Working with mission-driven nonprofit clients has taught me some important lessons about self-care. When you care deeply about your work, it can be easy to let self-care slide. Maybe skipping your workout means you get to make a call to a top donor. Or staying late for another few hours means a grant proposal heads off tomorrow instead of next week. Or putting off your vacation means you’re there for a crucial planning stage for the AGM.

Not only that, but some organizational cultures give a heroic sheen to unhealthy choices. It’s not poor self-care; it’s taking one for the cause! And if everyone else is doing it, you’re going to find it awfully hard to be the only one who insists on not working over the weekend.

Until you burn out, get sick or even die.

This October, Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman are releasing The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout. It makes a compelling case that nonprofits can benefit tremendously from embracing a commitment to health and wellness.

I’m so psyched that Beth and Aliza invited me to draw a series of cartoons for it. You’ll see the first of them here today, and a few more over the next weeks leading up to the book launch.

I’m proud to be associated with their book. And I’m hoping you’ll consider pre-ordering The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit. Pre-orders can make a big difference to a book’s success, and I’m convinced the more people who get this book’s message, the better.