Nonprofit AF

21 tips to make getting back to work this week more bearable

Posted on January 3, 2021January 4, 2021 by Vu

[Image description: An adorable little puppy with light brown and white fur, laying with their head on the ground, looking cute and sad. I think that pretty much describes all of us this week. Image by rzierik on Pixabay]

Happy New Year, everyone! I know this week is rough. We’re back at work, with the thousands of emails, hundreds of to-do items, and a whole bunch of virtual meetings lined up with people who are probably just as grumpy as we are. I feel like crap, you feel like crap, we all feel like crap. Except for Ryan, who is always so chipper, God I hate that guy.

Anyway, it’s 2021, so I have compiled 21 tips that are scientifically proven to help you feel better and make this week just a little bit more bearable. Choose the stuff that works for you, ignore everything else:

8 nonprofit-themed mocktails for your virtual holiday parties

Posted on December 13, 2020December 13, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: A red drink, topped with ice, garnished with lemon slices and a straw, standing on a wooden table. Image by Pexels on Pixabay]

Hi everyone, I’ll be taking my annual two weeks break from writing so this will be the last post of 2020. I’ll be back on January 4^th. As this is the last post of this year, I thought about doing something meaningful, like “Important Lessons We Learned During These Unprecedented Times” or something, but I have no mental energy to do that. Or to shower more than once a week, but that’s a different matter.

The previous years, I wrote cocktail recipes. I got requests for non-alcoholic ones. So here are some mocktail recipes for you to make and enjoy during your next virtual holiday party. Thanks for all you do, everyone. I will see you in 2021, which will be an amazing year filled with hope, joy, and better personal hygiene for all of us.

Scary nonprofit stories for Halloween 2020

Posted on October 26, 2020October 26, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: A spooky jack-o-lantern pumpkin, with fog coming out of its eyes and mouth. It’s standing on some firewood. Image by brenkee on Pixabay.com]

Hi everyone, before we get to today’s less-serious post, please have your organization sign this letter urging Congress to enact legislation requiring foundations and Donor-Advised Funds to increase the amount of they are giving out to nonprofits, from a minimum of 5% of their endowments to 10%. This would free up $200 billion USD over the next three years, money that is desperately needed as our communities face this pandemic.

Halloween is this coming Saturday, which means it is time for Scary Nonprofit Stories. Here are several terrifying stories set in our sector. Make sure you are not reading them at night. If you are in the mood to share your own stories, use #NonprofitScaryStories on Twitter. And of course, if you’re looking for nonprofit-themed costumes for that virtual party, check out #NonprofitHalloweenCostumes.

Honest email auto-replies you can use during these challenging times

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: A laptop, opened and sitting on a wooden table, next to a black phone. The laptop’s display is covered with pieces of paper in various colors. Image by geralt on Pixabay]

Hi everyone. The past few months have been ridiculous. If you’ve emailed me, you literally got this auto-response back:

“Hi. This is an automatic reply. Due to parenting and homeschooling two small children, I will be slow to respond to emails. And I’ll be honest, I may forget to respond completely. If something is urgent, please call or text me. Thank you. Vu.”

This has actually been extremely helpful to have in place, as folks have been a lot more understanding when they hear from me three months after they email. Things are not normal. We all need to be a little more honest with one another in our communications. With that in mind, here are some auto-responses I drafted to serve as inspiration for you all. Feel free to adapt them to suit your needs:

25 proverbs, rewritten for nonprofit and philanthropy

Posted on August 17, 2020August 18, 2020 by Vu

[Image description: An adorable baby horse, light brown with a streak of white on the face. This foal is outside, with a field of grass in the blurry background. Look at their fluffy mane. Aw, now I want a pony. Image by Blaer of Pixabay.com]

Hi everyone, quick announcement: If you are interested in forming a community-centric fundraising local affinity group in your area, please register to join me and some other folks this Thursday, 8/20 at 12pm PT. Meanwhile, check out some new content on the CCF Hub, including “Reparations: How we white relatives must try to pay back the unpayable debt” by Hilary Giovale, “Nonprofit Industrial Complex 101: a primer on how it upholds inequity and flattens resistance” by Sidra Morgan-Montoya, “Why I decided to give up complicity in order to be an anti-racist volunteer manager” by Laura Pilati, and more.

We’ve had a string of serious posts here on Nonprofit AF. This week we’ll mix it up a bit. Proverbs! As a wise man once said: “Proverbs are the roux that binds the gravy of existence.” Or something. I totally made that up. Anyway, here are a bunch of famous proverbs that have been re-written to be more applicable to our sector. Feel free to add your own in the comment section, and on twitter using #NonprofitProverbs.