Recruiting and retaining staff is critical to accomplishing the missions of nonprofit organizations. A lack of available and qualified staff limits the ability to provide goods and services, putting organizational impact, growth, and sustainability at risk. Nonprofit organizations face a persistent challenge in recruiting and retaining mission-aligned, skilled staff due to salary limitations, resource constraints, and high rates of burnout. While public service motivation can attract individuals to the sector, it is not enough to ensure long-term engagement and organizational stability on its own. High turnover has a significant impact on program delivery, institutional knowledge retention, and donor confidence. 

The post-pandemic workforce is changing. Potential employees seek purpose, flexibility, and a better work-life balance. Younger generations value social responsibility and an inclusive organizational culture. Nonprofits are well-positioned to meet these challenges. However, to remain relevant and competitive, nonprofits must address issues related to compensation, benefits, career advancement, work-life balance, mental health, and burnout.

Based on the literature and case study insights, several actionable strategies are recommended to help nonprofits attract and retain mission-driven talent:

• Adopt mission-driven HR systems
  Integrate mission and values into every HR process—job descriptions, onboarding, evaluations, professional development, and recognition programs. 
• Offer competitive compensation and benefits
  While many nonprofits cannot match for-profit salaries, they can remain competitive by offering substantial benefits such as flexible work arrangements, health coverage, PTO, and tuition reimbursement. 
• Build clear career pathways
  Career advancement is a key factor in employee retention. Create internal ladders with promotion potential, leadership training, and transparent criteria for growth.
• Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging
  Organizational culture must be transparent, equitable, and inclusive. Encourage open dialogue through town halls, newsletters, feedback loops, and cross-level collaboration
• Support leadership and prevent burnout
  Provide coaching, mental health resources, reasonable workloads, and succession planning to maintain leadership continuity and morale.
• Embrace skills-based and values-based hiring
  Expand the talent pool by focusing on transferable skills and value alignment, rather than relying solely on degrees or nonprofit experience. 
• Conduct stay interviews and exit interviews
  Regularly ask employees why they stay, what challenges they face, and what they need to feel supported.

Many high-performing nonprofit organizations have implemented such strategies, reinforcing their validity and adaptability. Common traits among these organizations include intentional onboarding and mentorship, transparent salary bands, and equity audits; investment in wellness and mental health; and DEI integrated into strategy and leadership. These practices are adaptable and scalable across different types and sizes of nonprofits, reinforcing the case for broader sector adoption.

Workplace equity is no longer a peripheral concern—it is central to retention and morale. Research shows that employees from marginalized backgrounds are more likely to leave when they encounter bias, a lack of advancement opportunities, or cultural exclusion. Nonprofits that profess equity in their missions must also practice it internally. Key recommendations include: transparent compensation structures, inclusive policies, bias mitigation, and supportive employee structures. When equity is embedded across all HR functions—not siloed under DEI departments—it improves trust, engagement, and organizational loyalty. It also helps nonprofits better reflect and serve their communities.

Leadership is a decisive factor in whether staff stay or leave. Managers and executives shape the culture, communicate the purpose, and model the values. When leadership is ineffective or unsupportive, even highly motivated employees can disengage or experience burnout. Key leadership practices that strengthen retention include: active listening, shared decision making, coaching and mentoring, and workload management. Ultimately, leadership that prioritizes people, transparency, and wellbeing—not just mission outcomes—creates an environment where staff feel valued and supported.

The nonprofit sector’s reliance on goodwill, passion, and sacrifice has long been a point of pride—but also a vulnerability. In today’s competitive labor market, that model is no longer sustainable. To recruit and retain the mission-driven talent they need, nonprofits must invest in people as intentionally as they do in programs.

Low turnover, high morale, and a strong organizational reputation are possible as the result of leadership, strategy, and culture aligned with values. Every nonprofit can take steps toward this model. It begins with listening to staff, aligning actions with mission, and recognizing that the well-being of employees is essential to the well-being of the communities they serve.

David Wiecks is a 2025 graduate of the Masters of Nonprofit Leadership and Management program at Arizona State University. He obtained his  Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University, where he majored in Public Accounting. He has served the nonprofit and healthcare sectors for over 20 years as a Certified Public Accountant, Chief Financial Officer, Board Member, and Treasurer. 

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Learn all the ins and outs of complying with federal and state employment laws and compensation programs, recruiting, managing, and rewarding both staff and volunteers to effectively utilize their strengths, effectively lead and champion change within an organization, and develop strategies to overcome internal and external conflict with the Optimizing Human Resource Strategies in Nonprofits Certificate

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