Purpose Under Pressure • Finding The Words
About This Episode
Twenty-one years ago, when I started my first communications firm, a mentor offered a warning I’ll never forget: “Starting a firm focused on nonprofits is bound to fail. There won’t be enough work to sustain you.”
Twenty-one years later, and we’re still here.
This short-form episode is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
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Twenty-one years ago, when I started my first communications firm, a mentor offered a warning I’ll never forget: “Starting a firm focused on nonprofits is bound to fail. There won’t be enough work to sustain you.”
Twenty-one years later, and we’re still here. Not because we chased the biggest contracts or learned to act like corporate consultants, but because we built this firm around one very specific thing: mission.
Mission isn’t a nice-to-have. While mission can evolve—strengthened, recalibrated, or reimagined to meet the moment—it can't be turned off when convenient. Mission is the foundation—the heartbeat—that keeps an organization alive. A mission is an organization's purest purpose and reason for being.
Without a clear mission, there is no path forward.
So, being called on in mission-moving moments to help leaders and organizations navigate change has proven to be an essential mission in itself.
As you read this, the missions of organizations all over the U.S. are being tested in ways we haven’t seen before. With SNAP benefits set to expire on Saturday, more than 42 million people across the country will face uncertainty about their next meal if Congress doesn't reopen the government. As Axios reported yesterday morning, Nonprofit and community leaders are doing what they always do—showing up—but many are stretched thin, as demand rises faster than resources can replenish.
We are experiencing purpose under pressure. Systems are strained, organizations are faltering, and individuals are being asked to do more with less.
How can we stay true to our missions when the ground keeps shifting?
Well, I see the answer every day, in you.
In leaders who stay rooted in their values while adapting to change.And in teams that find new routes to their destinations because they know the “how” may be forced to change, but the “why” must remain.
That’s resilience—not false optimism, but a grounded strength that emerges when we recognize that while we can’t control the conditions, we can control our commitment.
We are all in a pressurized state right now. The weight of uncertainty is heavy and dizzying. But as one nonprofit leader reminded me recently, diamonds are formed under pressure. And just as a brilliant diamond can be formed under pressure, so too can our mission be clarified under intense conditions.
Pressure can break us or reveal what’s strongest within us. Pressure can clarify our purpose, sharpen our priorities, and remind us why we began this work in the first place.
So, stay close to your mission.
Hold fast to your purpose.
Because when mission becomes your non-negotiable, your work—like a diamond—just might shine brighter under the pressure.
