Avoid Avoidance: Mental Health and Emotional Endurance for Fundraising Professionals

Fundraising professionals are no strangers to stress. In fact, according to a survey conducted by AFP and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a staggering 84% of fundraisers reported feeling tremendous pressure to succeed. Combine that with the emotional toll of mission-driven work, the uncertainty of funding sources today, and the relentless drive to meet ever-increasing goals, and it’s no wonder that burnout is having a significant impact on the nonprofit sector, with 75% of nonprofit leaders saying burnout is at least slightly affecting their organization’s ability to achieve its mission.

So, what can fundraisers do to protect their mental health and build emotional resilience? The first step is to stop avoiding the problem.

The High Cost of Avoidance

Avoidance may seem like an easy fix in the moment—dodging difficult conversations, delaying hard decisions, or burying uncomfortable emotions under a mountain of to-dos—but this short-term relief has long-term consequences. When we avoid discomfort, we miss out on the chance to develop emotional endurance: the ability to navigate challenges over time without becoming overwhelmed or depleted.

Avoidance can quickly spiral into a cycle of suffering. The discomfort we initially dodged returns stronger, and because we didn’t face it the first time, we’re less equipped to handle it the next. This cycle leads to emotional dysregulation—reactivity, rumination, numbing, and burnout.

You can’t make lemonade if you’re avoiding the lemons.

Emotional Regulation vs. Dysregulation

At any moment, we are in a state of either emotional regulation or emotional dysregulation. In regulation, we respond thoughtfully, manage stress, and stay grounded. In dysregulation, we fall into survival-mode responses: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. These responses deplete our psychological capital—our internal reserves of energy and strength.

Being aware of which state you’re in is a key part of maintaining your mental health. Awareness creates accountability. Once you recognize dysregulation, you can shift into conscious coping.

Conscious Coping and Psychological Capital

Conscious coping is about choosing intentional strategies to replenish your reserves—rather than reacting impulsively or relying on numbing behaviors. And to cope effectively, you need more than one tool in your toolbox.

For example:

• You may enjoy running to manage stress, but that’s not practical before a board meeting. Instead, try humming to calm your nervous system.
• You might try Heavening (also called the Haven Technique), a method involving gentle touch (like rubbing your hands together or your arms) to stimulate serotonin production.
• A very hot or cold shower can also reset your nervous system, offering fast relief from emotional overload.

All of these coping strategies help to restore your psychological capital, which is made up of:

• Hope: the belief that the future can be better.
• Efficacy: the confidence that you can make it so.
• Resilience: the strength to bounce back from adversity.
• Optimism: the expectation that good things are possible.

Each time you face an emotional challenge—whether a grant rejection, donor criticism, or internal team conflict—it affects your psychological capital. Coping skills help refuel that tank so you can stay emotionally regulated and keep doing the work you care about.

Why This Matters—Especially for Leaders

Emotional regulation isn’t just about individual well-being—it’s about collective health and performance. A recent report from the Workforce Institute at UKG found that 69% of employees say their managers impact their mental health significantly. This level of influence is akin to the impact a spouse can have, positively or negatively, on mental health. That’s a huge responsibility for nonprofit leaders and fundraising managers.

If you're leading a team, your ability to stay grounded directly affects the psychological safety and resilience of your staff. Modeling healthy coping and supporting emotional endurance is a leadership skill—not a luxury.

Make Mental Health a Priority

This Mental Health Awareness Month, give yourself and your team the permission to stop avoiding and start coping with intention. You’re not weak for needing rest, regulation, or support. You’re human—and working in one of the most emotionally demanding professions there is.

Invest in your psychological capital. Build a coping skills toolkit. Know when you’re regulated and when you’re not. And most importantly, don’t wait until you’re emotionally bankrupt to ask for help or make a change.

Because the world needs fundraisers who are not just surviving—but thriving.

To learn more, AFP members can check out the recording of a recent complimentary members-only webinar on the topic of emotional wellbeing and effective coping. You can also browse AFP’s other mental health resources here.