Soapbox Engage Blog

It’s go time! The fast pace of the last quarter has kicked off, and you are running toward the goal line with all you have...feeling that all you have is rapidly diminishing. It may feel like there is little to no time for self-care, but recognizing why self-care is not only important but even imperative to your performance, especially in this busy year-end fundraising season.

Let’s have a quick "real talk" about why self-care is a key part of your performance and wellbeing as a development professional. Self-care doesn't just allow you to be at peak performance longer, it can actually increase your performance, sense of balance, and overall health and wellness.

8 Self-Care Strategies for Fundraisers to Survive the Year-End Fundraising Season

Self-care can be something you plan in advance or chosen in the moment. It can be extravagant or simple. But above all, it is necessary. Implementing a self-care plan with a solid foundation makes things flow in a way that makes sense and feels organized, rather than frantically guzzling espresso and marking days off of your calendar. After all, you're busy, so you need practical steps in a logical, strategic order.

Look no further--we've got eight self-care strategies for every busy development professional to survive the year-end fundraising crush!

1. Make yourself a priority as you fundraise

It is no secret that making yourself a priority helps productivity, prevents burnout, and builds confidence. Why is it so challenging to assign yourself the same priority that you freely give to others? You are out there helping others, and that can often come with conflicting feelings about using some of that time for yourself.

Identifying the "why" behind prioritizing yourself and how it will benefit others helps put it in perspective. Take a moment to list some ways helping yourself recharge will benefit your organization and others. This exercise can really help shift your mindset toward self-care strategies.

If exploring self-care strategies feels like a relatively new concept and you aren’t sure where to start, exploring some ideas and steps will get you started.

2. Create a self-care plan beforehand

Don’t wait until you are knee-deep in fatigue to think about self-care. Identify your natural high and low energy times, with a focus on making the most of those higher energy moments. Chunk and prioritize your tasks, scheduling breaks in between.

If you know that you work best after that second cup of coffee, set your tasks accordingly to capitalize on that wave of caffeinated energy. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses prior to heading into the busiest time of year allows you to have a plan that makes sense and prevents working against yourself.

Taking a moment to fill out a self-care mindmap can help you identify areas you will need to focus on while creating your plan. If you prefer a simplified approach, considering a few details with a short plan can be helpful.

3. Set solid boundaries

Your goal is to feel balanced, energized, and productive throughout the fundraising season. Boundaries can help you protect your time, cultivate a work/life balance, and prevent compassion fatigue.

Viewing boundaries as a way to recharge and offer your best can help you shift those feelings of guilt for needing your own time. Creating healthy boundaries in your plan and communicating them early on can help prevent burnout and fatigue.

If setting boundaries feels intimidating or overwhelming at first, consider looking through a list of strategies and steps to find what works best for you.

4. Set your environment up for success in fundraising

Your workspace is an important part of this self-care equation. Creating a workspace that promotes a sense of calm, makes taking breaks or changing environments possible, and allows for movement can be a key to reducing stress.

If you need a bubbly foot bath under your desk and some plants, make it happen. If fidget toys help you take a break and mentally shift gears for a moment, keep a few on your desk.

Making small adjustments to your workspace and typical routine can make a big difference. If you work from home, creative inspiration can be critical. You can only stare at the same walls in the same location for so long before either feeling trapped or lacking inspiration. Unless you plan on remodeling your workspace weekly, give yourself permission to explore additional places to work. Even small changes can really help boost your mood and lead to greater creativity, networking, and productivity.

Keep a running self-check on how you are feeling in your workspace and change things up as needed.

5. Make the most of technology and resources for your self-care

Staying up to date through newsletters and options to make your job more efficient can result in more time for self-care. Creating systems that lead donors through the process easier through a well-designed webpage can bring in more traffic, more donations, and a greater potential for return donors.

Maximizing resources to benefit your organization also benefits you through simplifying the process and alleviating stress.

6. Keep self-care simple during the year-end fundraising season

While self-care can include things like spa days, massages, or a vacation, these things can often take appointments, planning, and lots of time. This may leave you feeling rushed and may not always fit into your busy schedule or budget.

Take a moment to explore some free ideas for self-care that are accessible at any time, place, or budget. Making a small self-care goal per day on your calendar can help form a habit of taking time for yourself each day.

Whether self-care looks like wildly dancing around your office, a few deep breaths, or checking something off of your personal to-do list, keeping it simple and really helps things flow.

7. Check yourself frequently

You know the saying, “check yourself before you wreck yourself”? Let that be your mantra this season.

This doesn’t have to be a really involved process with a worksheet, but just stopping to listen to your body for a few moments each day can prevent real disaster.

Have a way to complete the sentence, “When I feel ____, I will _____.” This simple strategy can be a great start to your action plan for mitigating stress. The first step is acknowledging and understanding what you're feeling.

Equip yourself to recognize the symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout so you can avoid those feelings. Simply asking yourself, “Am I OK today? Do I need a moment?” helps you continue the self-check process.

If these simple personal check-ins don’t feel like a sustainable habit yet, consider inviting someone to become an accountability buddy or support system to help keep you taking those necessary pauses.

On the days you find your stress levels are running high, assess whether you need an “in the moment” way to counter that stress, or something bigger. Do you just need a few seconds, a minute, a day, or even a weekend to take care of yourself and ensure you can keep going?

8. Protect your health by sleeping, eating well, and staying hydrated

Paying attention to the key elements of self-care helps you keep your immune system strong. Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health and decision-making abilities. (If you’ve ever tried to make an important decision on three hours of sleep, you understand this statement.)

While it might make sense at the time to sacrifice a few hours of rest to get work done, odds are it will be counterproductive in the long run. Unless the deadline demands otherwise, give yourself permission to stop working at a reasonable time each day.

Another strategy for keeping your mind and body running strong is staying hydrated. Eating healthy and ensuring you are getting the vitamins, minerals, and fuel you need doesn’t have to be time-consuming.

Take advantage of shortcuts like salad kits, slow cookers/Instant pots, pre-cut or frozen vegetables, and healthy restaurant options. Being mindful of what your body needs to operate at peak performance during busy times can keep it going strong year-round.

Other Self-Care Strategies and Solutions for Fundraisers

If you're still looking for some insights about how to cultivate healthy balance and self-care practices, here are a few practical resources and insights from experts.

In the moment stress solutions

If you recognize that you are already wallowing in feeling stressed or overwhelmed, taking immediate action can keep these feelings from continuing to build and allow you to reset.

Simple breathing techniques can be done in just a few seconds in almost any environment. If you have a few minutes, take a moment to do a quick meditation that can help reset your mind and reduce stress levels.

Find the type of meditation that best suits you and explore someresources to have strategies, videos, or an app on hand to work through these short resets.

Recognize when you need more than a minute

You may find that you need more than just a minute or a meditation. That's completely OK and a sign of strength in self-care. Maybe you need a day off or even a weekend. Maybe you need a short trip.

Self-care is a year-round necessity. Taking a day or two off isn't always possible during the year-end fundraising rush, but pushing through when you feel exhausted at other times of the year can lead to getting sick and missing out on far more time than a day or two of work.

You might need a day off to binge-watch shows in your pajamas, get things done for your personal life, do something fun, or let the day flow spontaneously. Consider strategically planning some self-care days throughout the year that are compatible with your fundraising routine and overall workload.

Reward yourself for a fundraising job well-done (year-round)

You. Yes, you. Plan rewards for meeting mini-goals or at the end of the fundraising rush to give yourself something to look forward to at the finish line. You’ve worked hard. You deserve it.

Rewarding yourself can help shift your focus to your strengths and accomplishments, signal your brain to feel pleasure for a job well done, and keep you motivated to move forward. It creates an overall sense of positive energy around what you do. Offering yourself something other than a paycheck helps keep a focus on balance.

Overall, self-care is a key part of sustainability, balance, and being a healthy leader in the nonprofit world. Not only will it help you navigate and survive the year-end fundraising craze, cultivating sustainable self-care strategies can help you work at your best for many years, avoid burnout, and keep you fighting for the causes you so deeply value.

Now that you're well on your way to developing your ideal self-care plan, here are three more resources to help you survive and thrive in the year-end fundraising season.