Exhaustion in Prospect Development

Dear Diary,

Today, I want to write about something a little more reflective than procedural or teachable within prospect development. Let’s discuss exhaustion, a feeling defined as a noun: the act or process of exhausting; the state of being exhausted, to tire extremely or completely.

Many times, and especially in the last six years, I’ve heard many fundraisers talk about exhaustion, meeting their breaking point, and feeling burnout. As burnout has become a relatable sentiment and experience within the nonprofit sector for far too long, there has been an increase in fundraiser turnover as the average tenure has been recorded at 18 months (per The National Council for Nonprofits), and external impacts such as fundraising goals and pace, the economy and global pandemics have led to sabbaticals and job leaves.

Within my specific field of prospect development, I’ve heard so many questions that reflect concern and inquiry on exhaustive relationship building. Questions such as, “How do I communicate what prospect research is to my vice president?” or “How do I create an adequate timeline for my work so people can stop expecting me to create profiles within an hour?” or “How do I best reflect my performance and the value of my work?” or “How do I tell my manager that I need help? Without the erroneous implication and assumption that I can’t do my job” or “What can I do if my manager does not respect my expertise?” As you read this, and you work within my field, I’m sure many other questions come to mind.

We can be honest with ourselves: All of these questions and many more have an underlined tone of exhaustion.

Recently, I have noted the refocus of self-work or what is best known as decentering work to better focus on identity, community, and family/friends. As life gets more introspective and interconnected thanks to social media, world events, and the media, I can’t help but wonder what we can do to help each other through our great moments of exhaustion. How are we unplugging? How are you taking a strategic personal pause? A pause that allows you to remap what matters (perhaps using the kitchen burner method by which you place the most important things on the first two stove tops and least important on the back two stove tops).

I don’t have the answers, but I do know a lot about community. I appreciate everyone who discusses exhaustion in prospect development and the betterment of our field.  

Until next time,

October 15th!