When the Work Is Meaningful—and Heavy

There’s a weight that comes with working at a nonprofit that’s hard to explain until you’ve felt it.

Recently, I found myself reflecting on that weight after a conversation with a wonderful member of The Store's board. We were talking about our team, about how much we value them, and about the responsibility we carry as leaders to build a culture of self-care and sustainability. In mission-driven work, passion runs high. But so can exhaustion.

The first few sentences of that conversation stayed with me.

We often talk about the obvious drivers of burnout.

The pace.

Doing more with less.

Long hours.

Lower pay than for-profit counterparts.

All of that is real. And it matters.

But my board member named something deeper.

When you work in a nonprofit, especially in spaces like food insecurity, homelessness, mental health, and poverty, you carry the stories.

Every day, our frontline staff sit across from neighbors navigating job loss, unexpected medical bills, rising rent, and the steady pressure of higher grocery costs. For grants, eligibility, and coordination of services, we often have to ask someone to share their story again. And often they have already told it to multiple other agencies.

It is hard for them to relive it.

And it is hard for our team to hold it.

Each story is different. Each one matters. Over time, that accumulation becomes heavy.

And then there are the moments when, after someone has vulnerably shared their need, our staff have to say, “We don’t have a spot right now.” They offer other places to try. They do their best to wrap empathy around a difficult reality.

There are few careers more meaningful than serving in the social services sector. At The Store, we believe deeply in dignity, choice, and walking alongside our neighbors with care.

But carrying another person’s burden day after day, while managing your own, requires intentional support.

If you lead in this space, how are you caring for the people who care for everyone else?

And if you know someone who works in nonprofit service, maybe today is a good day to tell them you see it. That their steady “yes” to showing up for our neighbors truly matters.

This work changes lives.And it is worth making sure the people doing it are cared for just as thoughtfully.