While it is hard to know for certain whether we are seeing the start of that wave, or the crest, there are clear signs that the retirement of nonprofit leaders has become a front and center issue for nonprofit boards. Scott Schnapp, executive director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, articulates it this way: “As part of our strategic planning process, we met with nonprofit leaders and funders across the state and asked them to tell us what concerned them most as they looked to the future, and ‘upcoming retirements at the leadership level’ was always among the first things mentioned.”

Why does this matter? In Maine, one out of seven workers is employed by a nonprofit. Those nonprofits contribute $9.3 billion to Maine’s economy through wages paid, wholesale and retail sales, and professional services contracted. In addition to the obvious social benefit these nonprofits provide, they also pay $3.5 billion annually in taxable wages. Leadership matters, not only for the future of these nonprofit organizations and their charitable missions but because of their impact on Maine’s economy.