You Have to Save Yourself First

I’m sure anyone who has ever flown is well aware of the scary, doom and gloom speech that is given by the flight attendant before takeoff: In the case of an emergency the exit doors are here, under your seat is a flotation device, and please buckle your seatbelt. However, there is one more, significantly more famous, instruction: In the event of an emergency, secure your own oxygen mask before helping those next to you.

This instruction goes against every instinct we have as human beings. The first thing a mother would think to do is save her child before herself and most people would want to help the elderly couple next to them before themselves. But, of course, there is a reason we are given this instruction. You can’t save anyone until you’ve saved yourself. You will be no good to anyone else if you are unconscious or dead. You need to invest in your own safety before you can invest in anyone else’s.

Investment is one of the defining features of United Way and has been since its inception. Investing in your communities, investing in partner agencies, and investing in programs. However, one form of investing that often falls by the wayside at many United Ways is investing in themselves. United Ways and their boards justify this lack of self-investment by telling themselves that they are to busy saving those next to them. Investing in the safety of those around them. And that is understandable and even admirable. But it is also detrimental.

It is okay to invest in your own United Way. Sometimes United Ways need the reminder that they are nonprofits doing amazing work that is worth investing in. You are worth investing in. Before you can provide life saving services to clients you need to invest in your strategic plan. That is your roadmap to saving your community. Before you can invest in your partner agencies, you need to invest in your marketing and resource development to raise the money that will be given to them.

How many times have you thought to yourself “if only…” If only we had a full-time marketing person our social media, events, and marketing materials would be so much better. We could reach so many more people and raise so much more money. If only we could hire someone to redo our outdated website. If only we could invest in more learning materials to help us become more efficient.

But then you realize that your board may deem any one of these as an unnecessary investment. You already have someone who throws a couple of hours here or there towards marketing and that’s enough. You have a website. Why update it? You could always Google some articles if you need extra learning. Google is free.

All of this without considering the fact that hiring an extra staff person IS an investment in not only yourself but your community. Or that putting money into a new website IS an investment in the community if it leads to more donors. And investing in staff education IS an investment in the community if it helps them be more efficient and reach more donors.

United Ways are driven by their passion for lifting people up and investing in their communities. But it’s time that you also start investing in yourself. Because you can’t save anyone until you save yourself.

If you are looking for a simple and easy way to start investing in yourself, consider attending one of our webinars. We’ve just released our new 2021 webinar schedule of five webinars designed to target every aspect of your United Way from marketing to board engagement.

Our first webinar is Reduce Designations: How to Get Your Donors to Give to You. In this webinar we will talk about the primary reasons donors designate based on past research from local United Ways, how your United Way may be encouraging designations without even realizing it, and four strategies to get donors to stop designating their contribution and start giving unrestricted gifts.

Join us for this 60-minute webinar on March 10, 2021 at 2 p.m. ET.

And if you are interested in seeing the other webinars in our 2021 line-up click here.