Hello, Spark Point Friends!
I’ve been touched by the curiosity and care so many of you have shown about my sabbatical. For those who expressed concern, know that I am not struggling with any illness or other health issue that caused me to need a break. I took the kind of break that anyone would welcome after 11 years of building and running a business that serves progressive nonprofit organizations. Burnout is real and every leader I know has expressed the need for an extended break at some point. I am grateful to the incredibly talented Spark Point team for making my time off possible.
The time I spent on leave was truly about restoring my well of energy so that I could continue to thrive in work and in life. I spent time at home, in my garden, with my dog Olive, and with family and friends. I read books, traveled a bit, and rested. I also had a root canal, did some physical therapy, and cleaned out a lot of clutter. So, there was a balance of fun and what I’ve been calling “deferred maintenance” in the form of health and home projects.
All in all, my time off was a privilege, as I was lucky to have financial support from my family to take time off without taking a salary. Most people don’t have that privilege, and everyone needs and deserves rest.
Just before I went on leave, I spoke to a colleague, a nonprofit Executive Director, who had been offered the opportunity to take a paid sabbatical, but chose not to because she didn’t feel she could leave her colleagues during such an uncertain time. I thought about her a lot during my time off because I know the sacrifice she made, at her own expense, to support her team. It’s a brave choice and one that I respect, but it is not sustainable. And no one should have to do it. Yet, people (not just leaders) in nonprofit organizations do it all the time.
I read an inspiring LinkedIn post today from Inside Philanthropy Founder David Callahan that criticized philanthropy, and foundations in particular, for not being more responsive to the moment. He asked, “Why aren’t foundations reorganizing themselves for an existential battle and fighting with everything they’ve got?” I clicked the “Celebrate” emoji to express my enthusiastic support for this question, which I have also been asking myself.
While one might argue that, in this moment of almost constant crisis, philanthropy should be fighting the existential battle that we are in, I would argue that we’ve been in this fight since before anyone who is alive now was living. Evil and hate leading to harm and death have been a part of this country since before it was a country. Those who’ve never known fear or loss are just beginning to understand what others have lived with forever.
So yes, I am calling on foundations to step up with their billions. But understand this: funding rest is part of building the world we want to see. So yeah, step up and meet the moment with your billions, foundations! Right now you are just making life harder for everyone, which is the opposite of your intended purpose.
Here’s what I know. Here’s the “impact data” that I would provide to a funder. I’m better off for having taken time away, and so is Spark Point Fundraising. I went away for five months and did not engage with work, except in some very minimal ways. There was not one emergency that the team couldn’t handle without me. Yes, stuff happened, but they handled it. I returned to a confident team that had to innovate, adjust, and test the skills I already knew they had. And the business persists, uncertain times be what they may.
Without the rest I’ve gotten, the story would likely be different. THIS IS TRUE FOR EVERY HUMAN BEING. A lot of the people who our clients are working with and for are on the “different story” side of that equation. And so are a lot of nonprofit staff.
To my nonprofit friends — please, do not feel guilty for needing rest. Take it. Every leader I know has felt the pull between duty and depletion. The choice to keep going is often called “commitment.” But it’s also a quiet form of sacrifice that should not be required. When you take that much needed break, your organization benefits as much as you do. Rest is not indulgent; it’s strategic.
While philanthropy as a whole hasn’t yet built the systems to support nonprofit professionals in taking sabbaticals or extended breaks, some funders are beginning to recognize its importance. When the opportunity arises, take the leap. Rest is restorative, not only to the individual, but to the organization, the mission, and ultimately, the movement itself.
With care,
Whitney