2022 has been quite the year. It started with another COVID surge that kept many nonprofits in disaster response mode for the winter, presented new challenges as many organizations faced unprecedented workforce shortages through the spring and summer, and continued into the fall with mounting worries about the impact inflation will have on the sector.
Still, as we prepare to enter into a new year, I think it’s fair to say that many nonprofits are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. There is, indeed, a great deal to feel good about. Charitable giving is changing; gifts are becoming less restricted and red tape is starting to drop. Nonprofit compensation is starting to improve, and organizations are finally taking significant moves to combat burnout and improve employee wellbeing. Many nonprofits are feeling they can begin to think and work proactively again, rather than living in constant crisis mode. While no one knows what the future holds (as the last three years have certainly proven), I have a feeling there are good things on the horizon for 2023.
Here at Prosper Strategies, we’re especially grateful for you as we reflect back on 2022. We know how busy you are, and never cease to appreciate the fact that you choose to spend your precious time reading the things we write and discussing the ideas we share. We’ve had the opportunity to do really interesting work for some amazing organizations this year, from developing a strategic plan for the Muhammad Ali Center to leading the creation of a strength-based communication approach for Feeding America, and we know that these opportunities all come back to you.
As you reflect back on the year that was, I hope you’ll take a look at our most popular posts from 2022. They might spark some ideas about where you can focus and improve as you (hopefully) move into a more proactive and less chaotic new year.
Take some time to rest and recharge as well. You may need it more than ever this year. I especially love this: “A Prayer Written on my Phone in the Middle of the Night for My Staff Before We Close the Offices and the Winter Break Comes” by Angelique Power, CEO of the Skillman Foundation.
At last the time has come
to do our best resting and to recover.At last you have time
to pour your creative energy
into your own damn self.Your big full home. Your unique and critical ideas.
Please make sure you sleep long and well.
Try to find days you stay in pjs.I am counting on you to have moments you lose your breath absolutely howling with laughter.
I am praying also that when a bright white argument
happens with a family member – because let’s face it –
lots of time with family means a bright white argument will happen …that this time when you traverse over the long held hurt
you arrive somewhere different, new and unknown.I wish you an hour here and there to fall into unplanned calls
with friends who’ve known you decades.
To catch up on everything small in your life
and add another patch to your quilt of lives together –
even while apart.I pray you will have hours and hours to be alone with your loud thoughts swirling
until they quiet.I hope you suddenly rearrange that very disorganized and overflowing bathroom cabinet
and as you open it again for the rest of the vacation
you feel a deep sense of renewal and order.Please cook your love into your meals.
Please eat others’ lovingly made cooking.I hope you dive headfirst into a book you cannot put down
and you spend days walking from room to room with it
then slow down as you reach the final few chapters
knowing you will miss it when it’s gone.And of course you should dance to holiday songs
ideally with a child on your hip or an elder you hold onto carefully or just bop subtly with no one near
as you make coffee in the morning and hum.And then – it is my deepest wish that you have enough time to miss these wonderful faces you see around you today.
To wonder about that last unfinished story you heard
on the way to the meeting.
To get excited about the people you’ll meet
and ideas you will hear this coming year.That you eagerly anticipate the ways you will mesh
the deeply rooted home YOU with the deeply rooted work YOU
to grow and stretch toward that celestial WE of the future.Enjoy your time in your mind and soul.
It will nourish you just as you need and just as we all need for the year ahead.
– Angelique Power
