#08: In transition

Looking back and moving forward

Mar 03, 2021

Pass It On is a bi-weekly newsletter bringing the tech and non-profit sectors closer together through knowledge sharing, written and edited by Lauren Crichton.

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Thank you for being here!

March has arrived, bringing with it a much-needed change of season here in Sweden. There's something special about a season shift: for a few weeks, we exist in this transitional space, simultaneously able to look back at what's been and forward to what's yet to come. That's the inspiration for this week's issue.

👈 Looking back

Since launching last November, Pass It On has run seven issues, most of which have been about navigating the challenges and opportunities of remote work. This theme was deliberate: many of you told me that adapting to remote work has been a key priority for non-profit organisations after fundraising.

Managing the shift to remote work requires staff training and upskilling, both of which typically become harder to justify when money is tight—and COVID has certainly tightened non-profit purse strings. This is why Pass It On exists, to spread knowledge when and where it's needed most.

And what knowledge have we passed on?

You've heard me praise meeting POWs, criticise sorrys, and advocate for internal communication rituals; you've heard our wonderful guest leaders challenge us to be more vulnerable with our teams, more disciplined about our time, more conscious about collaboration.

Are any of these recommendations exclusive to remote work? Absolutely not. If anything, our collective jolt into virtual existence has simply amplified problems and frustrations that have persisted in the workplace for decades. This is a good thing. We're finally realising that if we want employees to do good work, we need to create the conditions for good work to happen.

If there's one thing I hope you take away from this first set of issues, let it be this: be intentional.

Spend an extra ten minutes on that agenda;
Re-read that email twice before sending it;
Ask someone to help you facilitate that workshop.

And if you find yourself thinking you couldn't possibly spare the extra time, maybe you shouldn't be spending any time on the thing at all.

👉 Moving forward

When I started Pass It On, I promised myself that this newsletter would never become a one-way street; the purpose was to facilitate knowledge sharing between two sectors.

Achieving this balance from day one was always going to be difficult: I know far fewer people in the non-profit sector than I do in Tech, and all issues to date reflect this fact. That's slowly starting to change thanks to those who've kindly shared this newsletter, and I'm delighted to say that our next Q&A will be with a non-profit leader who got in touch with me through Pass It On and has an inspiring story to tell.

With that said, there's still a long way to go. For Pass It On to become the diverse and reciprocal space it should be, I need your help with a couple of things:

Raising a hand for Q&As

What stories and experiences do you have to share?
How can our readers learn from you?
Who in your network should we feature?

@Non-profit readers, I’m particularly looking at you for this one!

Telling me what you need

What do you expect to gain from this newsletter?
How can I make the issues more relevant for you?
What would you like to learn from the other sector?

@Tech readers, these questions equally apply to you!

Sharing your answers is easy. Simply:

Pass It On