Bi-Weekly Wellbeing Brief: 2/23/2026
February 23 Overview:
As we welcome the Lunar New Year, many (ourselves included) are reflecting on a newfound momentum and sense of renewal. In the spirit of the Fire Horse, nonprofit and social impact organizations across the country are metaphorically off to the races. The demand for nonprofit work is high as community needs intensify. The funding landscape continues to shift as philanthropy is pressured to give, do, and be more. Alongside that momentum remains a parallel realization: if the work is accelerating (both within nonprofits and philanthropic institutions), sustaining the people behind it must accelerate, too.
🪫 The B-word: What’s happening with Burnout?
A piece from The NonProfit Times reports that healthcare nonprofits continue to report acute strain. Talent shortages persist, and many healthcare workers face the painful paradox of providing care they themselves struggle to afford. Even as leaders express cautious optimism about AI easing administrative load, workforce fatigue remains a defining challenge.
Seth Godin offered a reframe for burnout–captured in this article from NonProfit PRO. He warns that burnout isn’t solely about exhaustion from tasks, but also the result of eroded trust and attachment with staff, communities, and donors.
💭 Innovations & New Thinking
There is growing recognition that philanthropy can be a co-architect of healthier work environments for nonprofits. As nonprofits brace for rising demand, leaders are calling for funding partners across sectors to invest in things like flexible operating support, workforce stabilization, and capacity-building that includes people. The Segal Family Foundation recently released a Wellbeing Toolkit for Changemakers, offering practical exercises, reflection prompts, and organizational strategies designed specifically for social impact leaders. The toolkit centers wellbeing as core infrastructure and encourages teams to build rituals of care into their operating rhythm.
📍 Local to San Diego
The highly anticipated 2025 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Annual Report from The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego was released earlier this month. What caught our attention was the shift in how stress and burnout were reported: high workloads, funding instability, and compensation concerns remain consistent stressors. However, in addition to reporting concerns about staff burnout (44%), leaders who took the survey also reported concerns about their own stress and burnout (40%).
RISE San Diego is relaunching their RISE Resilience & Renewal program–a whole-body leadership program designed for nonprofit leaders who seek to reconnect with purpose, cultivate wellness, and lead in alignment with their values.
In a recent opinion piece in The San Diego Union-Tribune, leaders underscored how nonprofits are crucial to cushioning the blow from lost federal funding. As government dollars fluctuate, San Diego’s nonprofit sector is absorbing increased community needs while facing its own financial uncertainty.
There is exciting news from our team at Do Good Leadership Collective! We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Fund the People, where we are developing #TalentJustice initiatives that are unique to our region. Learn more via our new Talent Justice landing page, and read our blog that recaps our collaborative event with Fund the People in November 2025.
✅ Quick Takeaways
Nonprofits are moving in 2026 at full speed, and not necessarily paced with support to minimize burnout risk.
Healthcare nonprofits face unique workforce strain, including talent shortages and affordability gaps.
Burnout is becoming increasingly understood as relational and not just operational.
Philanthropy and cross-sector partners must help shape healthier conditions for social impact work.
Do Good Leadership Collective is a San Diego-based consultancy that helps social impact professionals Do Good and Be Well.
