What We Learned About Burnout in Community Organizations
Four years of listening to organizations doing vaccine equity work taught us something important
The solutions we've been offered—self-care, resilience training, individual coping strategies—aren't addressing what's really happening. We need to look deeper, at the systems and conditions that are asking too much of people who care deeply about their communities.
We See You
The work you're doing matters deeply. And we know it's taking a toll.
Your Team is Exhausted
People who came to this work with such passion and dedication are burning out. The self-care workshops aren't helping, and you're watching good people leave because they can't sustain the pace anymore.
The Funding Landscape Has Shifted
Between COVID-related funding ending, and rapid policy changes, there's real uncertainty about what comes next. But the communities you serve still need you—maybe more than ever.
You've Become Essential Infrastructure
During the pandemic, community organizations became the bridge between government services and the people who needed them most. That role hasn't ended, but the support to sustain it often has.
What We Found Gives Us Hope
Some organizations not only survived but found ways to thrive, even during the hardest times
Burnout Lives in Systems, Not Individuals
The organizations that weathered the pandemic best didn't focus on teaching their staff to be more resilient. They changed how they operated, creating conditions where people could do good work without sacrificing their wellbeing.
"The problem is not us being resilient... The problem is the systems and the factors that are forcing us to have to be resilient in the first place."
- Executive Director
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Community Organizations Are Different
When your work directly impacts people's lives and safety, burnout isn't just about individual wellbeing—it affects entire communities. This requires a different approach, one that honors both the mission and the people carrying it out.
"It's not just equity in the numbers of people getting vaccinated. It's equity in the whole process."
- Community Organizer
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Collective Care Creates Real Change
Organizations that shifted from individual self-care to collective care practices saw their staff stay longer, work more effectively, and maintain stronger connections with the communities they served.
We manage this place with trauma informed management... So we use that lived experience"
- Executive Director
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“Our work with AllThrive has shifted how we create space for rest. How we create space for grace for ourselves but also for others... It helped us revamp our whole intent, our entire agenda... and being more mindful and thoughtful about our partners.”
We'd Like to Share What We Learned
This research represents four years of deep listening to community organizations. We're offering it freely because we believe these insights belong to the movement.
And if you'd like to go deeper, we're developing training based on these findings