Social impact professionals are some of the most extraordinary people on this planet. They work tirelessly to confront injustice, corruption, global pandemics, crumbling democracies, and potentially harmful technological advances — all while designing innovative solutions, growing organizations, and managing their lives outside of work. Social impact work is a monumental and often Sisyphean task. It’s been widely reported that people across all sectors of society are depleted, exhausted, and deeply burned out, but for impact leaders, the stakes are higher, the resources more limited, and the idea of worrying about oneself seems less possible in the face of unrelenting and urgent need.
If we are serious about finding sustainable and systemic solutions for the world’s biggest challenges, we need a healthy and thriving workforce — we need to address mental health and well-being head-on.
Over the last five years at the Elevate Prize Foundation, we’ve witnessed an ever-present fatigue among some of our most outstanding leaders. The Center For Effective Philanthropy validates this: their new report on the state of nonprofits identifies that 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.”
That is why we have launched our newest area of investment: the Whole Leader. The Whole Leader is one who can navigate this era of unprecedented social upheaval because they possess the tools for long-term sustainability by drawing from a repertoire of grounding practices. The Whole Leader understands the link between investing in themselves and, as a result, being able to invest in their communities and in collective resilience. If we are able to take refuge in ourselves, with greater mindfulness, we will be better prepared for the inevitable crises that arise. As a result, our entire organizations will become more stable, which is a key way to ensure this trend of burnout doesn’t get worse for younger generations.
What I am advocating for is a shift in perspective: Investing in self-care is neither weak nor selfish, nor should it only exist for a privileged few. Prioritizing mindfulness practices, which are rooted in ancient wisdom traditions, played a vital role in the effectiveness of some of the most transformational social justice movements in history. Leaders like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi famously used meditation and yoga to access deeper reserves of strength, boldness, and, of course, compassion. Rest and self-care fuel the work and strengthen our ability to remain grounded in the present, where we are more likely to meaningfully connect with others, seek and find creative solutions, and plant the seeds for the future we want to see.
At Elevate, supporting leaders directly has always been at the core of our work. From the beginning, we have earmarked $50,000 of the $300,000 we award through the Elevate Prize directly for our winners with the very purpose of supporting their well-being. Some of them were able to get long overdue therapy to help them process years of neglected trauma. Others made life-changing moves or even opened their very first savings account. In all cases, our intention was for the money to relieve stress and lighten their loads.
In May, we hosted our second annual Make Good Famous Summit in our hometown of Miami, Florida, where well-being was an integral part of our programming, offering changemakers across the sector some much-needed and rare respite. Participants experienced breathwork exercises, cold exposure, mindfulness workshops, yoga, expressive writing, and much more.
In addition to these practices, we also opened a safe space to talk about leadership transitions, an often overlooked symptom of burnout which can send an organization into a tailspin. One of our grantee partners even noted that, by the conclusion of the event, they felt “thoroughly rejuvenated and prepared for new challenges.” As funders, we are missing the forest for the trees if we don’t see how ignoring burnout will deeply affect the global impact we can make.
Dr. Martin Luther King himself once said: “I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” That is our call to action with the Whole Leader: Ensure you take time — for rest, care, love, and connection.
We invite you to join us. Below are some simple practices that you can implement for yourself, as a leader at your organization, and, as a funder, that you can support your grantees to consider:
- Carve out time in the calendar year for a dedicated mental health week — committing one week per year during which you close the office and give every team member dedicated time to unplug. While vacation time is great, ensuring that everyone is away collectively ensures your team can truly unwind and be present in their time off. Ever since we implemented this at Elevate, the culture shift — and resurgence of energy — has been palpable.
- Consider practices like mindfulness training, breathwork, and meditation. Neuroscientists are finding more and more that mindfulness training leads to more increased interconnectivity of the brain and stronger ability to regulate intense emotions and stress. Not to mention, it can generate great new ideas!
- Stop fetishizing ‘being busy.’ Instead, embrace the value of rest AND time for what feeds you.
- When in doubt, take a breath. It’s always a resource to you.
Social impact leaders are remarkable human beings, but they are also just that: human. To sustain — even flourish — in this work, you must nourish your needs as well.
Start by giving yourself permission to prioritize your well-being, fill your cup and, in turn, create an environment that encourages the same for your team and for your partners in the sector, including grantees. Who knows what can happen when we start from a place of rest and abundance, rather than stress and burnout? I invite you to take the leap (and the breath!) and find out.
Carolina García Jayaram is the CEO at the Elevate Prize Foundation. Find her on LinkedIn.
