In a Nutshell: Striving for healthy nonprofit work environments

Earlier this month, Land to Hand MT, in partnership with the North Valley Food Bank (NVFB), hosted the Let's Be Bold event organized by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce. Over 60 women attended to network and learn about creating healthy work environments in our respective organizations. They inspired me to share our lessons learned with a wider audience through my monthly column.

The past four years have been challenging for nonprofit workers nationwide. A recent study by the Stanford Social Innovation Review indicates that nearly 50% of nonprofit employees have experienced burnout. While burnout is not a new phenomenon, it has become increasingly prevalent within food banks since the start of the pandemic. At NVFB, we have witnessed this firsthand. With food bank visits more than doubling in the last two years, our staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to maintain smooth operations. These demands have led to physical and mental exhaustion. Although supporting and assisting our community is deeply fulfilling, it can also take an emotional toll, eventually leading to compassion fatigue and burnout.

When I returned to work after my maternity leave in 2022, it became apparent that we needed to make changes to prevent the ongoing stress from becoming chronic. We embarked on a journey towards a mission-driven, healthy work environment. The biggest lesson learned was that we can’t put the burden of fixing burn-out on our employees. We can’t meditate ourselves out of the cycles of stress and exhaustion. Instead, we recognized the need for organizational-level changes.