The Web That Holds Us: Self-Care, Community Care, and Showing Up Without Burning Out
Director Erica Baca reflects on how community care becomes the bridge between survival and sustainability When the world feels unstable
We hear a lot about self-care these days as both a tool for our personal lives as well as our professional ones. Oxford Languages defines self-care as “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.” The term can sometimes feel out of reach, perhaps even wishful or trite. Two words weighed down by a hyphen or simply by the notion that it’s just one more item to take care of on a list that feels infinite. Recently, the dismantling of systems that our country has known for decades is, perhaps, the reason the term and concept “community care” has entered my lexicon, even if in practice I’ve known it all my life. Community care is “looking out for one another” or “a way of thinking that ties well-being of the individual to the well-being of others,” as defined by Mental Health America.
Finding funding, securing it, and holding on tight have always been a part of the rollercoaster ride for nonprofit professionals. But nothing feels remotely stable in our current landscape, including lives and livelihoods.
In a rapidly changing and uncertain world, how can we show up for ourselves and also for others without burning out?
In June 2025, the Chronicle of Philanthropy published an article on the antidote to burnout. A soft spoiler alert, the suggestions include tending to community in the workplace. If empathy draws us to serve as fundraisers but also makes us more inclined to burnout, can it ALSO be the key to unlocking community in the workplace?
How do we achieve community in the workplace especially in virtual environments? To me, this beautiful complex web of community care conjures up the image of a flight attendant coaching passengers how to put the mask on themselves first.
Showing up for yourself is the oxygen line to being able to show up for others. And being in community is the life vest to avoid feeling like you’re on this journey alone. How do we start the one to be present for the other? The approach is the same for both versions of ourselves, but being able to step away from our work and tend to our very core will be necessary in the work we do to help others:
Bite-size your goal: At home or in the office, for yourself or for your community, identify the next step needed. Stop there. Zoom in. This focus can provide clarity on the steps that follow. Instead of thinking you need to join a 60-minute class at the gym, can you take a walk for 10 minutes? Maybe you invite a friend, colleague, or neighbor to join you on your walk! Has your team ever thought of making 30-minute calls 25-minutes? This might give people breathing room between calls and ensure that time is being used efficiently.
Habit stack: When we fall into patterns that aren’t helpful or healthy, staying on that path is easy. Identify one habit (bite size!) that you can change that better suits your life, something that you can easily tack on to a habit you already have. For example, can you prepare a healthy snack right after you drink your first cup of coffee or tea for the day? Can you fight the urge to answer a donor immediately when the request comes in, if you’re trying to be present for yourself or your family? Once you tackle one habit, do a little dance when that habit becomes a routine. The great news is that building new habits will become easier and easier!
Come back to the present: The yogi in me needs this reminder as much as anyone. Catch yourself doom-scrolling? Maybe every now and then, when you do, replace that habit with one minute of simply breathing. Nothing fancy. You can use an app, timer, or simply guess 60 seconds have passed – depending on how deep your breaths are, this can be about 7-9 breaths! Don’t know how to answer a donor email? Come back to your breath. This doesn’t delete the email, but it may very well put you in a better position to tackle it with a new perspective.
And perhaps, as a final thought, allow yourself to “feel the feels”— to experience the full range of your emotions. The web of managing life, work, taking care of yourself, showing up for others is intricate, it’s complicated, it’s delicate. But that web is a beautiful one that holds all our stories and cradles our resilience.
If you can humor me a little longer with the web analogy, my mind also wandered to Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White’s classic children’s novel first published in 1952. In this story of friendship, sacrifice, and life’s transitions, the following quote stands out:
“Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?" asks Mrs. Arable, the concerned and practical mom trying to understand why her daughter and human protagonist, Fern, is getting so close to the farm animals.
"Oh, no," said Dr. Dorian, the wise and understanding family doctor. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."
Though our world and our role in it can at times be hard to understand, self-care and community care are tools that are available for us. Pave your road one brick at time – your bursts of creativity, genius and innovation will inevitably come into sight. And when they do, maybe you’ll put your sneakers on for a quick walk to soak it in, and perhaps you’ll call a friend. Spun from a web of miracles, your voice will radiate hope and joy with a simple, “Hi! How are you?”