Abby Hyman, Program Associate, The Healing Trust
The Healing Trust has prioritized support beyond the programmatic check since the early years of our grantmaking in 2003. While the “how” of the funding has changed over time, the “why” has consistently been to support the healing of nonprofit staff. This isn’t tangential to making strategic community-based investments, rather it is the foundation on which meaningful change can emerge. When funders invest in the well-being of the staff of partner organizations, it creates a culture where all people’s needs are prioritized and compassionately met. The nonprofit network thrives when its leaders are well-rested. When staff are well taken care of, the clients benefit by means of an energized supporter who shows up with creativity, patience, compassion, and joy.
Transformational funding doesn’t just come by way of six-figure grants. It also comes through small investments in rest and well-being. When we ask our partners what they need, of course, we hear about funding for programs. But we also hear about support for grassroots partners getting their paternal leave or paid time off (PTO) policy in place, ideas for addressing staff conflict with a restorative framework, and help planning a sabbatical. When an Executive Director takes a sabbatical, it is common for them to return eager to develop a sabbatical policy for their team. When funding is provided for staff experiencing vicarious trauma to attend therapy, the partner sees the impact and incorporates it into their budget when funding ends. The grant partner realizes that creating a culture of care within their organization is no longer “nice to have” but rather the baseline for engaging in the work with compassion and longevity.
Four guiding beliefs have emerged from our staff support that influence our funding and programmatic practices.
Beliefs That Guide This Work
- Wellness is an equity issue. Having access to rest requires money and support. Barriers that make self-care inaccessible include caretaking duties, emotional labor disproportionately demanded of women, financial ability to work limited hours, financial resources to pay for outsourced services, and personal trauma that often draws practitioners to the field. These barriers are disproportionately experienced by Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. In practice, funders must decide how they will prioritize people who have been denied access to rest and design offerings for them.
- Rest is culture change work. Narratives about how one’s identity is associated with work are deeply embedded in us, so evaluating one’s own beliefs about rest is a necessary starting place. The nonprofit sector adds depth to this messaging as many practitioners are drawn to the field with a helper identity. A need to dismantle feelings of laziness, failure, or guilt often emerges when shifting to a culture of rest. Supporting grant partners on this journey can impact the larger nonprofit culture that philanthropy has influenced and transform it from one dominated by scarcity to one of abundance.
- Transformational approaches begin with empathy. It requires vulnerability to speak with a funder about culture concerns. Listening without judgment and ensuring discussions won’t impact current funding is necessary to strengthen trust. Responding to their request with flexibility around start dates, due dates, and reporting is supportive when the organization is experiencing hardship.
- Funding wellness is trust-based philanthropy in practice. Trust-based philanthropy operates on the belief that the people who live and work within a community best understand what it needs to thrive. This is true with our nonprofit partners—they know what they need to be successful and hold the answers to the problems they face. Our role is to support them with funding and resources, not prescriptive solutions.
How We Practice
At The Healing Trust, our partners benefit from funding and programming that invite rest and relationships. Our funding is flexible, in alignment with grantee-set timelines, and emphasizes trust-building between foundation staff and grant partners. Our wellness programming emphasizes connection, not education, as being seen and heard by peers has a greater impact than being told to take a break.
Funding
- Sabbatical Grants support nonprofit CEO/Executive Directors to experience a period of renewal. Funds are used to support the organization in the leader’s absence and activities experienced during the sabbatical period. Check out our sabbatical planning guide to learn more.
- Staff Support Grants help grant partners experiencing a particularly difficult season of work. Examples include a difficult leadership transition, emotionally taxing seasons, or staff loss/grief.
- Capacity Building Grants are restricted funds added to every operating grant for use on staff wellness or capacity building. Historically, philanthropic funding requirements pushed every dollar to programming and some partners still feel the pressure to do so. As a way of relearning, we’ve restricted these additional funds to emphasize the importance of building internal capacity.
- Radical Joy Grants are for advocacy partners to support collective capacity and build solidarity in an organization that may otherwise feel like “they’re falling apart” from the demands of the work. Experiencing joy is necessary to prevent burnout when the work requires years to experience change.
- Rapid Response Grants allow program staff to quickly provide funds for urgent requests without an application or report. When something traumatic happens, like a natural disaster or mass shooting, money can quickly be dispersed to help staff continue to provide community care when they are experiencing the collective trauma themselves.
Programming
- Healing for the Healer retreats provide a free day of rest to nurture nonprofit staff. Attendees curiously discuss beliefs about rest and try different self-care practices. Some retreats are designated for nonprofit staff of color to connect and develop a circle of support.
- Peer Leadership Circles are cohort-based groups that provide connection with others who can relate to working in the nonprofit sector. Some groups are specific for nonprofit CEO/Executive Directors to prevent executive isolation.
Choosing to make the well-being of grant partners a priority requires an investment of real dollars, time, and heart, but can change the way the nonprofit system works and rests. How will your foundation begin to invest in the people who do the work, not just the causes they address?
Abby Siegel Hyman is the program associate of The Healing Trust where she manages the Staff Support and Sabbatical grant portfolios, facilitates Healing for the Healer retreats, and manages the administration of the grant programs. Find her on LinkedIn.