Social Impact Leaders Share Tips on Wellbeing & Mental Health
We gathered the social good community in Toronto for ImpactUp: Pause, a quarterly meetup series for changemakers, which simultaneously took place in 30+ cities globally by our friends at We Are For Good.
Daniel Francavilla, founder of The Good Growth Company, hosted the Toronto gathering at It’s OK Studios, which was also sponsored by Donorbox. It was an evening designed for rest, renewal, and honest conversation about what it takes to care for ourselves so we can keep showing up for others.
We also heard reflections and lessons on mental health and workplace well-being inspired by Leigh Mitchell’s work.
What we explored together
Letting go of “perfect”
A core theme was releasing perfectionism — especially the kind reinforced by under-resourced teams and high expectations in the social impact space. Participants talked about noticing when “perfect” is driven by external validation rather than internal alignment, and how “good enough” work, done sustainably, is often what keeps missions moving forward.
The practice: decide what truly requires excellence, and let the rest be intentionally simple.
Protecting energy (and time)
We discussed small but powerful boundaries: building “no-meeting” blocks, clustering certain types of work on specific days, and saying yes more selectively. Folks shared tangible tactics like putting restorative breaks on the calendar (walks outside, short workouts, device-free blocks) and planning around energy, not just availability, so you can show up better for the work that matters.
Collective care at work
Beyond self-care, the group explored what collective care can look like on teams: normalizing asking for help, redistributing workload during life events, and remembering that small acts of kindness change how people feel about their day. The spirit was simple: make support routine, not exceptional.
Community in a remote world
Many attendees work solo or hybrid. We surfaced the tension between craving community and limited time/energy outside work. Ideas included: initiating low-stakes connections in co-working spaces, planning periodic in-person retreats or nature days, and being realistic about personal bandwidth so “community” adds energy instead of draining it.
Sustaining the pause: practices that help
We closed by sharing practices to maintain a steadier baseline — brief breathing resets, gentle movement or dance to reconnect with creativity, daily “top five” priorities to reduce overwhelm, and (for some) light-touch habit or reflection apps to nudge healthy routines. The thread through all of it: small, consistent practices beat big, sporadic overhauls.
Prompts to bring to your team
What could we release this season — projects, meetings, or standards — that would make space for what truly matters?
How will we protect energy on our calendars — what blocks, themes, or recovery rhythms will we commit to?
What does collective care mean for us? Identify one supportive practice (e.g., coverage norms, flexible scheduling, routine check-ins) to make care structural, not situational.
How will we sustain the pause? Choose one simple practice (breathwork, movement, journaling, daily priorities) to try for the next two weeks.
One good thing
We closed by inviting everyone to share “one good thing” — a word of encouragement, a reminder, or a simple practice to carry into the week. Consider bringing that ritual to your next team meeting: one minute, one offering, one small spark of collective care.
The Good Growth Company is committed to helping nonprofits, charities, and purpose-driven teams build capacity and protect their people. If you’re interested in more gatherings like this, or in practical training for resilient teams, follow us and join our mailing list for more.
