According to this year’s Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey™ from Nonprofit HR and GuideStar, the ability to pay competitive wages ranks as the top staffing challenge faced by nonprofits for the fifth consecutive year. Since 2014, the second largest challenge has been finding qualified staff.
Organizations have the most trouble retaining employees in direct services (positions that work directly with clients), followed by fundraising development. And these are areas where the most job growth is expected in the coming year, suggesting the possibility of more staffing problems going forward. The survey report asserts that the increasing number of “entities that are blending purpose and profit” (for example, Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia) means job seekers have more opportunities to engage in mission-driven work than ever before.