Updating the Nonprofit Work Ethic

In an online forum for nonprofit professionals, a recent post struck a chord. A group member described sitting in her office over a long weekend, working on a grant proposal in her underwear. The air conditioning in her office was turned off until the next business day, and it was hot.

Surprisingly, the post came across as a brag, not a lament. Perhaps even more surprisingly, instead of taking issue with her plight, the flurry of responses that followed aimed to one-up her experience, with each person wearing his or her sacrifice for nonprofit work as a badge of honor.