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Communities Suffer as Nonprofit Workforce Shortage Crisis Continues

Charitable nonprofits are still enduring a shortage of employees, which is imposing considerable hardships on the public, according to a new report released today by the networks of the National Council of Nonprofits. The report, 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey Results: Communities Suffer as the Nonprofit Workforce Shortage Crisis Continues, finds that workforce shortages are reducing nonprofit capacity and leading to longer waiting lists for services, reduced services, and sometimes the complete elimination of services needed by the public. It reveals that the hardest jobs to fill are those that interact with the public: program and service delivery positions and entry-level jobs.

Cover of the 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey Results

Based on more than 1,600 responses to a nationwide survey conducted in April of 2023, the report shares insights about the causes of nonprofit workforce shortages and the adverse consequences for the public. It also provides practical recommendations that individual organizations can adopt and public policy solutions to promote nonprofit employment.

 
Read the report

Why It Matters

When nonprofits cannot hire enough employees to provide vital services, the public suffers. Staffing shortages in for-profit delivery services may result in longer times to receive a package, but staffing shortages in nonprofit direct-care services mean that families and individuals cannot access basic human needs, or even life-saving support. When a nonprofit closes some or all of its services, the ripple effects cannot be ignored: communities lose access to food, shelter, mental health care, and other vital services. 

Key Findings
  • Rising Vacancies: Nearly three out of four nonprofits (74.6%) completing the survey reported job vacancies. More than half of nonprofits (51.7%) reported they have more vacancies now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, and nearly three out of ten (28.1%) have longer waiting lists for services.

  • Categories with Vacancies: The nonprofit jobs most commonly unfilled are those that interact with the public the most. Almost three out of four respondents (74.0%) reported vacancies in their program and service delivery positions, and two out of five (41.1%) reported vacant entry-level positions.

  • Reasons for Vacancies: Almost three out of four respondents (72.2%) said salary competition affects their ability to recruit and retain employees, followed by budget constraints/insufficient funds (66.3%). Additional causes for nonprofit workforce shortages reported by nonprofits were stress and burnout (50.2%) and challenges caused by government grants and contracts (20.6%)
Infographic summarizing the major findings from the 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Shortage Survey.
  • Charitable Giving Expectations: Seven out of ten nonprofits (70.5%) anticipate charitable giving to decrease or remain flat in 2023, while 68.7% of nonprofits anticipate the number of donors to decrease or remain unchanged.
 
Read the report

Practical and Public Policy Solutions

Recognizing that the people leading, working in, and volunteering for charitable nonprofits are, by nature, problem solvers, the 2023 survey invited participants to share solutions they had utilized or identified to mitigate the nonprofit workforce shortages crisis. The report explores examples they provided of practical solutions, and also points to public policy solutions of general applicability, especially essential reforms to government grants and contracting systems.
Infographic depicting the top 4 policy solutions.

Report Resources

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