With our continued focus this month on avoiding fundraiser burnout, we were thrilled to chat with Ashima Saigal, Founder of Soapbox Engage Partner Database Sherpa, on how mindfulness and meditation inform her Salesforce work with nonprofits and what insight they can offer fundraisers.
For more on self-care and ensuring long-term success as a fundraiser, watch our free webinar, How to Raise More Money Without Burning Out, with special guest presenter Beth Kanter.
Ashima Saigal, Founder,Database Sherpa
SOAPBOX: You have a unique perspective on nonprofit Salesforce consulting, having chosen to ground Database Sherpa’s approach in your yoga and meditation practice. How does that translate into your work with clients?
ASHIMA: Both yoga and meditation practices are grounded in compassion, compassion for the self and thus, translated to those around us. When in a yoga pose or in a seated practice, we need to find that happy place where we are not striving to hold a pose, but we are in a place of ease and able to be ourselves. It’s that middle ground that we strive for at Database Sherpa, a place of contentment and we offer that to our clients through our actions with ourselves. So, for example, we are very honest with our clients in that we don’t work on weekends and we have our evenings with our families. We encourage them to do the same. We also show our clients, time and time again, we don’t have all the answers, but we can find them together. While it may seem odd because haven’t they hired us to answer their questions? In reality, we know that we have been hired to help Sherpa them on their journey to discover the answers themselves. It’s that middle way that we love to live into, between failure and perfection. A place of ease.
{loadposition blog-ad-general}SOAPBOX: Burnout and high staff turnover are common themes across nonprofits and with development staff specifically. What insight can a perspective of mindfulness offer to those seeking to address this for themselves and their organizations?
ASHIMA: As human beings we are often in a mode of suffering and I learned recently on a retreat we suffer for three main reasons: (1) sometimes we don’t get what we want; (2) sometimes we don’t want what we have; (3) sometimes we don’t want things to change. I’d argue that this burnout is attributed to one of these three things which is why we suffer. It would be near impossible for an individual person changing an organization on their own, but I believe that speaking about your suffering is vital.
At times it feels as though humanity has been stripped from the very fabric of our work lives. We are human beings. We feel and suffer. It’s the nature of life. How can we strip this out if we are human? I believe, that’s why we burnout and leave. Because we are not allowed to be human. It’s time for a shift and to honest and open with our feelings.
I’ve written about a way to have peace with your data with a mindfulness practice and a worksheet. It’s all about aligning your work with your emotional state. Being honest and frank with yourself. All workplaces need to encourage this exploration and transform to places where you can be human, with emotions and all.
I’ll give an example, what if you are having a really rough day and more work was just piled on top of your already full inbox. No one seems to know that you already have enough to do and they just keep giving you more. You can feel your blood pressure rise and your heart rate quicken and anger begins to well up inside of you. This is suffering, you are getting something you do not want, more work. You can barely get the work done that you have on your plate. What can you do but go home and explode at your family and friends? You might notice that you are mad at the littlest thing. You blame work. You blame your family. Maybe your boss is to blame. But, look in the mirror. I don’t mean to blame yourself, but notice yourself. Notice what is happening inside of you right now. The burden you are carrying, it’s not yours alone. It’s time to share it with others. So, instead of acting out, I am saying you take a moment and breath into a solution to address your suffering. Give yourself the space to see that you don’t need to react immediately. You’ve just gotten more work than you are able to handle. What can you do about this? These moments provide a gap between the stimulus (more work) and the reaction (anger) and this allows your brain to process and think of solutions. The ability to find that gap and to allow the reaction to slow can be accomplished via an active mindfulness practice. The more you are aware of what is happening in the present moment, inside of yourself, the better able you are to deal with reaction to stimulus. What you might find is that the work is being piled on, but no deadlines associated. So you can get to it when you are able. Or perhaps you are able to get some help along the way to get the work done. Better still, once you give voice to your suffering, things will change for you. But, whatever the solution, you are in control of your reaction. Burnout is rampant in most sectors, but I believe that the nonprofit sector has a unique message, one centered on a mission and not the bottom line. We help and care deeply about humanity, thus it is vital we begin with helping ourselves. I believe this change lies at the feet of the nonprofit sector and will impact all other sectors for the better.
SOAPBOX: Might you have any advice specifically related to the upcoming end-of- year giving season that can help folks stay fresh and effective?
ASHIMA: It’s vital to care for yourself, finding time to be present to the moments that are occurring right now will help with staying fresh and effective. We typically get stressed and exhausted when we doing too much. While end of year giving season requires a lot of planning and work, take your time to do it thoughtfully and mindfully. Work now to develop a mindfulness practice will help you to stay present to the work and the emotions that arise.
When you notice that you are feeling stressed and exhausted, take short breaks. 5 minutes is plenty. Sit quietly, close your eyes and notice your breath. Inhale and exhale. These short breaks, time to just be can help you.
Some other tips: Sleep 8 hours every night. Eat a regular meals and not at the desk. Drink water. Be in nature when you can. And most importantly, be gentle with yourself. We all need to do more of that.
Want more advice on avoiding fundraiser burnout? Watch our free webinar, How to Raise More Money Without Burning Out, with special guest presenter Beth Kanter. As a result of this webinar, you'll be able to determine burnout symptoms, get strategies for self-care and positive culture development within your nonprofit, and learn resources and strategies for avoiding burnout that are unique to the Salesforce nonprofit community.
Related content:
- WEBINAR RECORDING: How to Raise More Money Without Burning Out, with special guest presenter Beth Kanter
- BLOG: It Should Be About You, Too. Avoid Fundraiser Burnout and Succeed Long-Term.
- BLOG: Preventing Fundraiser Burnout as an Executive Director: An Interview with Beth Zimmerman of Pets for Patriots
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