Field Insights: How Refreshing The Basics Can Help Nonprofit Leaders Thrive

At Brooklyn Org, we know that when Brooklyn Backs Brooklyn, anything is possible—we see this in the many, everyday ways that neighbors show up for each other, and we’re sure you do too. Perhaps you volunteer on the weekends or help an older neighbor clear snow from their front steps. Maybe you’re the listening ear for your loved ones. Or, like nonprofit staff across the borough, you may even provide a lifeline for your community.

If you work at a Brooklyn nonprofit, you know it’s more than just a job. Every day, you get up and do what it takes to move the needle for others. You tackle hunger, homelessness, inequality, poverty, and all the other troubles that plague our city. You are reliable, focused, dedicated, and empathetic. You lead with your heart, searching for ways to leave the world a better place than you found it. As Kim Scott’s international bestseller Radical Candor attests, “we often undervalue the emotional labor of being a boss.”

Even if you’re not currently managing a team, you are consistently fielding the energy and experiences of many. As we push ourselves for our missions, we often forget that we too are a part of the communities we serve, as are our teams. When nonprofit staff come from the communities they serve, they experience first-hand the same concerns they are working to address. At Brooklyn Org, we’re designing our capacity building programming to take that into account, acknowledging that nonprofit professionals are often in need of the care they so readily offer others. We strive to create a space where our nonprofit colleagues are wholly supported, can take time to reflect, and remain resilient so that they can continue to show up and serve our communities.

Across our work, we lead by listening. Over the last few months, we heard a desire from nonprofits for more opportunities to connect, reset, and meet the moment creatively in the company of their peers. As the giving season ended and our nonprofit partners turned their attention inward, requests to revisit the basics of fundraising and philanthropy arose. It is from this feedback that we conceived our ongoing series of capacity building trainings, focusing on the building blocks of what it means to run a successful nonprofit.

We kicked off the year with a Nonprofit Leader Salon in January where leaders from the borough gathered to create vision boards for the months ahead, and are continuing to provide programs focusing on refreshing the basics for nonprofits through March. These events not only provide moments to reflect, create and connect, but also to review the many topics nonprofit staff across the borough haven’t had the time or space to return to.

Together, we have learned about letters of intent, reviewed the ins and outs of maintaining charitable status, and dreamed of a collaborative future for North Brooklyn. Complementing these sessions are trainings on networking and obtaining funding, with more to come in March.

Join us for upcoming trainings, and stay in touch by signing up for our nonprofit newsletter below to stay updated on more professional development programming and opportunities to connect and build community with your fellow nonprofit leaders and our team at Brooklyn Org.