Thank You For Your Time

A Nod to Nonprofits

They see the highlight reel.
They share the gala photos.
But they don’t see what broke to make that happen.

The late nights. The early doubt.
The loneliness of being responsible, not just for the work,
but for the meaning of the work.

You are the story no one documents.
The emotional first responder.
You hold the hope and the hard truth in the same hand.
The hand that plants, waters, and waits.

And you do it all with a grace that looks effortless
because you cannot afford to look tired.

Let them repost the smiling faces.
You’ll keep showing up for the ones who aren’t in the photo.
The ones no one counts — until you do.

The numbers. The numbness.
You overcame the novocaine and continued to feel.
When the grant application failed.
When that ship sailed.

You felt it.

And still, you stayed.
Still, you served.

Because every once in a while,
it’s that kid that smiles,
the letter that arrives from someone you didn’t know was watching.
The elder that grabs your hand and says, “Thank you for seeing us.”

And it doesn’t fix the fatigue.
But it reminds you of the dream.

Not for money.
Not for metrics.
But for meaning.

In a world that debates your relevance,
I want to raise your benevolence.

Thank you for being kind.
Thank you for being timely.
And thank you for your time.
Thank you.