Note: this is the first blog in a series on how we use a human-centered approach to building and maintaining our organizational culture.
Like many who work in nonprofit, I work at Tilting Futures because I have a deep connection to our mission. I believe the work we’re doing with young people globally is creating positive impact around the world. This belief drives me, my colleagues, and many in our sector to give our all to our work.
This drive is inspiring. It can also be harmful. The nonprofit sector is facing a burnout crisis: 95% of nonprofit leaders cited burnout as a key concern, and stress and burnout account for more than 50% of nonprofit role vacancies.
When so many in the nonprofit sector are working overtime during this critical year-end giving season, I want to share one of the strategies we’re using at Tilting Futures to support our team and prevent burnout: an annual organization-wide closure.
To understand how we got here, we have to go back to 2021. In 2020, we halted programming and evacuated students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing that the pandemic’s isolation meant young people needed meaningful connection more than ever, we piloted our first-ever virtual program: the Global Citizen Year Academy.
For eight weeks, our entire staff worked overtime to make this program happen: designing curricula, recruiting students, and raising the funding to make the Academy a reality.
We could see how hard our team was working and how tired they were. That’s when our Senior Leadership Team decided to give everyone the week between 12/24 and 1/1 off.
This was supposed to be a one-time break — a chance for the team to recharge after a specific org-wide sprint.
However, once we saw the results, we knew we had to make this permanent.
- Our team came back refreshed, rested, and recharged. Because everyone was taking this time off together, there were no email and Slack notifications interrupting the day. Folks truly unplugged.
- We all did more with our time off! With a full week off, people traveled, visited family, and planned activities that would restore them—things they couldn’t do without a full week of PTO.
- Everyone had the deep rest required to do the deep work that drives systems change: deep thinking, creative problem-solving, innovation, and curiosity.
