Protect the Waters, the Mermaids, and the Organizers
Fundraising is one of the many ways nonprofits gather financial support for a cause or organization to gain resources, awareness, and public support. While this work is integral to the operations and success of a nonprofit, it is exceptionally challenging to recruit charitable donors, maintain steam, and ultimately, reach critical financial goals. And while going through this process, nonprofits must reckon with the stress and burnout it inflicts upon their workers, trying to find innovative ways to keep people mentally well and engaged. This article speaks to this complication and tension, bringing light to an under-discussed topic.
To be clear, we’re not trying to act as though we hate this work, we actually love it! But with the growing conversations around labor, rest, and liberation, we find it valuable to share the reality of the unintentional consequences it has on organizers. Let’s take a look behind the curtain to see what fundraising is really like.
PROTECTING MERMAIDS AND WATERS
During the month of June, Fandom Forward launched a fundraising campaign in support of two causes typically not put together — trans rights and water activism. You might be thinking, “What do these two have to do with each other? What’s the connecting strand?” Don’t worry, we got you covered.
To start, the attack on transgender people has been a hot topic these past few years. A record number of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation has been introduced in the state legislature this past year alone, attacking basic human rights such as gender-affirming care and curriculum on gender and sexuality in school districts. More than 50% of trans youth in the US have lost or are at risk of losing life-saving gender-affirming care which echoes the restrictions currently happening in other parts of the world, such as the UK. Our fundraiser, Protect the Water, Protect the Mermaids, tackled this injustice along with the intersectional issue of water activism and how it uniquely impacts BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and queer communities.
As we see in the news, the world is experiencing numerous attacks on human rights. With the rise of anti-trans legislation in the US and other countries, trans people are fighting for their rights on a daily basis. At the same time, Black and Brown communities are experiencing higher rates of climate consequences with trans people of color experiencing more health problems than their white counterparts. It may not seem like it at first, but these issues are all connected. Systemic racism, transphobia, and queerphobia leads to a lack of environmental support for BIPOC and queer communities, such as being forced to live in areas with toxic water, higher pollution, etc. This, in turn, leaves people at the intersection of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identities being disproportionately affected by a lack of clean water access, leading to health consequences such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system or reproductive effects, and chronic diseases. By supporting climate justice, we are securing a future for all people, marine life, wildlife, and the planet as a whole.
During the fundraiser, all proceeds were split between Fandom Forward and Mermaids UK, an organization that supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children and young people under the age of 20 in accessing gender-affirming services. In the end, we garnered support from a myriad of generous donors and supporters. Even as we investigate the phenomena of fundraiser burnout, we want to make it clear that we are grateful to every single donor, everyone who shared the link, and anyone who raised these conversations in their social circles. Thank you for your efforts. Over time, this is how change happens.
Included in this dissection of fundraiser burnout are snippets of an interview deep-diving on the process with Fandom Forward’s Managing Director, Katie Bowers, and the Campaigns Director, Sara Mortensen, who both echo the combination of excitement and anxiety that is baked into nonprofit fundraising.
MOMENTS OF JOY
To start off, we want to clarify that fundraising can have many joyous, fun, and connecting moments. This is inherent within fan activism, an organizing strategy that uses well-known fandoms as the basis of collective identity for a social movement, and Fandom Forward’s main vehicle for campaigns. As opposed to other traditional organizing models, fan activism allows the space for creativity, laughter, and connection. Bowers noted how connecting to the donors is “always special” due to the nature of fandom.
“We are fandom people. We love to watch people nerd out about things they love. It’s wonderful to see how people light up when they talk about why they support Fandom Forward, and all of their stories are so meaningful.”
— Katie Bowers, Managing Director
She continued to explain how the donor tier perks inspired amusement, as well, “I do love finding the lovely, artistic perks that people donate — connecting with the creators is fun, and I love creating silly perks like Adopt a Baby Kraken.” Some of the perks offered in the Protect the Waters, Protect the Mermaids fundraiser included a special edition “Here for Mermaids” glittery enamel pin, Emma the Whale Plushie, created by Shore Buddies, an organization that creates stuffed animals from recycled plastic bottles, two tickets to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, and a life-sized swimmable mermaid tail by FinFolk Productions.
Mortensen expressed joy in partnering with the UK organization, saying that it has been “really positive, productive, and joyous and I feel really proud in bringing our community together to support their work!” She further added, “It’s really nice to feel like you’re working together with a bunch of like-minded people to do something really good! We also tend to host a few livestreams during our fundraisers and those are really awesome community events filled with joy, laughter, and common action!” This included the livestream Our Flag Means Queer Rights with actors Nathan Foad and Kristian Nairn from HBO’s Our Flag Means Death.
IMPACT ON THE BODY AND MIND
While the work of fan activism can be so joyous, less draining and grueling than other models of organizing, the work still takes a toll. In the world of fundraising and nonprofits, meeting a financial goal can be the difference between your organization staying afloat and becoming unemployed — which Bowers revealed was the case previously, multiple times a year, and Mortensen noted the persistent messaging of “we need this money to keep going.” This, along with many other factors organizers face, is what can leave an organizer burnt out.
Bowers described her personal experience with burnout, “I’m not going to lie, it [fundraising] still stresses me out. I’m not sure if that’s from years of crowdfunder stress stored in my body, or if it’s just because fundraising is legitimately very difficult, but yeah, I’m still very stressed about it.” The focus on the body is crucial since stress can cause multiple physical and chronic health conditions. She continued, “It feels simultaneously like my heart is racing, my muscles are tensing, and yet, I’m too exhausted to do the thousands of tiny tasks small dollar fundraising requires.”
“During these fundraisers there’s a huge pressure to be online all the time, constantly promoting the fundraiser, and that pressure really adds to the burnout.”
— Sara Mortensen, Campaigns Director
The experts at CharityLink, leaders and trainers in the world of fundraising, define burnout in this context as “hitting a wall” after extended periods of stress without enough self-care, effectively ignoring your body’s signals to rest. From this heightened stress can lead to organizers blaming themselves, becoming overwhelmed in dread and defeat. To quote, “Being on constant ‘alert’ and in our ‘fight or flight’ state leads to our sympathetic nervous system overloading and ultimately collapsing.”
According to fundraiser research published in Civil Society, “26% of professional fundraisers said they had to take time off because of stress, anxiety or depression as a result of their fundraiser role.” Although much fun and joy is shared at Fandom Forward, these impacts are felt here, as well. Both Bowers and Mortensen echoed that fundraising can be an extremely stressful endeavour.
In addition, Mortensen acknowledged the emotional side to this, “I think there’s also feelings of shame when you don’t meet your goal, which can easily lead to a depressed feeling and feelings of failure.” Since organizers are people who tend to deeply care about people, issues, and society, and since they don’t receive adequate support to do this work, they can feel as though the pressure is all on them and internalize outcomes that were out of their control.
“Fundraising is a tough combination of needing to be vulnerable, because you are asking for help about something you really care about, while dealing with lots of rejection and very high stakes.”
— Katie Bowers, Managing Director
Ultimately, the stress caused by fundraising can create a myriad of consequences that can be paralyzing on a physical, mental, and emotional level. Continuing to stand with movements and communities is paramount, but who will be left to do the work if we all burn out?
THE OUTCOME
In an attempt to not burn out our staff and volunteers, we approached Protect the Waters, Protect the Mermaids a little differently than previous fundraisers. We didn’t set a monetary goal, but a goal to connect with a certain number of people. By focusing on people rather than financials, it allowed us to focus on a crucial objective — engaging people on these topics so that they may walk away with a deeper understanding and commitment to the cause(s).
In the end, we engaged 90 donors, gained 2 new monthly donors, and gained a total of $3500. To quote Mortensen, “While we didn’t raise tens of thousands of dollars, our work was still impactful. And having that mindset is a part of making fundraising sustainable.”
MAKING FUNDRAISING SUSTAINABLE
The reality is that fundraisers are typically focused on the outcome of money raised, which doesn’t always reflect the amount of hard work that goes into them. Getting others to financially donate to a cause isn’t hard because people “don’t care,” but because most of us are in financially compromised positions ourselves. Fundraisers can reach massive levels of success, making genuine impact upon their selected cause, but that happens when the workers behind-the-scenes are adequately supported, as well.
Mortensen and Bowers have some ideas as to how organizers in need can receive the support they require, and they came to the same conclusion — financial support.
Mortensen stated, “Big foundations and funders need to understand the value of grassroots organizers and activists working in niche communities and need to meaningfully invest in the work that these organizers are doing!” while Bowers added onto this thought with, “Funders and donors need to be open to sustained funding. So many large grant-making orgs are interested in new projects, which means projects that people love and that have been making a difference for years often struggle immensely to get funded and maintain it. If you love the work a nonprofit does, one of the best ways to support them is to become a monthly donor. This helps make their regular income more predictable, which helps employees worry less about the money and spend more time making the creative, beautiful programs you love!”
By addressing the causes of burnout and using financial resources to fund these organizations, we are able to support the people that are supporting others.
TAKEAWAYS: ACTION ITEMS
If you’re learning about the impacts of fundraiser burnout on organizers and want to know where you can support, here’s a few ideas:
- Become a monthly donor to a non-profit organization you believe in, one that upholds your morals and values (even just $1!),
- Volunteer to support fundraising campaigns (e.g., share donation links, show up to in-person events, etc.),
- Spread awareness on social media and in your social circles about the importance of supporting organizers, activists, and current campaigns.
HEALING FROM BURNOUT
Even though the work is significant, impactful, and fulfilling, this level of stress is too much for the body to handle on a consistent basis, especially when our society does not encourage rejuvenating practices such as rest, relaxation, time-off, and slowness.
Most of us have heard about the common ways to combat burnout and stress — eat regularly, get 8 hours of sleep, take breaks, make time for 30 minutes of physical movement every day, book a trip away, talk to a friend or a counselor/therapist, get creative, etc. However, obtaining real, long-lasting change for health outcomes calls for a restructuring of society’s allocation of resources.
Organizers and nonprofits deserve adequate funding to support their functioning so that we can transition into a state of organizing where bleeding ourselves dry for a cause isn’t the norm. Just like we’re fighting for the rights, joy, and health of many groups, we also need that energy redirected back to the people on the ground. By leaning on one another through collective interdependence, we can achieve a future where justice is prioritized for everyone.
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