Combat the Nonprofit Workforce Shortage with a new Staffing Strategy

You may have seen headlines about an alarming nonprofit staffing shortage propelled by the pandemic. I believe a significant contributing factor to this crisis is that the traditional models for staffing nonprofits have always been inadequate. It was easier for this current crisis to take hold because our sector was already struggling with staffing. The good news is that there is an innovative staffing strategy available that can help nonprofits meet current service demands and grow, even now.

 

The Nonprofit Staffing Crisis

In the last half of 2021, the National Council of Nonprofits surveyed charitable nonprofits in all 50 states about their ability to fill job vacancies.1 In summary:

  • One in three nonprofits (33.5%) had job vacancy rates between 10% and 19%

  • More than a quarter of nonprofits (26.2%) had 20% to 29% of their positions vacant

  • Nearly one in six nonprofits (16.1%) reported job vacancies greater than 30% 

In fact, the pain of the current nonprofit staffing shortage is so significant that earlier this year more than 60 charitable nonprofits sent a letter to President Biden and Congressional leaders asking for legislative action to address it.2

What’s behind the crisis? First, whether you call it The Great Resignation, The Big Quit or The Great Reshuffle, U.S. workers are now demanding – and getting – higher salaries, as well as greater flexibility and work/life balance. Second, the pandemic and inflation have significantly ramped up the need for nonprofits. Nonprofits need more help because their communities need more help.

Unfortunately, salary has never been a competitive edge for nonprofits and the sharp increase in need is making it even harder to offer work/life balance to the loyal staff who remain.

 

The Inadequacy of Current Nonprofit Staffing Models

What seems to go unmentioned though, is that well before these new headwinds arrived, volunteer-driven nonprofits were already struggling to staff their organizations effectively and affordably.

The nonprofit sector has long failed to recognize that none of the three traditional ways of staffing nonprofits are a complete solution and that this has been a pivotal reason why U.S. nonprofits fail in such alarming numbers (nearly 30% fail to exist after 10 years).3

Current staffing models all lack at least one element necessary for a nonprofit to thrive. Volunteer-only nonprofits often lack the bandwidth and deep nonprofit expertise needed to meet daily operational/administrative needs, fundraise, and develop a budget and strategic plan. Nonprofits that hire a consultant often lack the manpower to effectively implement strategic recommendations. And nonprofits with a single FTE often find that person becomes so bogged down by daily operational tasks that they can’t focus on developing and executing on a strategy.

 

A New Paradigm: Expert Fractional Staff

Fractional staffing first emerged as a solution to the scarcity of certain skillsets in the high-tech sector, but the benefits of a similar model for nonprofits are compelling. Fractional staffing leverages remote work so that people with valuable skills (like expertise in nonprofit fundraising, strategic planning, board development or nonprofit operational tasks) can share their time and services among various organizations. This model enables small to medium-sized nonprofits to access highly skilled professionals at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time employees. Moreover, as a nonprofit’s needs shift and change, it’s also easy to adjust the team to match. The result is the ability to seamlessly supplement skill and bandwidth gaps in your volunteer team, bringing expert help to bear precisely when, where and how it’s needed.

 

I invite you to read my white paper, “How to Staff Your Nonprofit for Success,” for:

  • A more in-depth examination of how traditional staffing models are putting our precious nonprofits at risk.

  • More information about how fractional staffing works and the results it’s generating.

  • How to access this support for your own nonprofit. 

 

1. “Nonprofit Workforce Shortages: A Crisis that Affects Everyone,” National Council of Nonprofits, updated July 2022.
2. [“The push is on for nonprofit pandemic and workforce shortage relief,” The New York Council of Nonprofits, February 2022.][2] 
3. Harrison, T.D. & Laincz, C.A. (2008). Entry and Exit in the Nonprofit Sector. B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 8(1), 1937-1937.

Vicki Burkhart