Although burnout in human services providers is nothing new, the pandemic certainly changed the game. With the demand for services rising and showing no signs of stopping, nonprofits face potential burnout in direct service providers with increasing frequency. But what can a nonprofit do to mitigate these effects?

There are three overarching causes of burnout: chronic workplace stress, high emotional labor, and an increase in service demand coupled with the stagnation of resources. This means that the most effective means of combatting burnout focuses on reducing stress, supporting emotional labor practices, and reducing service demand or increasing resources. It is not only possible to resist burnout by these means, but vital to do so.

1. Reduce direct service provider workloads: Train direct service providers how to work with a maximum of 30 households at one time. Focus on time management strategies to help balance more involved cases with more self-directed ones. Once 30 households are mastered, or proven to be too much, adjust based on service provider abilities.
2. Train service providers to engage in emotional labor: Formally acknowledge emotional labor as an occupational requirement for direct service provision. This will allow funding to be earmarked for this specific training and increase the accuracy of job expectations in this role. Prepare direct service providers for…

Increased attrition, lack of qualified leaders, and trouble meeting the organization’s mission — these are all current issues facing nonprofit organizations. A tool that can alleviate these challenges includes comprehensive training and development programs. Although not a magic wand that will solve all of a nonprofit’s challenges, it can significantly impact an organization.

What is a training and development program?

Training and development practices involve building and gaining knowledge and skills for future roles. Organizations should address both training and development needs when implementing their program. Training and development programs are how nonprofits can improve their staff’s skills to meet the demands of the organization. The programs also help develop the future leaders that will lead the ever-evolving organization. These trainings can take many forms and can include orientations, regular mandatory training, guest speakers, professional development conferences, fellowships, one-on-one mentorships, on-the-job training and more.

Benefits of training and development programs

The top three benefits of training and development programs for nonprofits are:

1. Better-prepared staff
2. Staff members with increased support
3. A reduction in employee turnover

Training programs allow organizations to grow a new generation of skilled leaders while also to…

Collaboration in the nonprofit sector is a highly effective tool that nonprofit leaders should understand and utilize to improve their organizations and communities. Successful collaborations can reduce overhead, improve funding, and create more significant mission-related impact. Collaboration requires thoughtful consideration and work — by all parties involved — to make them successful. However, utilizing a structured approach to collaboration will reduce the possible complications and maximize the efforts of all participants.

1. Find your why

Common motivations for engaging in collaborative efforts are to gain resources, meet the institutional demands of the sector, or to build relationships with other organizations through existing networks. For a collaboration to be successful, you must continue to dig deep into these motivations. Studies show that “collaboration for collaboration’s sake” does not lead to successful outcomes and can negatively affect an organization’s finances, capacity and reputation in the community. Instead, keep asking “why” questions until you find a meaningful reason for collaborating. Why will more resources help your mission? Why do grantmaking foundations want you to collaborate with others in your community? Finding your why will help the team remain focused and motivated.

2. Perform a self-assessment

Next, you need to ensure that the organization is ready to withstand the added demands of…

Collectively, nonprofit organizations are the third largest employer in the United States, accounting for roughly 10% of all paid employment, and comprising 12.5 million Americans. Moreover, this paid workforce is joined by 63 million volunteers, according to Independent Sector. Labor costs typically account for 50 to 80% of a nonprofit’s budget, representing a significant commitment of resources. Hence, management of human capital is critical to success in the nonprofit sector.

Key to viability of nonprofit organizations is a skilled, trained staff with the capacity to adapt to rapid and often unstructured change. To provide this essential human capital, organizations must engage in strategic human resource planning that assesses trends and the external environment to project future events. Functionally, strategic human resource management includes job analysis, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, training and professional development, performance measurement, labor-management relations, and integration of volunteers into the organizational environment. Diminished funding, increased emphasis by employees on work-life balance, changes in technology and heightened competition for high-performance individuals mandate collaborative development of programs, policies and responsibilities that are compatible with the organization’s overall strategies. Enhancing employee performance, reducing turnover and providing the basis for future top…

Rural communities are vital to the strength and energy of the United States, and thus, the health of their nonprofits is equally important. Regardless of the significant population living in rural areas, the economic footprint and the generous political pull, nonprofit organizations in these areas have long been battling specific challenges that nonprofits in urban or suburban areas do not confront, or do so on a smaller scale.

There are a few core and persistent problems that rural nonprofits contend with, which make staying in operation and continuing services a difficult challenge. These issues impact rural nonprofit organizations in every aspect of their operations; however, fundraising has proven to be a particularly difficult obstacle for rural organizations to overcome. There is a wealth of literature and research that highlights these issues and displays the unique barriers that rural nonprofits have continually struggled with based on their geographical location.

In 2009, the Bridgespan Group, a social impact consulting firm, published a comprehensive report detailing the various strenuous conditions under which rural nonprofits must operate. The report revealed an extensive gap of funding when comparing rural and urban nonprofits, as well as startling differences in…