"People" challenges facing nonprofits today and how to solve them
When you think about nonprofit organizations, a local service organization you support might come to mind, or maybe you think of a professional association you belong to for resources and credibility. However, within the nonprofit sector, there are nearly 30 different types of nonprofits including charitable foundations, religious organizations, social welfare or civic leagues, trade associations, fraternal societies, agricultural organizations, and many more.
Despite the differences in structure, purpose, and tax status, many nonprofits share the same challenges when it comes to process, analytics, employee engagement, and culture. Our February blog focused on four specific areas of disruption for nonprofits: COVID-19, workforce, cybersecurity, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
This five-part series will take a closer look at Five to Flow’s core elements (people, process, culture, technology, and analytics) with a nonprofit lens to help you improve your organization’s sustainability and impact.
People
It makes sense that we’d start with people - they are literally the pulse of your organization and the lifeblood of your work. While technology is an essential component, it cannot replace the nuance, creativity, and purpose that people bring to work.
However, one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is employee burnout. This is particularly true in the nonprofit sector, where investments in technology, talent recruitment, and retention (and other indirect but essential business costs) are not included in grant funding. This shortage of operational funding, often referred to as the nonprofit starvation cycle, or shifts in funding priorities leaves the organization under-resourced and its employees overwhelmed. In addition, nonprofit employees have the double burden of emotional exhaustion as the work is often tied to solving enormous societal challenges and issues of inequality. This is especially true for employees of color and those who are working to solve challenges within their own communities.
In our recent burnout blog series, we explain why this topic is such a serious issue for employers to understand and address. It not only affects energy levels, intrinsic motivation, emotional well-being, and creativity, but it leads to lower engagement, productivity, and turnover – at a time when the work of nonprofits is more important than ever.
Nonprofit leadership and board members should be focused on investing in essential infrastructure and operational support, and work with Funders to understand the importance of overhead and indirect costs for the sustainability of the organization and its mission. But, there are also critical areas for leadership to focus on to foster a healthy work environment for employee wellbeing, retention, and growth:
Nonprofits that depend on fundraising may be struggling with sustaining and growing donation levels from previous years. A recent survey suggested that 63% of donors may be more cautious about their giving this year. The main reason for this shift is economic uncertainty and inflation. With so many worthy and competing causes, donors may also feel stretched thin or overwhelmed by competing priorities for their support. Here are our five recommendations to improve donor engagement:
Five to Flow
While most nonprofit organizations are well versed in navigating the changing waters of the sector, there are ways to mitigate the constant barrage of challenges and qualified people who can help. At Five to Flow, our passion is to partner with you to design meaningful solutions that lead to organizational flow. Please contact us for more information about how we can work with your nonprofit to improve business health and alignment for the sustainable growth of your mission and impact. Part 2 of our five part series is on deck!