The Endlessly Fascinating Nonprofit World

May was a blur. There’s a reason a group of my friends have a “Mothers Surviving May” party. It’s tough month (even for an empty nester, it seems).

Looking back, here’s what stuck with me most from the stories I encountered as a SmartBrief editor last month. If I had to capture the theme, I’d say, “life is rough and we take care of ourselves best by saying ‘no’ sometimes.”

Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society

We shared a story about how men’s grant proposals scored better than women’s (the study examined almost 7,000 submissions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). Even though the reviewers preferred men’s word choices, men’s projects didn’t perform better than women’s.

I encourage you to read the linked article. It was difficult not to walk away from it with a “when are we ever going to have equity?” type of feeling. However, the beauty of science is that the question was asked. Researchers learned more. Potential solutions were floated. It’s a start.

UN Wire

In this article, I learned that around 270,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh had been issued ID cards. This was the first time any of these people had been formally identified as people. So basic, yet so essential. Without ID, they had difficulty getting aid, were more susceptible to human trafficking and were more likely to have difficulty finding family members when separated.

BoardSource

Remember the story I shared from Sigma Xi, about how
Male researchers’ wording favored by grant reviewers? It was the third-best-performing story in BoardSource last month.

These equity issues apply in so many of life’s arenas.

Reserve Officers Association

For the ROA SmartBrief, we discussed how a lack of funding has resulted in delays to repairs needed at Tyndall Air Force Base.

This one is personal. Tyndall is less than two hours from me … less than 100 miles. My fellow North Floridians are still struggling, nine months after Hurricane Michael struck. Hurricane season just began again. I want their lives to get back on track.

The International City/County Management Association

I read a story this month that was included in the ICMA SmartBrief that hit all my favorite targets for stories: facts, a “people” angle, good writing. On its surface, it was about flooding issues in Ellicott City, Md., but at its heart it was about so much more.

I wrote about that story in this Five Minute Friday post. Read it and think about Eddie’s legacy. I’m sure it would matter to his family and friends.

National Emergency Number Association

Elivia Shaw and Paloma Martinez, produced “The Shift,” a documentary chronicling San Francisco dispatchers’ work lives and the stress they experience. One of their goals was to encourage passage of the 911 SAVES Act, legislation that Martinez says “would allow for increased funding, training, and other benefits to people like the dispatchers in [the] film.”

Dispatchers experience stresses many of us don’t understand well. Here’s the documentary; it’s worth the eight minutes it takes to watch it.

SmartCities

I am editing a new (to me) brief, the Smart Cities SmartBrief. It covers smart cities, the internet of things and the “connected world.” I can already tell I’m going to enjoy the subject matter with this brief. Here’s one big “a ha” I’ve already had:

You may be able to use the MTA in New York without a metrocard sometime next year. In theory, the next time I go, I may have to figure out a whole new way to pay. It wouldn’t be the first time, of course. I successfully transitioned from tokens to Metrocards. Still … mind slightly blown!

National Association of Social Workers

It was impossible to choose just one story to feature from May’s NASW brief. Usually, as the month goes by I pop over to my blog and drop in favorites as they accumulate over the month. Because May was such a sprint (and never a cool down), June arrived and I had only dropped in two links. Both were from NASW!

I think, looking at them, that the two things relate in a way.

I am a fan of Brian Cuban. I appreciate his candor about his journey through addiction and an eating disorder, along with his commitment to helping people in the legal profession cope with its stresses.

Cuban’s “Above the Law” post, Using The Power Of Story To Break Law Firm Mental Health Stigma, discusses how breaking the mental health stigma involves trying to understand and acknowledge the root causes behind the challenges many people face. As he notes, waiting until someone has a crisis is not optimal. He writes, “A skin-tight suit of shame … may have been worn for years, maybe decades, possibly a lifetime.”

Earlier, the month, we shared Self-Care A-Z: Black Women and Self-Care from “The New Social Worker.” Social worker Cortney Downs discussed why self care matters, especially for women who feel a burden to be a “strong black woman.” She said part of self care involves saying no. I love her reminder to do it “with a period, not a comma.”

Not that I have walked in Brian Cuban’s shoes or Cortney Downs’, but I have had my own struggles with overcoming entrenched negative self talk. And sometimes I dealt with that by saying “yes” to too many things or the wrong things.

My Second “Originals” Post

Have you seen “The Public”? If you haven’t, you should (in my opinion)! The release of the movie dovetailed nicely with my growing interest in the role of social workers in libraries.

Take a look at Library Social Work: Separating Fact From Fiction, and let me know your thoughts.

If You’re Looking to Turn a New Career Page

I invite you to peruse this list of openings if you’re in DC and being a part of our team may make sense for you (or if you know someone in DC who is seeking a great opportunity). I wrote in more detail about my experience as a SmartBrief employee here, which may help answer any questions you have. As always, I’m happy to answer questions and provide more information about the process.

Here are the advertised open positions as of 6/2/19:

• Digital Sales Associate (Health Care)
• Lead CRM Administrator
• Accounts Payable Specialist
• Digital Sales Associate
• Customer Success Associate
• Product Marketing Specialist
• Digital Sales Associate (Advertising & Marketing)
• Paid Social Media Campaign Tracker – Product Marketing
• Digital Sales Associate
• Digital Sales Associate (NYC)

If you are interested in applying, please list me as your referrer or email me so we can discuss further.

To Recap

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Thanks for reading!

*Note: My opinions about the stories are my personal viewpoint; they do not reflect an endorsement by my employer.