Addressing Nonprofit Burnout with Community Care

In the quiet rooms of the United Planning Organization (UPO) last Friday, a rare sound emerged: the rhythmic, heavy breathing of deep sleep. For many, snoring is a nuisance; for those of us witnessing the frontlines of community service, it was a symphony.

As the hum of my crystal singing bowls filled the air, I watched a group of leaders—Black men and women who have spent decades carrying the weight of their communities—finally let go. More than a wellness session, this was an intervention within an industry currently eating itself alive.

A Sector on the Brink

We often view the nonprofit world through the lens of its impact: the meals served, the homes built, the lives saved. But behind these metrics is a human cost that has reached a breaking point.

The data tells a story of a workforce operating on fumes. According to the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s State of Nonprofits 2024 report, a staggering 95% of nonprofit leaders expressed deep concern about staff burnout.  When over 50% of the sector reports being burnt out, we are no longer looking at individual fatigue; we are looking at a systemic failure to care for the caretakers.

Nonprofits are notorious for doing the most with the absolute least. But you cannot pour from an empty vessel, and the vessel of the social sector has been cracked for years.

The Maiden Voyage to Rest

My journey as a brand and PR strategist has allowed me to see the magic nonprofits perform daily with limited resources. But I eventually realized that telling their stories wasn't enough. I wanted to help sustain the people behind the stories.

This sparked the Community Care soundbath series. The vision was simple: partner with organizations doing the heavy lifting and offer them a restorative session as a way to lighten their loads.

At UPO, many of the leaders had never experienced a live soundbath. There is a specific, profound beauty in seeing Black leaders of a certain generation give themselves permission to be still. As I made the bowls sing, the room shifted. The hyper-vigilance required for community work melted away, replaced by the vulnerability of rest.

Why Rest is the Revolution

We call this The Rest Revolution because, in a world that ties our worth to our productivity, choosing to do nothing is an act of defiance. For a nonprofit leader, an hour of deep rest is an investment in the next year of their service.

If we want to solve our most pressing social issues, we have to stop treating nonprofit staff as a renewable resource that never needs recharging. We must move beyond expectations of self-care and toward community care as a requirement.

Learn more about United Planning Organization's mission and work at https://www.upo.org/