Nonprofit Wildflowers

Sources of Pleasure for Nonprofit Workers

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:55:16 GMT

We all (I hope) have things that bring us great pleasure in our personal lives. Maybe it’s a pet, the change of seasons, time spent with friends, or a Caribbean holiday. There are endless things, even when life is difficult and we can’t see or feel them, that are potential sources of joy.

Lies I No Longer Believe

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:55:30 GMT

All of us, whether we work in the nonprofit sector or not, are told lies about what it what it means to be a ‘good’ employee. Without intentional internal and communal work, these myths infiltrate our workplaces, our habits, and even our sense of self-worth. They shape how we show up (or don’t show up), where we spend our time, our expectations, and how…

Reimagining The Nonprofit Sector as Flourishing

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:55:04 GMT

In the nonprofit sector, we get sucked into cycles of problem-solving. We are experts at focusing on what’s broken, fixing, patching, and sacrificing ourselves along the way for the “greater good,” as if we were separate from the collective. Burnout and martyrdom have become badges of honor.

What if we stopped focusing on problems, including our own? Ins…

Nonprofit Hedonism Gone Wrong

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:55:18 GMT

Pleasure seeking gets a bad rap, especially in the nonprofit sector. There’s a right and a wrong way to do everything, and then there’s a lot of messy grey area in between. Pleasure, like power, money, and influence, can be used to create more joy, beauty, and connection—or it can be twisted into something selfish, harmful, or just plain wrong.

When plea…

Deconstructing Nonprofit Asceticism

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 11:55:17 GMT

Before we dive into the fun stuff—like how to track your daily KPIs (Key Pleasure Indicators)—let’s pause and unpack why so many nonprofit workers feel guilty for wanting joy, ease, and pleasure in the first place.

Somewhere along the way, we internalized the belief that service must equal suffering. That if we really care about our mission and communiti…

Why Nonprofit+Hedonists Feels “Ick”

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:55:26 GMT

Let’s be real: pleasure can feel… wrong when you work in nonprofits. Even the idea of enjoying one simple pleasure can trigger guilt, shame, and the urge to hide your true thoughts and feelings. Why? Because we’ve been deeply conditioned—by culture, by institutions, and by the nonprofit sector itself—to equate virtue with suffering.

Here are a few famili…

Welcome to Nonprofit Hedonists 🍹

Jessica Aviva, Ph.D., FRSA — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:40:10 GMT

Time for some real talk: who decided that working in nonprofits had to mean endless burnout, martyr vibes, and running on cold coffee and guilt? We’re here to put an end to that.

Nonprofit Hedonists is your playful little escape from the nonprofit grind—a newsletter for community changemakers who know deep down that self-care isn’t selfish, rest is resis…