03/20/2026
I'm not going to talk about the war.
Not because it doesn't matter. But because you already know. You're already carrying it — in the background of every meeting, every email, every moment you try to focus on the work in front of you.
Here's what I will talk about: what I'm seeing right now in the organizations I work with.
Funding is uncertain. Focus is harder to hold. Leaders are showing up every day for missions they believe in, but the weight of everything outside their walls is heavier than usual.
People are tired in a way that coffee and another meeting can't fix.
And nobody's saying it out loud.
So I will.
It's hard to be alive right now.
It's hard to write a grant narrative about community impact when the world feels like it's unraveling.
It's hard to rally a board when everyone's doom-scrolling before the meeting starts.
It's hard to talk about next quarter when today feels like barely enough to manage.
But here's what I keep coming back to.
The mission-driven work you're doing -- that I am doing -- still matters. More than ever.
The small nonprofit trying to keep families fed. The organization showing up for people no one else sees. The team of three doing the job of ten because they believe in something bigger than a budget line.
That work is what's keeping me going right now. Helping those people do what they do — that's how I stay anchored. Serving others is how I'm saving myself these days.
If you're leading a mission-driven organization and you're feeling the weight of all of it — you're not alone. And the fact that you're still showing up? That matters more than you think.
Keep going. The world needs what you're building.
