Locally and nationally, there has been recent sobering news about the state of the nonprofit workforce. Overwork, burnout, low wages, lack of benefits, and an inability to meet a surging need for programs and services are all making the sector a demanding place to work.
When coupled with shifts in funding patterns and priorities—and grantmakers’ reluctance to fully fund operating and administrative costs—a gap has developed and increased.
For some organizations, these conditions are creating a demoralizing loop of increased demand with decreased ability to meet community needs as effectively as once was possible. In other words, frustration and fatigue have become chronic conditions.
Consider the survey conducted last year by the Federal Reserve Bank and the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN); more than 900 organizations that serve low- and moderate-income people responded. Eighty percent of these organizations said that they expected increased demand for services in the coming year, and 84% predicted increased expenses.
They cited funding and fundraising as their biggest challenges, with 26% noting challenges raising sufficient funds to support new positions and 15% reporting challenges related to staff well-being.
NCN conducts its own separate biennial surveys of nonprofit employment; the most recent was conducted in autumn 2023. At that time, two-thirds of respondents reported difficulty in filling vacant positions, and they couldn’t create sufficient positions to meet community needs because they didn’t have the money. Salary competition was the No. 1 reason that vacancies went unfilled, followed by budget constraints and staff burnout.
The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits conducts state-of-the-sector research, most recently publishing results in fall 2023. Key finding No. 1 in its report: “Retaining and hiring staff continues to present a significant challenge for nonprofit managers.”
When Minnesota’s nonprofit leaders were asked about the biggest challenges facing their organization over the next 12 months, nearly 40% said difficulties with staff recruitment, over 30% said difficulties with staff retention, and 20% said staffing levels overall.
What are nonprofits doing to stem this disturbing tide? The Nonprofit Leadership Center offers four practical suggestions for responding to these trends, including reexamining compensation structures to offer competitive arrangements that are less likely in for-profit or government employment.
For example, extended opportunities for sabbatical leave, flexible work arrangements, and professional development experiences can be attractive to employees. Investments in technology can make work more efficient and satisfying. Some offices are closing entirely once or twice a year—or more—such as the end of December and during summer weeks. Some nonprofits are shifting to four-day workweeks. Others are working on creating the healthiest possible work environment.
Some grantmakers are taking notice and trying to help. In 2023, the Minnesota Women’s Foundation provided unrestricted $10,000 grants to 40 women of color to spend however they choose. Called Rest Up grants, funds were intended to support self-care for leaders at risk of burnout. The grants are part of a new focus on well-being, with the intention of encouraging other philanthropies to follow suit.
Nexus Community Partners is offering the ROOT (Reclaiming Our Own Time) Sabbatical Fellowship, which supports leaders of color to allow time for “the practice of rest and restoration.” Its website states: “At Nexus, we believe all people deserve joyful and abundant lives filled with the rest that our bodies, minds, and spirits need. Rest is not for the privileged few—it is a birthright for us all.” Selected leaders receive $30,000, join workshops, and receive coaching to invest in their ability to rest.
The Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation’s long-standing Management Improvement Fund supports organizations to expand organizational capacity, improve management capabilities, and nurture Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) leadership in the nonprofit sector. Funds have supported staff development, executive coaching and skill-building, and community healing circles.
These examples are likely to expand in the coming years, as grantmakers and nonprofits alike experience firsthand the energy that nonprofit work frequently demands and understand the need to offer avenues of respite and support that can keep leaders from exiting to other opportunities and that may help attract new workers.
Perhaps nonprofits will help employers in the for-profit sector imagine and invest in employee recruitment and retention in new and creative ways.