Nonprofits face unprecedented challenges and new opportunities driven by the political landscape, social movements, and an increased desire to change the status quo.
Although this moment may remind people about the importance of their work for social change, it can also feel exhausting and frustrating — especially because the months ahead will be full of new changes with tax and budget changes from Washington, not to mention the potential impact of stock-market ups and downs on donors, endowments, and retirement plans — and such other issues as health care, immigration, sexual harassment, and racial equity that affect nonprofit missions and organizations.
That’s why nonprofit leaders need to pay attention to keeping their staff members invigorated and energized or risk losing the key people who fuel our missions. Here are five key steps to take:
Focus on alleviating stress and burnout — for managers and workers.
The past year was filled with stress for many nonprofit staff members, primarily driven by rhetoric and actions from the federal government. Whether it’s uncertainty over the fate of the Dreamers, natural disasters, or other concerns, the list of funding threats continues to grow as does the need for services for people affected by government actions.
People who work at nonprofits experience high levels of anxiety every day about their own safety and civil rights, their clients’ needs, health care benefits, and much more. These sources of stress will continue to shadow employees at home and at work; the longer the stressors endure, the more they will make it tougher for staff members to stay resilient.
Nonprofit leaders must make it a priority to find ways to reduce stress for themselves and their teams to manage the challenging year ahead. Executive leadership plays an important role in setting tone in the organization.
Executive directors should establish their own priorities for what kind of self-care is essential, share them with employees, and ask all staff members to develop plans that will keep them energized.
Pratichi Shah, chief executive of Flourish Talent Management Solutions and a ProInspire board member, said that one action organizations are taking is reminding employees of the mental health benefits covered under the organization’s insurance and benefit plans.
Some groups are also making mindfulness practices, such as physical activity and calming exercises, available throughout the office and at group meetings.
Shah also has seen an increase in requests from managers and others for help in building their ability to conduct healthy, supportive conversations with staff members. She says that is a wise step for organizations to take.
Leaders interested in other steps may want to take this list from Nonprofit HR, an employment and talent company, to learn additional ways to minimize burnout and encourage self-care.
Work to close the racial leadership gap.
Recent reports by BoardSource and Building Movement Project highlight the racial leadership gap throughout the nonprofit world.
According to BoardSource’s Leading with Intent: 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices, 90 percent of CEOs and board chairs and 84 percent of board members were white — far higher than Pew Research Center’s finding that whites accounted for about 60 percent of the labor force.
In its 2017 report Race to Lead: Confronting the Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap, Building Movement Project notes that this gap is not caused by differences in education, skills, and interest for people of color. Instead it is driven by outright bias.
This data is spurring a movement among foundations to invest in their own understanding of racial equity and to support grantees in similar work. The Annie E. Casey Foundation has documented its journey in a publication called Operationalizing Equity, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has published The Business Case for Racial Equity, quantifying the cost of racism in the United States.
Organizations should focus on making race equity a strategic and leadership priority, shifting organizational culture, and investing in staff capacity to drive equity and minimize bias.
Equity in the Center, an effort to increase racial equity at nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, has a useful resource called Building a Race Equity Culture that shows how to combat social inequities inside and outside of an organization.
Leaders can start by holding open conversations on race and racism, and by identifying champions for spearheading this work at the senior-leadership level.
Change Philanthropy, a group of grant makers, offers resources for foundation officials, and the nonprofit resource center Race Equity Tools offers a plethora of information for individuals and organizations.
Expect to see more political debates in the office.
The #MeToo campaign, #TakeAKnee protests, and the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville have brought sensitive issues into open conversation. If a subject is being discussed in the news or social media, then employees are thinking about it at work.
Yet many leaders don’t know how to talk about topics that may seem political or divisive. More than ever, nonprofit leaders must speak up about what will and will not be tolerated, and create an environment where people feel they can be themselves at work.
Nonprofit leaders are taking a range of approaches to help staff members. One nonprofit executive director whose employees and program participants are directly affected by possible changes in the federal rules that protect the Dreamers sends messages to her staff nearly once a week to acknowledge the uncertainty and fear her staff members are facing about what will happen to people they know and serve.
Other executive directors focus on highlighting organizational values and reiterating their commitment to uphold them in this divisive environment. Darren Walker, head of the Ford Foundation, has been a model for other chief executives with his writings. Another set of great examples can be found in this article from Fast Company that shows how nonprofit leaders have been taking steps to open the lines of communication on difficult topics.
Anticipate increased competition for talent.
Multiple factors are converging that will increase competition for talent and that also make compensation and benefits a bigger priority for nonprofit employees.
Low unemployment, rising health care costs, skyrocketing student loan debt, and uncertainty about public service loan-forgiveness programs mean that employees will be more concerned about compensation and benefits.
The disparity in the amounts of student-loan debt accumulated by blacks and whites has implications for who can afford to enter and remain in the nonprofit workforce. Black college graduates hold nearly twice as much student debt as their white counterparts, which affects their ability to afford the low salaries many nonprofits provide to early-career workers.
Charities may face struggles increasing wages because they are worried about whether to expect significant declines in donations because of the new tax law, but they must realize that failing to pay fair salaries will make it harder than ever to keep talented staff members.
As a way to keep nonprofit workers challenged and loyal, a growing number of nonprofit organizations are focusing on leadership development and employee engagement. Fund the People, a nonprofit that encourages grant makers to key in on employee needs, has a tool kit that highlights top reasons to invest in nonprofit talent, including improved performance, impact, and sustainability.
This activity parallels data from the corporate world, which shows that “high-impact” companies spend significantly more on training than average. We are seeing more nonprofits dedicate resources by providing employees a budget for learning activities, taking advantage of local nonprofit support centers that offer training, and making professional development a part of regular employee discussions.
Shift work methods to focus on changing underlying systems that cause social problems.
Systems change may seem logical to many nonprofit leaders, but how organizations do this work is less clear and requires the development of new skills throughout the organization. Nonprofits must change the way we approach our work, shifting from an organization focus to a results focus. This requires us to develop networks, collaborate with other organizations, mobilize constituents, and influence systems beyond the services we provide.
Schwab Foundation found that organizations often must hire people or train current staff members to build skills to transform the way systems work. StriveTogether is a well-known example of a network that has focused on improving all the systems connected with schools to make sure that all students are learning what matters. StriveTogether network members have invested in building the capacity of leaders to focus on results, showing them how to handle groups of people with different skills and needs, manage data, and carry out other key functions to support systems change.
In the months and years to come, we can expect to see a rising demand for individuals with experience in advocacy, movements, and coalition building as nonprofits and foundations give priority to systems change. Organizations will also need to invest in altering their strategies, supporting staff members, and recognizing the effort needed to do this complex work. In these uncertain times, investments in staff capacity to bring about transformative, systems-level change will enable nonprofits to meet their ultimate goal of serving the common good.
Monisha Kapila is founder and executive director of ProInspire, an organization that works to develop leaders at nonprofits.
