Hi {{first_name|there}},
If you lead a nonprofit, you almost certainly wear four or five hats before lunch. Director, volunteer coordinator, grant writer, social media person, and of course the fundraiser.
You're short-staffed. Most nonprofits are. That isn't a failure of planning. It's what doing a lot of good with very little looks like.
I know the volunteer side of that problem well. A few years ago my family wanted to serve in our community, and I couldn't find a simple way to do it. The opportunities were out there, but they were scattered across Facebook posts, church bulletins and word of mouth. So I built ServeWith, a free platform that connects people with volunteer opportunities near them.
While building it, I keep hearing the same thing from nonprofit leaders: more work than hands and almost no time to figure out how to change that.
That's why I'm starting Short-Staffed.
What you'll get
Every other week:
Stories from local nonprofits. Honest conversations with leaders near you about what's working, what isn't, and what they've learned the hard way.
Practical tools. Templates, playbooks, and ideas you can use the same day, especially for managing volunteers (finding, onboarding, and keeping them).
AI that actually saves time. Plain-English ways to get hours back each week, no tech background needed. My day job is in tech, so I use AI about 10 hours a day.
No fluff and no fundraising pitches. Just useful ideas to make the work a little lighter.
Coming up
Next issue, I'll feature my first local nonprofit leader. If you know someone doing great work who deserves the spotlight, or if that's you, hit reply and tell me about them.
One question for you
What's the hardest part of working with volunteers right now? Finding them, keeping them, or something else entirely? Just reply. I read every answer, and they'll shape what I write about.
Thanks for the work you do.
Jacob
Founder, ServeWith
P.S. Know another nonprofit leader who's short-staffed? Forward this to them, or send them to shortstaffed.servewith.org to sign up.