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Live United by Erin Haag

Sometimes people can’t see the forest for the trees. At United Way, we gather feedback from our programs, most particularly the Welcome Pantry. Every time someone makes an appointment on the website, they have the opportunity to provide feedback. Rosemary keeps track of this, and flags any that we need to address. They’re posted on a bulletin board in our “volunteer hallway” where our volunteers check in, access their lockers and check out what’s happening. While I’ve seen them collectively, I don’t always know who wrote what, so it really made me smile when she mentioned that one shopper makes a point of filling out the feedback each time with a little pep talk.

I was thinking about this forest/trees concept with something else and I noticed the board. I thought about a shopper who had provided feedback that there wasn’t enough food. They were frustrated that sometimes they came and there was a ton of food on the shelves and other times they came and there was “hardly anything on the shelves.” This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this either. It’d be easy for many people to laugh and roll their eyes and move on with their life.

Our work is about building relationships though. Our model is a customer service model, and you can’t improve services without understanding what isn’t meeting expectations. So we dug into this and had a conversation. I asked the shopper to walk me through what their experience was. We started out with produce, dairy and then moved on to our shelf stable foods. I fully expected the shopper to be complaining about the variety or type of the “fresh” foods. Maybe they didn’t think the celery was up to snuff, or they were frustrated with the limit of one dozen eggs per household.

Goodness no. Invariably, someone’s going to surprise me what with they say. This person was telling us that there was hardly anything on the shelves because there wasn’t soup on the shelves. Now, soup is a staple in our house. My daughter could eat soup for every meal, every day of the week if we’d let her. However, the pantry was pretty full of other foods. The shopper could not see the forest for the trees. They couldn’t see the bigger picture that we have plenty of food despite not having an item that they were particularly hoping to get.

When we talk about things like this on a smaller scale, it’s easier to understand. When it comes to a holistic approach to nonprofits though, it’s harder for nonprofit program leaders and board of directors to understand. I’m the one writing this article, and I know darn well that I’m hyper focusing on the maple trees when I need to be looking at the overall forest. I talk a lot about the small things. The small moments that make up our work are interconnected to a larger whole, and that’s still important.

A leader and I recently had a conversation regarding work hours and expectations. They shared with me that they were working at least double the standard working hours. I said to stop that. The response was that they had to, because otherwise it doesn’t get done. My answer was, “Then it doesn’t get done.” The conversation was casual, talking about topics that are anything but casual.

Leaders, especially new ones, are living and breathing their organizations. We’re answering the urgency of the call, responding to the now, putting out fires left and right.

Any good firefighter will tell you that the key to their work is prevention. As much as I love these ridiculous cop/firefighter/medical dramas, it’s nowhere near that glamorous, and I often roll my eyes because I recognize it’s not truly like that. It’s rooted in prevention. Preventive fire safety is going to reduce fires.

In nonprofit work, that prevention is in the health and wellness of your organization. For me, the health and wellness starts with the staff. Last week, members of the Wellness Committee sat around the table at the United Way office. Events were shared, and conversations were had about wellness initiatives in the workplace. Water drinking challenges, walking with a co-worker, how to keep movement happening throughout the day. Those are fantastic things, but I also was thinking about our smaller organizations and the one-two person offices.

Let’s see the forest for the trees. Who’s carrying out the work and the mission of the nonprofit? Staff. Executive directors, program leaders, etc. Take a step back. What’s the true capacity of your program? What’s the true capacity of your staff? It’s not about how many people you can serve or how many events you have. It’s about the wider perspective of a healthy organization, which starts with a healthy team. When it comes to nonprofit work, it’s incredibly hard. We all recognize that we can have an impact, change the world, do more, go further for something that truly matters. The long game is important though, and we need to do that prevention to ensure sustainability.

We can get caught up. One more meeting. One more grant. One more resource fair, one more person. One more late night. Step back. What’s the forest made of? Is it strong, healthy trees? Or is it like my beautiful ash tree that we suspect is hollow? All those trees make up a larger picture, which showcases the true sustainability.

What happens when you invest in a healthy team? Set realistic expectations? Leave work on time, turn down a potential opportunity, decline a meeting? Say, “that’s a tomorrow problem.” It can sound harsh and feel harsh when you know there’s someone out there that needs the work you’re doing. It’s important to know that you need room to grow. Room to create. Protect your capacity to dream, to brainstorm, to imagine. Protect the ability to think outside the box and create new programs, new approaches, new models. These things are critical to nonprofits that aren’t just surviving but thriving and growing. The only thing that can bring those things to nonprofits are the people leading and executing the mission.

If you’re interested in fostering healthy environments, several nonprofits are looking for volunteer opportunities, board members, staff members and more. Mentoring at-risk teenagers, coaching youth sports, providing artistic input, landscaping, answering phone calls or reviewing finances. There’s opportunity for you to give a little, give a lot, in a way that’s meaningful for you. After all, the forest is healthier with more trees, more diversity. Give me a call at 507-373-8670 to find out more not only at United Way, but our other nonprofits around town.

Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.