Burnout and understaffing continue to present challenges to the nonprofit sector, according to the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s (CEP) second annual report on the state of nonprofits, released this May.

The report, State of Nonprofits 2024: What Funders Need to Know, builds on similar findings from CEP’s first such survey last year. Data are drawn from CEP’s Nonprofit Voice Project, comprised of a panel of over 400 US nonprofits that seeks to represent the broader landscape of nonprofits that receive at least some foundation funding. That 2023 report, while hopeful in many respects, also pointed to a profound problem of burnout and staff retention within the sector. As that report notes: Almost every leader surveyed in State of Nonprofits 2023 indicated some degree of concern about burnout, and three-quarters reported some level of difficulty filling staff vacancies (4). The 2024 survey finds that this trend has continued, noting that 95 percent of all leaders surveyed cited burnout as a concern and that burnout—among both staff and leadership—“remains a top concern for most nonprofit leaders, with half of nonprofit leaders feeling more concerned about their own burnout than this time last year” (6). Coupled with this finding is the ongoing problem of staff retention: Some leaders point to staffing difficulties at their organization as a contributor to burnout. “We aren’t able to pay our staff a livable wage, [which is] the exact goal we are aiming to reach for the clients we serve,” says one leader. “With that, we see higher turnover in our case management team, in addition to each member being responsible for a larger caseload than is sustainable” (7).

The report also notes that “leaders who self-identify as people of color report that burnout is having a slightly greater impact on their organization’s ability to achieve its mission than leaders who do not identify as people of color” (8). The problem of burnout affects not just staff, but nonprofit leaders, the report finds, with leaders “pivoting between many aspects of their organization’s work and being overextended as a result.”While there is a perennial aspect to this problem, the report notes that the COVID-19 crisis represented, for many nonprofits and their leaders, a ramping-up of pressures.

As one leader noted: “I have been a nonprofit leader for 20 years and I’ve not experienced a reality like the one I am in currently,” one leader said. “It seems everything changed after COVID. There are no trailblazers that have faced this path before us, to guide and advise, [for] wisdom. It is a wild world right now” (9). Despite the challenges of staff retention and burnout, the sector shows positive signs of stability as well.As was also the case in 2023, “most nonprofits experienced either a balanced budget or a surplus in the most recently completed fiscal year, and the majority anticipate breaking even or having a surplus this fiscal year” (13).Meanwhile, economic turmoil and rising costs aside, the nonprofits surveyed showed encouraging fiscal resilience, with two-thirds reporting at least six months’ operating expenses for emergencies and opportunities, and less than one-third reported a budget deficit in the last fiscal year; more than 40 percent reported a surplus (15).Contributing to surpluses was higher than expected foundation support; while contributing to deficits was lower than expected individual donations, although a majority of nonprofits reported no significant drop in the number of individual donors (15).When it came to addressing budget deficits, a majority of nonprofits planned to increase their fundraising. But a significant, if smaller number, planned to implement cost-cutting measures, including potential staff reductions—a move that could exacerbate concerns around burnout.The report notes:At a time when burnout in nonprofit organizations continues to be a widespread concern, leaders facing budget deficits are contemplating difficult trade-offs. “We won’t replace unfunded/reimbursed positions that become vacant; we will continue to keep caseloads too high,” one leader says. Another leader simply explains, “We have cut staffing, which has addressed budget issues but not burnout” (17).On the brighter side, the report finds that foundation support has remained strong and that foundations, in some cases, have taken steps to make grant applications easier, reduce funding restrictions, or streamline reporting requirements.The report further finds that “nonprofit leaders who identify social justice as a key focus for their organization are more likely to have observed their funders making new commitments to streamlining or revising reporting requirements in the last year.”

About the author

Isaiah Thompson

Isaiah Thompson is the Leadership Editor at NPQ. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2023, he worked for various news organizations, including WGBH News, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, the Bay State Banner, AxisPhilly, the Philadelphia City Paper, and the Miami New Times. His work has also appeared in ProPublica, This American Life, WNYC News, WHYY News, Al Jazeera America, Esquire, Salon, and other publications. He has been the recipient of various journalism awards for his work. Isaiah lives in Boston.

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