Hi friends -
It's the longest day of the year, so we thought you might have a few extra minutes to spare to catch up with Emergence Collective!
Let's be honest, reflecting on the past year feels bittersweet. While our team and partnerships have continued to grow, we are ever conscious of the heaviness of our cultural context. Both within our team and from partners and colleagues we are hearing that everyone is tired, feeling the effects of burnout from emotional strain and physical illness.
To all of our friends and colleagues - we see you, and we’re grateful for everything you do to try to make the world a better place.
Please give yourself a break if you can. Our team is shifting toward a 4-day work week model, and seeking to build flexibility and care for each other into our processes. We’ve also implemented two weeks per year where we shut down our “offices” for some paid rest in addition to regular PTO. With partners, we've been more intentionally considering what it takes for an organization to adopt a more sustainable culture and pace - and naming who does and doesn't have access to that space.
We are always asking ourselves - what is truly urgent? Can we slow down? Does this have to be a meeting? What really matters to us in this work, and in our lives beyond it? We’d love to hear how you’re navigating these questions from where you sit.
As we intentionally slow down this summer, Emergence Collective also has a lot to look forward to. This year we will continue to meaningfully distribute leadership roles (business development, accounting, etc.) across our larger team, and we’ll also engage with each other in collective visioning to keep clarifying the kind of work we’re best suited to support, and which types of projects bring us joy and purpose.
Thank you for being a part of our community and for making an impact every day. Don't hesitate to be in touch if you ever want to brainstorm with us, or just share a coffee break. We are grateful to know you!
Enjoy some sunshine,
EC team (Ebonie, Hillie, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Mary & Ramona)
P.S. Thanks for reading this far! Email hello (at) emergencecollective (dot) org with your answer to our annual trivia question by next Monday, June 27 for a chance to win a $50 donation to a nonprofit of your choice! This year's trivia question is "two truths and a lie" style. Send us your guess as to the false statement out of the following three facts about our team. We will randomly draw a winner from among the folks who guess the lie correctly.
1. Our full team has only met in person one time. 2. We once painted a dinosaur together at a staff retreat. 3. 71% of our team uses color coded calendars.