3 minutes reading time (512 words)

Unlocking Success: Essential Tips for Charity Managers

Thursday, 27 July 2023

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Mastering Essential Skills for Charity Managers. You are all Heroes, for more than one day.

The wellbeing of small charity mangers and leader's matter. The video is Hilda's presentation to small charity week.

Hilda was delighted to connect with other small charity managers and leaders over small charity week to explore ideas for their wellbeing. Of course, the well-being of staff and volunteers matter, however, those leading and managing small charities are people too, with their own challenges, hopes, dreams, and fears and while yes, may carry more responsibility, it matters that they are not crushed by it.

Listening to small charity leaders, the biggest challenges to their well-being included:

learning to say No.
Feeling like I'm doing it all alone.
Time
Giving myself permission to step back and take a break sometimes.
Huge expectations from Board
Not switching off at night
Burning out and feeling alone
For me, it is forgiving myself for not being able to do everything.
Never taking a break
Trying to be a fixer instead of being an alongsider
The lack of resources makes me have to do it all myself.

The rewards of leading a small charity focused on:

Seeing real change in the world, with my own two eyes!
Witnessing the difference, we make in people's lives.
Seeing someone smile again.
Seeing the people, you help thriving.
Not being needed anymore
Genuinely make a difference in individual people's day-to-day life, living out my own values in my working life.
Making positive impact
Seeing the impact on people's lives. Also seeing people with lived experience do the job, and seeing my team win.
Seeing people, I support them and support others.
See something small grow into something much bigger.

The strength of small charities is the values which drive them to keep going against the odds. A weakness is that after a while, it becomes taken for granted this will always be the case, regardless of the lack of resources or support and with ever increasing demand. This is not realistic. Somewhere a balance needs found around doing what we can do, and doing that to the best of our ability, but realising, we are NOT responsible for it all. This piece may be of interest - Link. Written to everyone involved in small charities, as managers, leaders, and staff. Volunteers, trustees, and other supporters.

For the small charities to survive, we need those who are managing them and leading them to know, their wellbeing matters too. The presentation to follow taken from a session shared during small charity week is one step in that direction. We are also exploring setting up a Community of Practice if you would like to know more, please drop Hilda an email at COPEScotland - Contact Us (cope-scotland.org).

When asked what do you do to nourish your own self-care? What do you reply? Once you have thought about this, then ask yourself, when did you last do that?

You matter too, please never forget that.

Hilda,