Across the country, nonprofit organizations are facing a workforce crisis that threatens the essential services millions of Americans rely on every day. From libraries to health clinics, food banks to housing initiatives, the people who hold up the nonprofit sector are stretched thin, burned out, or leaving the field altogether.
According to recent data, over 10,000 nonprofit jobs have been lost in just 70 days. Layoffs due to federal funding cuts are sweeping through the sector, hitting education, healthcare, and social services particularly hard. The USAID shutdown, for example, has devastated projects that serve vulnerable populations both domestically and abroad. And changing immigration policies are forcing the departure of thousands of care workers serving in nursing homes and community health programs.
Behind each job loss is a ripple effect of reduced services, strained capacity, and unmet community needs. At my former workplace, we watched our staff shrink from over 100 people to just 16 in less than a year. It wasn’t due to mismanagement or poor planning. It was funding. Pure and simple.
But this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about impact.
Nonprofits fill in where government and private sectors fall short. They provide critical support to our most vulnerable neighbors. They advocate for equity. They build safer, more sustainable, and more compassionate communities. But without the people to run them, even the most impactful programs can grind to a halt.
So what can we do?
1. Advocate for stable and equitable funding. Public policy and philanthropy must prioritize long-term investments in nonprofit operations, not just short-term project grants. Stability allows organizations to plan, grow, and retain staff.
2. Support nonprofit workers. That means paying livable wages, offering benefits, reducing burnout, and creating pipelines for diverse leadership. The work is meaningful, but meaning doesn’t pay the rent.
3. Shift perceptions of nonprofit work. Too often, nonprofit professionals are seen as volunteers or somehow less skilled than corporate peers. In truth, they are strategists, marketers, fundraisers, counselors, and community builders—often all at once.
4. Hire and contract with nonprofits. If you’re in the public or private sector, consider partnerships that extend your impact. Nonprofits are innovation hubs, and they bring lived experience and local knowledge to the table.
As someone actively searching for a new role in this space, I remain committed to working with mission-driven organizations that serve the public good. But we need to ensure that those of us who want to serve have the infrastructure to do so.
Let’s not allow talent, passion, and potential to slip away because we didn’t fund it, value it, or fight for it.
Sources and Suggested Reading:
Jacqueline Willoughby 