I recently took my daughter and her friend to a local games cafe, where you can eat and play board games (a welcome diversion from screen time). The staff there recommended and taught us to play the game “Abducktion,” a fun little strategy game where you have different colored ducks that you have to arrange a certain way before they get “abducted” into a small alien spaceship. Yes, the spaceship really does come with the game, and it holds all these tiny, adorable ducks.

One thing I often ask nonprofit organizers is what would happen if they were in a situation where they couldn’t be reached. Would operations slow down? Would the organization feel stuck without the one person with all the “how things work” knowledge?

You can probably immediately picture that team member. We’ll call her Marge. She’s the one who knows where the latest version of the HR handbook lives. If the parking lot got a huge crater (from a spaceship?), she’d know who to call. Maybe you are Marge.

All this to ask, what would happen to your nonprofit systems if Marge were suddenly abducted by aliens like the little ducks in the game?

Do Your Nonprofit Systems Rely on One Person?

Every organization has a Marge. She’s reliable. She has been around forever and knows where to find all the skeletons. Everyone knows that they will hear “Ask Marge” when they have a question.

Marge keeps organizational knowledge in the endless file cabinets of her brain.

What happens if Marge gets into an accident or gets sick… or is abducted by alien ducks??

Poor Marge. She had a good run.

What Marge Isn’t Telling You

Marge has a great attitude. Always ready to lend a hand, she really understands the importance of the work you do. She smiles a lot, and she rarely takes a vacation.

Marge also carries a huge burden. For example, every time she really starts to be productive, someone interrupts her and asks a question, completely knocking her off track. We all know how hard it is to get back “in the zone” after constant interruptions. She answers what feels like hundreds of questions a day, and she has less pep in her step than she used to. The “duties as assigned” part of her job have slowly eclipsed the real job she came here to do.

She also worries… a lot. Knowing that the nonprofit systems very much rely on her, she wonders what everyone would do if something ever happened to her. She desperately needs a break, but she may be afraid to take one for fear that things will fall apart, only for her to put them back together when she returns.

Marge has burnout. She tries to hide it, but you can see the signs.

According to the Center For Effective Philanthropy, 95% of nonprofit leaders worry about burnout among their employees or themselves. You don’t have to be a math whiz to know that covers almost the entire industry.

Your Nonprofit Systems Without Marge

Let’s go back to that alien abduction. You arrive at work, notice that huge crater in the parking lot, make a mental note to get Marge to call whoever it is that should deal with that, and head to your office. When you get there, you can’t find Marge. She’s usually making coffee for everyone, so you check the lounge area. Nope. She’s not in the restroom, either. Another coworker runs to you in a panic, telling you that aliens abducted Marge.

Houston, we have a problem.

Of course you’re worried about her safety; you’re not a monster. But you also realize that, along with Marge, the aliens have taken a ton of your organization’s knowledge.

Just a few things that will suffer:

• Scheduling
• Donor outreach
• Coordinating volunteers
• Event planning

Knowing you have shared files, you go to the drive to find the agenda for the upcoming annual event your team has worked on for months. Where is it?

Take a deep breath. Someone is bound to know. You call an emergency staff meeting. When you ask about the agenda, two people say they have a copy. When the agendas land in your email, you see two very different versions of the same document. Which one is most current? Who would know?

Marge would know. But she’s partying with extraterrestrials. Honestly, she could probably use the vacation.

The Biggest Gift You Could Give Your Staff… and Yourself

Marge shouldn’t have to carry so much on her own. You don’t need a new Marge, but you may need systems in place to prevent this kind of alien induced chaos.

In working with similar nonprofits, I’ve found that the problem often lies with one (or more) of these 4 things:

1. File Management
2. Planning
3. Processes
4. Communication

You may not know which of these would make the biggest difference. In fact, it’s likely more than one of them.

I’ve created a checklist that will help you identify the best starting point. It takes about five minutes to complete, and you can get it using the form below.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for aliens, and keep swimming along!