Rest Is Power: Investing in Women Leaders For Sustainability Rejecting Depletion

The Women’s Foundation of Oregon is meeting militarization with sustaining mobilization by funding rest, not exhaustion

By Libra Forde, Executive Director of Women's Foundation of Oregon

On September 27, President Donald Trump announced he will send troops to Portland, invoking “full force, if necessary,” to protect federal facilities and confront so-called “domestic terrorists.” Oregon leader Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson among them have pushed back, stressing that our city is not “war-ravaged” and that public safety here does not require federal militarization. 

Portland has seen this movie before. In 2020, a large federal deployment escalated tensions and left deep civic and personal scars. A Federal Inspector General review later documented that 755 DHS officers cycled through Portland during “Operation Diligent Valor,” and many lacked adequate crowd-control training, an approach that fueled conflict rather than easing it. Settlements and lawsuits have followed for injuries and rights violations tied to that period. We owe it to our communities not to repeat preventable harm. 

This moment calls for steadiness, not spectacle, for community investment, not intimidation. And that’s why the Women’s Foundation of Oregon (WFO) is sharpening our response around a simple, evidence-backed truth: rest is a strategy. When crises stretch on, whether from political brinkmanship, economic volatility, or the exhaustion of nonstop service delivery, women who lead nonprofits become the shock absorbers. They answer the late-night calls, stand between families and eviction, support survivors, stabilize youth, and keep entire safety nets from fraying. Their bodies carry the worries of the masses in strategy thinking and crisis planning. If we want Oregon to remain resilient, we must keep these leaders whole.

WFO’s theory of change: Rested leaders create radiant futures.

WFO’s theory of change is grounded in the understanding that sustained impact requires sustained people. Rest is not a luxury item that comes after the work; it is the condition that makes the work possible, especially for women and women of color leading the smallest, leanest organizations on the thinnest margins. Research across the sector and workforce shows what our grantees have long told us: burnout is acute, recruitment is hard, demand is rising, and leaders are depleted. 

The data is stark. In national surveys, nonprofit leaders cite burnout among their top concerns and describe the strain of increasing program demand amid uncertain revenues and targeted attacks. Oregon nonprofits echo these pressures, reporting persistent vacancies and service waitlists. Women, and particularly women of color, disproportionately lead under-resourced organizations carrying more risk with fewer buffers. 

Meanwhile, a broad body of evidence from organization leadership thinking to sleep science confirms that recovery, sleep, and deliberate downtime protect judgment, reduce error, and increase resilience and performance. In other words: rest isn’t escapism; it’s infrastructure for wise decisions in volatile times. 

What WFO is doing now: Rest Grants expanded for the reality of 2025

In light of Trump’s announcement and the likelihood of heightened stress on community organizations, WFO is expanding our Rest Grants so they meet the real lives of women leaders on the front lines. Grants will remain nimble, trust-based, and quick to access, but we’re broadening what they can pay for so that rest is actually achievable not theoretical.

Beginning immediately, eligible grantees may use Rest Grants for:

• Home and Life Relief - Clear the backlog at home so leaders can actually recover (up to one week at a time)

• Reset and Recharge Resources - Childcare or elder-care stipends to make downtime truly restorative for caregivers.

• Restorative Support - Meals for a week (or equivalent grocery/meal-kit support) to cut the decision fatigue and time burden that often erases “time off.”

•  Sound Bath Experiences for short recovery opportunities.

• Sauna/Heat Experiences for short recovery opportunities.

• Three-Day AWE Experiences in remote locations for full rest and recovery experiences.

We will keep paperwork light and dignity high. Grants are trust, not tests. Because rested leaders make better, safer, and more sustainable choices for all of us. 

Community care in a militarized climate

Whether the troops arrive at our doorstep or the threat of their arrival continues to hang over our heads, women nonprofit leaders will absorb the first wave of community fear: clients calling, teens spiraling, families on edge, anxious staff and unsure volunteers. We will not normalize a posture of permanent vigilance. Instead, WFO will convene and fund and plan coordinated support without performative urgency. In 2020, improvisation became the norm; in 2025, we choose preparation. 

What we ask of partners, funders, businesses, and neighbors

1.     Fund rest like you fund results. Earmark flexible dollars for recovery with no extraneous reporting, no extra hoops. Include rest in your definition of “program.” If you don’t know how, give us the dollars and we will do it with you.

2.     Stabilize the workforce. Cover living-wage adjustments and benefits so leaders aren’t choosing between their health and their mission. 

3.     Back women of color as a strategic priority. The leadership pipeline is real and vibrant but the capital isn’t. Correct the resource disparity. 

4.     Stand down the performative urgency. Do not demand reactive “proof of impact” during acute stress. Trust the people closest to the problem.

5.     Choose de-escalation. If you have influence, use it to keep public responses measured and lawful. Portland’s safety is built locally, with community relationships not with rhetoric about “war zones.” 

A word to our leaders

To every woman steering a nonprofit right now: we see you. You are not required to carry a city on your back to prove your commitment. Rest is part of the job description. Take the nap, block the day, accept the help, sign up for our Awe experiences, and apply for our Rest Grants. Your steadiness, not your self-sacrifice keeps Oregon standing.

Why this matters for Oregon!

Oregon’s strength has always been collective. We have survived wildfires, ice storms, pandemics, and previous federal posturing because neighbors put neighbors first. Militarized optics can fray trust; intentional care can repair it. Five years after 2020, we owe the city of Portland a better playbook; one that leads with recovery, not reactivity, and invests in the people who hold the line for families every day. 

Rested leaders create radiant futures. That’s not a slogan; it’s our strategy for resilience.

Our ask, and an open door

If this vision resonates, join us as a donor, a partner, or a neighbor committed to de-escalation and community care. Help us scale Rest Grants, sponsor Awe Experiences, underwrite our theory of change so women nonprofit leaders can keep doing what Oregon needs most: leading with clarity, compassion, and courage.

Because in times like these, care is the counter-force. And when we invest in rest, everyone in Oregon rests a little easier.