It’s not news to say that nonprofits have been going through significant changes in the past few years. The pandemic and on-going concerns about economic markets have had a material impact on fundraising and operating budgets. These trends have been leading to headcount challenges, employee satisfaction issues and overall making life more difficult for nonprofits seeking to meet their mission goals.
Nonprofits economic challenges are materially impacting staffing, and consequently their ability to deliver core services. According to a 2023 survey from the National Council of Nonprofits, 72% of responders found it challenging to compete on salary with the for-profit markets, 66% suffered from budget constraints and for the remaining employees over half of them were experiencing burnout and stress.
Nonprofits are challenged by the same complexities that corporations face – how do I get more done with less? What makes this more complex in the nonprofit world is the operating budget challenges. Nonprofits rely on donations, grants, drives and other fundraising efforts to support their mission. The uncertainty and lumpiness of budget cycles makes it impossible to build certainty into planning for many critical functions and projects. One solution to these problems is to undergo a strategic assessment of staffing functions.
Many roles within a nonprofit are core to the mission. Roles focused on community and social services, fundraising and other such core roles make up the DNA of an organization. For teams to succeed, management must focus its efforts on these individuals who make up the foundation, soul, and knowledge of a nonprofit. Outside of these roles, however, nonprofits can remain more agile in how they approach staffing.
Nonprofits often become resource constrained around specific projects. Whether that’s an external event or campaign, or an internal effort focused on improving organizational efficiencies. Temporary staffing for these fixed-timed projects can allow more flexibility in matching budgets to needs without the long-term expense of full-time employees. This approach also has the benefit of avoiding morale killing layoffs, which impact will impact on-going company culture. Another staffing choice for resourcing your team is through fractional employees who can support non-core roles on a part-time basis. Fractional roles can bring significant expertise in house without the overhead of full-time staffing.
Pivotal Allies recognizes that nonprofits have missions to fulfill, and uncertain budgets against which to fund these efforts. Our core team of project managers have led nonprofits and leading corporations through strategic projects, and we can bring this experience to your organization as well. Our team is focused on providing teams with seasoned staff that can support short and mid-term project management and allow you to continue to meet your organizational goals. We are dedicated to continually enhancing our methodologies and ensuring our expanding staff can make your team successful.