by Rachel Ayotte | Dec 18, 2024 | Article
Employee wellbeing is one of the most essential parts of any thriving workplace — and within the nonprofit sector, much is the same. But while plenty of industries face high levels of burnout, the nonprofit sector stands out as a leader, though not in a good way.
In fact, there are plenty of nonprofit burnout statistics that are concerning:
Despite these statistics, lots of grantmakers overlook this issue in the very nonprofits they are helping to serve. Instead of addressing these concerns head-on, grantmakers often only offer a sort of band-aid for the consequences instead of addressing the root causes.
In this guide, we’ll break down these numbers, dig into exactly what burnout is, what employee wellbeing looks like in the nonprofit sector, why employee wellbeing is important and how grantmaking foundations can make a difference in the wellbeing of their grantees.
Employee wellbeing refers to the overall physical, mental and emotional health of employees within the workplace and encompasses factors like access to mental health support, work-life balance, job satisfaction and more.
In the nonprofit space specifically, lack of employee wellbeing — as we saw above — is often higher than in other industries, for a few reasons. While nonprofit work can be immensely fulfilling, it can also be incredibly burdensome too, because of:
Employee wellness is more important than ever. As the need for nonprofits increases, it is essential that staff members within those organisations feel supported and taken care of — for a few reasons.
When employee wellbeing is a priority, organisations can become more sustainable through improved staff productivity, staff retention and recruitment and organisational culture.
The study “State of Nonprofits 2024: What Funders Need to Know,” which is based on survey responses from 239 nonprofit leaders, reveals that 76% of leaders indicate that burnout among their staff is impacting their organisation’s ability to achieve its mission.
Employee engagement and wellbeing go hand in hand. If a grantee’s staff feels burnt out, they won’t be able to operate at their best — no matter how much funding they have. In essence, burned-out employees cannot effectively carry out a mission.
However, when employees feel taken care of — and that the funding they receive is directly in support of specific wellbeing initiatives — they’re more likely to be engaged, enthusiastic and productive.
Staff retention at US nonprofits — dubbed a sector-wide “crisis” in a recent report by the National Council of Nonprofits — is widespread. Research shows that nearly a quarter of respondents in the CEP survey reported losing more staff than was typical in 2024, with burnout cited as one of the most common reasons for departures.
Talented and passionate professionals want workplaces that value them holistically. So, when a nonprofit offers employee wellness initiatives, they often see lower turnover and better morale.
Patagonia, for example, offers numerous employee wellbeing programs that have allowed them to create a standout culture. Their on-site childcare for employees, for example, allows parents to balance work and family responsibilities seamlessly. In turn, they boast a 4% turnover rate while the American national average is 57%.
For grantmakers, offering grants for wellbeing initiatives is key to reducing turnover in their grantee’s organisations and helping to support long-term organisational sustainability.
Together, improved productivity, retention and talent attraction fosters a positive and supportive workplace culture. This helps build stronger relationships among employees and leadership, creating an environment where staff feel valued and empowered to do their best, and carry out their missions.
Grantmakers have a responsibility to help nonprofits create employee wellbeing by:
Rethinking funding priorities: Traditional ways of funding typically require that most funds be spent on program costs, and the smallest amount possible be spent on people costs. But of course, this in turn can create nonprofit burnout. Instead, create grants specifically to support higher wages, mental health support resources, work-life balance policies and more.
Engaging in capacity building: Grantmakers can help nonprofits beyond providing grantmaking dollars by offering grantees help with navigating work allocation, understanding points of burnout and finding solutions to create more sustainable operations.
Providing technological solutions: Reducing workloads is one crucial way that grantmaking foundations can support their grantees. With the right tools and technology, grantmakers can help alleviate administrative burden in the application and reporting process, making applying for and reporting on funded grants simple.
Offering multi-year funding: Multi-year funding saves nonprofits from having to desperately apply for more grants, alleviating paperwork and administrative work that takes up lots of time. Multi-year grants often require less reporting, too — this reduces the number of administrative tasks involved and allows nonprofits to give greater focus to their programs.
Using trust-based philanthropy and participatory grantmaking: Allow your grantees to tell you exactly what they need in order to support their staff. Invite them to partake in creating the grant (via participatory grantmaking) in order to ensure that it directly responds to their employee wellbeing initiatives.
Grantmaking foundations — even those with the best intentions — often overlook the root causes of some of their grantees’ biggest struggles. Employee burnout‚ caused by low wages, lack of benefits and more, are often what stands in the way of long-term sustainability.
With better listening skills, relocation of budgets and the right technology like Good Grants, grantmaking foundations can help nonprofits prioritise the wellbeing of their staff, and ultimately, become successful in the long run.
Articles
Feature focus
Ebooks
Videos
Releases