Burnout is now a systemic issue within environmental work and fundraising. So, how can we protect and nurture better wellbeing as individuals and collectively as a sector?
In this fourth and final episode, we explore how fundraisers can support one another through community, peer learning and shared practice. Our guests explore burnout prevention, resilience, organisational responsibility for wellbeing, and the role of networks like the Green Fundraisers Forum in fostering connection, confidence and collective strength.
Our speakers and key messages
- Jo Musker-Sherwood, Founder, The Rest of Activism. Activist, mother, wellbeing facilitator and coach, Jo supports individuals and organisations across the environmental sector to build healthier ways of working. She shares her personal experience of burnout, how she healed from the experience and what tools individuals and organisations can use to recover from burnout.
- Mohammed Towhasir, CEO, Become United. Mohammed has years of experience of working with and for marginalised communities in Greater Manchester. He shares his work in reconnecting local communities with nature at Become United and provides ideas and insights on building more equitable communities across the environmental sector.
- Laura Perratt, Fundraising consultant, Prospect & Pitch. A GFF sub-group leader and Fundraising Consultant, Laura thrives in building communities for people to learn and support each other. She shares her methods in creating welcoming spaces for fundraisers and why connecting with peers helps fundraisers both with their day to day work and to improve their wellbeing.
- Andy Raingold & Chloe Revill, Co-Founders & Directors, Change in Nature. Andy and Chloe work with people and groups to help them bring nature into their everyday work. Their short nature connection exercise aims to ground us in today’s theme of understanding the bigger picture and how you might want to integrate some of the learnings into our work.
- Your host is Natasha Ratter, Environmental Groups Lead at EFN. Natasha co-ordinates EFN’s work to strengthen the effectiveness of the environmental charity sector and facilitates the Green Fundraiser’s Forum and worked extensively as a fundraiser prior to joining EFN.
Our speakers and key messages
Below we are a list of resources mentioned in this episode that can help you in understanding the bigger picture:
- Join the Working Well Network – the Network is open to anyone, and you are free to come to sessions as a one off experience, or to come along regularly.
- Resources by the Working Well Network – two reports that share how the processes and values by which the Working Well Network was created, including exploring lived experiences and what it means to take risks in the hope of creating something better.
- Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone – a book that shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power.
- Change in Nature’s page for fundraisers – Andy and Chloe have curated a special selection of videos and exercises for environmental fundraisers that would like to build on the nature connection exercises at the end of each episode.