I know the nonprofit end-of-year responsibilities can be a lot to juggle, so this post is penned in appreciation of all you do and with the hopes of helping you keep your head above water.

Consider this your guide to nonprofit end-of-year success.

Take care of yourself and your team

It’s no secret that folks in the nonprofit sector are highly motivated to address the needs of those they serve.

But that doesn’t mean that your needs and the needs of the people on your team should go unaddressed.

If you have a managerial role, encourage those under your report to take their paid time off (PTO) before the year ends. If you have PTO accrued that you have not yet used, use it! You can set an example for your employees that time off is meant to be used.

Strategize how to reduce people’s workloads. I’ve shared this with my newsletter list, but this year, my team started implementing a 4-day work week. If you’re able to do this, I highly recommend it. Not only are we all more productive, but we’re happier (which matters a whole lot more in my opinion). 

If you aren’t able to move to a 4-day work week, consider implementing a no-meetings day or gathering input from your team about the best times to hold meetings. Often, having too many meetings can make folks feel overwhelmed and unable to make real headway on their to-do lists. One solution is to institute a policy to not have meetings on a given day of the week. 

Another option is to survey your team about what times of day they prefer to have meetings. On my team, for example, we’re all a lot more productive in the morning, so we try not to have meetings before lunch, since those are productive hours for us.

Finally, express appreciation for those you work with. Often a simple and specific thank-you goes a long way.

Plan for the big-picture

I know that it’s easy to get swept away in the pressing needs of the day-to-day. Particularly when the needs you’re addressing are pressing and serious, it can start to feel like there’s no time for big-picture planning.

But this is a huge mistake, one that is made too often in the field. 

Unless you make time to plan for the big-picture, you’re going to be stuck in a cycle of struggling to sustain your current impact, when what you probably want is to scale your impact.

So it’s essential to make time to plan for the long term.

What do you want to accomplish in 2023? Now is the time to start thinking about it.

If you want to expand your programs or build your team, think about the resources you will need to accomplish that. Will you need more funding? 

I know the answer to that question is usually yes.

And I want to help you get there. Read on to the end of this post for a resource I have to help you make your biggest nonprofit goals a reality.

Keep your “why” in mind

My final piece of advice is to keep your why in mind. 

As you’re making a plan for the year ahead, think about who you are serving and why. Reconnect with your program participants and stakeholders. It’s important to keep them involved in conversations about where your organization is heading.

Your next steps

One common nonprofit end-of-year responsibility is the preparation of an annual report.

I know that on top of everything else you have to do in the last weeks of the year, creating an annual report can feel like an extra, unwelcome burden.

But the annual report is an important document. Not only does it share important information about your work with prospective donors, but frequently, grantmakers will also request one as part of a grant application.

I have something to make the process a lot simpler and smoother: The Annual Report Template. Save time and stress with this template. Now, you don’t have to worry about designing a nice-looking document. All you have to do is input some basic information about what you accomplished this year, and voila–you check “annual report” off your to-do list.

You can get your copy here for just $15.