FundRaiser Blog

The FundRaiser Software Blog is an excellent resource for nonprofit organizations looking to learn more about fundraising, donor management, membership management, and much more.

Happiness Happens Day at FundRaiser Software

Happiness Happens Day at FundRaiser Software

A lucky thing about a job that feels valuable is knowing that going to work means more than just getting a paycheck. That feeling gives a sense of deep satisfaction, of real happiness. The downside is that sometimes work may start to feel not just valuable but also a little serious.

The founders of FundRaiser, Gene and Marcy Weinbeck, were aware of that and came up with a company tradition to help. At least once a month, the company has a three-day holiday weekend. In August, when the US has no official holiday, we picked our own-- Happiness Happens Day.

Autumn Shirley, who is now the CEO of FundRaiser, likes the tradition of the monthly three-day weekend to create a happier working environment. "As a small company that does everything in-house, from writing and developing our software to marketing, selling, and supporting it, we tend to be under a lot of pressure – much like many of our customers feel when managing all of the day-to-day operations in their organizations. Having a three-day weekend each month is a kind of pressure release valve…  having that guaranteed downtime means that we come back to work feeling more energized and more connected – and are able to be at the top of our game for our customers!"

"Happiness Happens Day is my favorite FundRaiser holiday because it’s such a feel-good reason for taking the day off – we tend to spend a lot of our holidays running around, trying to get extra tasks done, but this day, in particular, is a day for doing things that make us feel good," says Autumn. "Last year, I really enjoyed reading in bed, having an extra cup of coffee, and spending a whole day hanging out with our cats. This year, I look forward to much the same."

Marcy Weinbeck says “As an employer I knew that people get tired and don’t do their best work when they get tired. I felt like at least once a month we needed a three-day weekend. People can relax better that way. It makes our staff happier and feeling that they are valued. The tradition of these three-day weekends monthly is one of the things I’m really pleased that Autumn and Joshua have retained when they took over the leadership of the company.”

When Marcy established the three-day weekend tradition, she selected holidays to celebrate for the months that didn't have an official federal holiday. "For several of the months that didn’t have a federal holiday, it was easy to find a holiday to add so that the month would have a three-day weekend, like the first day of Summer, for June. The one that was the hardest was August," says Marcy. "Then I saw on another calendar that Australia celebrates Picnic Day. For several years we borrowed that. Then a few years ago, the Happiness Happens movement came to our attention and we chose that. We really liked the idea of happiness as a movement.”

Marcy isn't concerned that some of the company holidays are unusual, “I’ve never minded being seen as a little quirky… neither has Gene. I hoped that most of the people who even noticed would get it—that we can do a better job for you if we take better care of ourselves."

Says Gene Weinbeck, "I like the idea of there being a three-day weekend every month.  Everyone needs a little extra time away to let the brain recoup. Efficiency goes up. It's always a joyful thing when there's a three-day weekend."

If you would like to know more about the Happiness Happens movement, visit the website of the Secret Society of Happy People.   

How can memberships benefit my nonprofit organizat...
Schools improve donations by focusing on their mos...

Related Posts

Wait a minute, while we are rendering the calendar
GivingTuesday general grants operating systems corporate sponsors on site training donor profile customer portal Crowdfunding Campaign new nonprofit annual maintenance plan alumni community supported gardens foundations National Change of Address online donations ticket sales increasing giving amounts social media NCOA processing salutation Groupings Reminders donor ticketsales in honor of donations ROI motivation anonymous donors support upgrade announcements donor preferences banquet entering auction gifts prospects campaign Tickles reports adding personal notes to letters new donors FundRaiser Basic importing csv legacy giving monthly giving how to handle auction gifts auction membership programs donor attrition overview FundRaiser Hosted donor attrition rate New Year user interface Thanksgiving tax summary letters fundraising letters relationship tracking SYBUNTS add ons Snow Birds vacation Personalizing office repeat donors holiday letters membersip benefits Codes Company culture letter capital campaign custom page spare fields major gift prospects appeal fundraising annual campaign backing up data how-to videos grassroots campaign new leadership FundRaiser Spark planning solicitors transparency merge notes data entry technical support volunteers donor retention Volunteer module small donations donor contact information email mailing look and feel gift entry segmenting donors role of nonprofits animal rescue change of address updating donor prospects direct mail data analysis campaign management raffle publicity materials endowment campaign Reporting to IRS donation history GoFundMe project Resiliency donor slip spreadsheets Thank You pledges training development director major donors budget Importing Data donor engagement data conversion new version letter templates moves management appeal letters operational costs understanding giving trends tech tip welcome packet customer service charity golf tournaments motivation code LYBUNTS accounting software targeted mailings planned giving holiday arts donor loyalty passwords training tip Constant Contact Donor Portal personalizing letters follow up Cloud product news password protection donor recognition flash sales correspondance large donations PayPal word processor Facebook membership benefits disaster relief donor advised funds board members government grants merge fields thank you letters memorial giving user spotlights donor relations phoning donors features gift acceptance policy gift notes field recurring gifts #GivingTuesday Task List donor targeting updates giving history Congratulations upgrading donors security happiness giving levels donor retention rate new features mission driven Network for Good pictures Excel building donor relationships premiums holiday giving tribute gifts online donations the Ask texting donors Alternative Addresses community broadcasting advanced tab In-Kind gifts communications brick campaign donor source event management Facebook campaign End of Year Letters community arts nonprofits mode code lapsed donor volunteering correspondence case study nonprofit fundraising

Connect With Us

  800-880-3454 ext 3
  Email Us
  Request More Information
  Monday-Friday
      8:30AM-5:30PM CST

Customer Portal Login Form

   

The customer portal is unavailable. If you need support please reach out to support@fundraisersoftware.com Thank you.

 

  User Name:
  Password:

If you are not sure about your Customer User Name, please call 800-543-4131 and we will be able to help you.

Or you have lost your password, Request Password