Kat Atchley: Advancing Nonprofit Work Through Collaboration, Corporate Partnerships, and Life Work Balance

Tasha: Good morning. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your nonprofit origin story?

Kat: Yeah, I’m Kat, actually. I’m in the United States, just outside of Kansas City, where I’m located.

Kat: Um, I’ve been in the non profit space for about 12 or 13 years, and I’ve worn many hats, like I think most of us have in the non profit world. Um, mostly I’ve worked in the development and program space. Um, right now I work for an organization called adoptaclassroom. org. We’re a U S based national nonprofit that funds pre K through 12 educators and schools to basically get them the resources that they need to help provide a more equitable education for the students that they serve.

Tasha: Very cool. And so lots of nonprofit hats, like you said, what’s your favorite part of working in nonprofit?

Kat: Yeah. So in my current role, I’m working on our corporate sponsorship team. Um, so basically we get to. work with companies and their foundations that are very interested in advancing education, um, and helping support teachers and students. Um, and as you said, we all know that maybe not just in the United States, but around the world, a lot of our schools are drastically underfunded.

Kat: Um, and, and the United States, um, A lot of times your zip code really dictates what kind of education, quality of education you have. Um, and so what we get to do is I work with our corporate sponsors to help shape and implement programs that help achieve our shared objectives. So, For instance, we might have a company that’s really interested in supporting teachers in the communities where they have offices or their employees live and work.

Kat: Um, we can work with any school across the country and we basically get to match, um, a corporate sponsor with a local school if that’s the direction they want to go. But then we also work with companies that maybe, um, Um, they’re not so much driven by an exact location, but they want to make an impact on STEM education because they realize that, um, you know, we need to prepare our future for 21st century work skills, you know, um, or maybe they might be interested in supporting inclusive classrooms or advancing racial equity in schools.

Kat: Um, I basically get a play matchmaker with those, I love that exactly. And, and help connect them with. You know, schools and educators who are brilliantly talented, very passionate about what they do, very compassionate with their students, but they just lack the financial resources that they need to provide that kind of quality education that their students deserve.

Kat: So I think that’s the favorite part over all of my work, not just. In my current role, but in my entire career in nonprofit work is bringing together people who weren’t connected before to generate impact in a way that none of us could have done on our own. Is there something magical about that?

Tasha: I think I had, uh, one of our Hivers

Tasha: at one point say to me, like, we’re the bridge, right? Like the people who work in nonprofit or that like connecting point between communities, donors, all of those people to like, to the mission, because you’re describing what can happen and imagining a future or a possibility for a future that may not have even crossed that person’s mind, that company, that person, individual’s mind of like what they could do to make a better future.

Tasha: And so I love that about you. Nonprofit work is that it’s almost like imagining a different future and then figuring out how the heck to get there, right?

Kat: Exactly. So not just dreaming but actually doing and being very tactical.

Tasha: Yeah

Kat: about it And and also like not getting caught up in the what sometimes can feel like the overwhelming challenging nature Of our work.

Kat: Um, but actually doing the thing, you know, absolutely.

Tasha: Okay. So then this leads perfectly into my next question, which is, uh, what do you find to be some of the bigger challenges of working in social impact and doing this work?

Kat: Yeah. So I think honestly, no matter what cause area you’re working in, or even what part of the world you’re working in there.

Kat: Are a lot of issues that, um, people in the nonprofit space, we, we talk about a lot, like the overhead problem, you know, the lack of funding to do our work. Um, you know, we’re not in the business of making widgets. We’re in the business of making impact, but whether you’re making widgets or you’re creating impact, it takes money to do that work.

Kat: Um, and that’s something that. I think everyone in the nonprofit space knows very, very well. Um, and then there’s just this, sometimes it can feel overwhelming because we are working. Against, um, really complex, seemingly intractable challenges. Otherwise we wouldn’t be having to do this work. Um, and, and a lot of the causes we’re working in, you know, they’re, none of these issues are happening in isolation.

Kat: Um, so, you know, if you’re working at a food bank, you know, you’re not really, it’s not just a hunger problem, you know, there’s, Job loss, generational poverty, racism, discrimination, um, uh, skyrocketing cost of food and climate change. Like all of these factors are swirling together. And for most of us who are working in nonprofits that don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars at our disposal, um, I think sometimes it can feel overwhelming when you’re working in such a broken system.

Kat: Um, and then of course, You know, burnout is a very common topic and one that I think something that plagues most nonprofit organizations and again, I think a lot of this is interconnected. Like, why are we burnt out because we don’t get paid enough? We don’t have enough funding to do the work we need to do.

Kat: We’re working with deeply entrenched systemic issues. But I think there’s one area where non profit leaders do have a little bit more control and influence over, and that’s this, um, work life balance that we all talk about. Yeah. And it is possible, um, but I think it has to come down from leadership. [00:07:00] So one of the things that drew me to the organization of my I’m at now is everything from the job posting to every level of interview I had with my peers and supervisors, and even the executive director, um, at adopted classroom dot org.

Kat: We don’t have a. Um, goal for work life balance. They call it life work balance.

Tasha: Ooh, I like that a lot.

Kat: And it’s a game changer. And it’s, you, I heard that and thought, why have I not heard of this before? It’s so simple. Just flipping it. Um, and And it’s not just something that’s on paper, there’s a beautiful manifesto about why we believe in this life work balance and what that looks like at work.

Kat: So things that we all know we should be doing, um, like, you know, not working outside of your workout hours, protecting your nights and weekends, um, you know, being paid fairly, um, a lot of these things. We know our best practices, but it’s hard to actually put into place unless you have the leadership backing that and protecting it.

Kat: And at my current organization, they not only say it, but they actually mean it. And part of it is going back to the very, um, you know, at the very basic level. It’s not, we’re not here for work life balance. We’re here for life work balance. And it’s just, it’s made my work more rewarding and sustainable because I, because I’m not burned out, you know, and so I can bring my best self to work every day and I look forward to coming to work.

Kat: Like I don’t dread Mondays.

Tasha: I

Kat: think that’s just, that’s a beautiful feeling.

Tasha: It’s brilliant. I mean, and I think that’s what we all need. And I think organizations that are not making that the plan as this younger generation of workers. And I mean, there’s total conversations. I’m like the very end of like the older millennials, right?

Tasha: Like, is my kind of age range. And I know most of the Uh, individuals I know around my age are kind of looking at what they’ve been doing the past 20 years of working and going like, well, I don’t, why are we doing it this way? And like, and then the generations younger than us are going, why the hell would you do it this way?

Tasha: Right. And you kind of, um, so I, I think organizations that are not looking towards that life work balance, particularly in nonprofit, where. Impact only happens truly and gains are truly made when attrition is very low because the inconsistency of new fundraisers, new marketers, new leadership. That changeover is it, it influences so hard on impact.

Tasha: Right. And yeah. And you know, a burn the step

Tasha: back for sure. Absolutely.

Kat: When you’re constantly having to deal with the churn. Yeah. Um, and even besides the churn, you know, when we’re all. Running on fumes. You know, we make more mistakes. Um, you know, and or maybe we don’t have the mental bandwidth to think more proactively and strategically because we’re just trying to survive day to day or hour by hour.

Kat: You know, we’re just not going to be as effective. When we’re running on such low fumes, um,

Tasha: or so many nonprofits invest in strategic planning and they pay a bunch of money and they get like, you know, someone in there, but if your team’s totally burnt out, like I know a lot of organizations who are doing a strategic plan every three years because critical people, That we’re supposed to help implement on the strategic plan later leave and then it’s like, well, you almost have to start from scratch because now that strategic plan doesn’t work because one of your linchpin individuals, which I think is frequent in nonprofit, that there are linchpins, particularly in smaller orgs.

Tasha: Yeah.

Tasha: If that person leaves. There’s, you know, it’s a pretty big shake up, um, to anything you’d planned for the future. Okay. This is fantastic. And also I want to see this manifesto because it’s incredible. Um, and so next question is, you know, how does peer support, um, connecting with others and social impacts, you know, just support your, your work and your continued, uh, time in nonprofit.

Kat: Yeah, so I think this is something that need for connection and peer support. I don’t think it’s unique to the non profit space. I think it’s, just critical for human beings. You know, we are social creatures. Our brains are wired to make connections. Um, and so when you’re able to connect with other people, like minded people, or people working with similar challenges, people who naturally empath empathize with what you’re going through.

Kat: I think it just helps fill a basic need that we all have. Um, and that’s part of the reason why I love being in the nonprofit hive is because you guys make it so easy for us to find those new connections. Um, and especially someone like me, I’m a little bit. Um, and I need, you know, space to connect with other people.

Kat: Yes. Um, but I also need like my alone time, you know, um, and, and especially in today when we’re living in like a post COVID world where. In person events are happening less frequently. Um, knowing that every week I can make a new connection with someone that I would have never crossed paths with before, had I not been in the hive is just, um, really hopeful and refuels my energy.

Kat: I know after every single call I have, I’m leaving it more energized. I’ve learned something new. Um, I’ve been able to laugh with someone over a shared experience. Um, and I think that’s just part of the beauty of these connections is I never know who I’m going to be matched with, but I always know I’m going to feel.

Kat: Better and more energized after the conversation. And it’s just 30 minutes, you know, it’s, it doesn’t even take that much, but it’s just, it’s, it’s really magical and beautiful. Um, what you guys are doing.

Tasha: Thank you. Well, and it’s, it, I think you’re right. Like 30 minutes in the scope of a work week is not, is not very much.

Tasha: And for many of us who are working remotely or, you know, small teams or whatever, I think there’s a little bit of that. You’re still talking about your, your work and your life, but it’s with the stakes a lot. Like you’re not talking necessarily about the like fundraising campaign you’re working on currently, or this corporate sponsor who hasn’t returned your calls, but you are still getting to talk about the work almost on a, on a level that is really hard to do in the day to day mind of non profit.

Kat: Yeah, absolutely. And see that a lot of us. Do you have very similar challenges, you know, and we’re not in it alone by any means. Um, and so, I don’t know, it’s always, um, been re energizing again, every, every single time I have a hive chat, um, and just the flexibility of being able to do it. As my schedule allows when my schedule allows, um, you know, there’ve been a few weeks where I’ve had busier work weeks or maybe I’ve been traveling.

Kat: Um, and so knowing that I may skip a week or two, but I can always come right back to it.

Kat: It’s

Kat: something that. Works really well for me and, and my goals of trying to just, again, find more connections with other people that I would have never come across if I hadn’t been in the hive. Well,

Tasha: I love one of the things you noted too, is As an introvert, sometimes big events feel like too much, right?

Tasha: Like they feel like a lot to kind of go out and do that level of networking, particularly post COVID. I count myself as an extreme extrovert and I still have had a few times where I’m like, this is not how I felt after these types of events in the past. Like it’s quite a bit right. To take on, but. That one to one connection, I think, you know, in an attempt for scaling to get more connections, to get more, we forgot about what happens when it’s just one to one and you get this depth that comes with the connections that, uh, It’s not, not that I think it’s discouraged in nonprofit.

Tasha: I just think there’s not very many opportunities for it. It just really naturally exists to meet a stranger who does similar work to you. Like there’s just not much out there like it.

Kat: Yeah. And so you do get the depth and those one on one connections, but then you’re I mean, I feel like I’m also tapping into this breadth of the network too, because if I see someone in an interview or posting a comment on LinkedIn, yeah, with the nonprofit hive, you know, I might come across someone, you know, maybe in the education space that I’m in and, and think, okay, I haven’t had a hive chat with them, but I know I can reach out to them because they’re in this community.

Kat: And I might, we’ll send an invite to say hello and organize our own. Little one on one. So it’s, I think it’s hitting that sweet spot of depth and breadth of connection.

Tasha: I think you’re, I think you’re right. I, I actually have hilariously had a few times recently where I went to go and make a connection between two people.

Tasha: Cause I’m like, Oh my goodness. They’re in the same time zone. This is amazing. Like the same time slot picked. This is amazing. And we’re going to connect these two people finally. And then they’ve already gone, Oh, well we. Thanks for connecting us this week, but we already went and did it

Tasha: because

Tasha: we’ve seen you commenting.

Tasha: We’ve seen each other. I’m like, you’re so sweet. Uh, no, thanks guys. Uh, so I know that people are kind of taking it offline and building out their own, uh, network. Cause you know, and I think we chatted about this a bit before, like it’s attracting a certain type of people who are really looking, um, Looking to find more peer support, looking to find, you know, this, this level of potential connections or this type of, uh, group that really wants to resource share, potentially collaborate, um, I know people have said lovely things about you after chats because I think you’re also bringing a really unique perspective.

Tasha: Set of skills that for many nonprofit professionals struggling to figure out how to engage on a corporate level for their nonprofit, how to work with businesses, how to make those connections. So I know you have a really, uh, unique backgrounds that I’m sure you’re appreciating.

Kat: I mean, that’s the beauty of it is we all do have a unique backgrounds, perspectives, experiences that we can share.

Kat: Um, so I, I feel like I’ve left every chat getting, um, Either the same or more from the, from the person on the other side of the screen. Um, so it’s, yeah, it’s very reciprocal. Um, you know, I think it’s just the beauty that tapestry, you know, of all of us. coming together. Um, and if there’s anything I can do to help, um, you know, share a piece of information or advice, I know that again, the person on the other side of the screen has their own unique thoughts and perspectives and ideas.

Kat: That’s going to help me too. So it’s all, you know, we’re all in it together.

Tasha: Um,

Kat: even if we’re in different cause areas, different countries, you know, the, the, our purpose is shared, you know,

Tasha: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you doing this, Kat. This was amazing. And thanks for being one of our Hive members who shows up and I know instantly it’s a easy match.

Tasha: Everybody’s thrilled to be, uh, put with you. So thanks again.

Kat: Well, thank you. Thank you. And thanks to everyone in the community who makes it possible. It’s really enjoyable and a meaningful experience to be part of. Cheers.