to care about what
direction the organization is moving and you must reserve your opinions and remain
mute about whether you personally agree with any changes made after you leave. Concentrate
on the fact that you left the organization in a much better state than when you
arrived and feel good about a job done well.
This is much harder
to do than you might think. After all, you gave your heart and soul to this
organization, you asked people to trust YOU and now the board is going to do
what…?
I’m not writing
about malfeasance here, but rather a difference of opinion. Actual criminal
wrong doing is for others more versed in the subject matter to write about.
Your professional
response to how things might be changing at your former nonprofit is polite
silence. Nope, sorry, can’t say anything about. Remember you are not the
nonprofit. It is separate from you no matter neither how closely you identified
with it, nor how many hours you spent worrying about it. You are not Paul
Revere and cannot race through the night on a mission to warn of a potential harm
that you perceive is about to happen. You might think you should, you may even
feel a deep sense of responsibility to do so, but no, you just can’t do it.
Better to not say anything and just let it go.
“You Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free”*
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free”*
*© 1975 Words and
Music by Paul Simon
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