Independent Sector believes that a thriving workforce which reflects the communities we serve is essential to a healthy charitable sector. Unfortunately, the sector’s workforce is struggling right now.
During her 2023-2024 Listening Tour, Independent Sector President and CEO Dr. Akilah Watkins heard a clear message: The charitable sector is facing significant challenges in recruitment, retention, empowerment, and workforce wellness. Paid, stipended, and volunteer workers are all affected.
Sector leaders voiced concerns about supporting workers as whole people, building a workforce for the unique times we live in, growing capacity locally, leveraging the strengths of a multigenerational workforce, creating pathways for new talent, and improving the financial security of workers.
In response, Independent Sector is intensifying our focus on the nonprofit workforce and taking concrete steps to determine where and how we can bring the greatest value to the sector we serve.
As a first step, we are conducting a comprehensive landscape analysis to help us understand where we can have the greatest impact on improving the health of the charitable sector workforce.
Engaging diverse stakeholders with lived and professional experience is critical to this effort and we need your input. Your feedback will directly shape the focus of Independent Sector’s Center of Excellence on the Nonprofit Workforce, guiding policy development, advocacy, research, programs, and trainings.
There are three ways to engage with us and share your ideas. You can share your input in one, two, or all three ways:
1. Join a virtual focus group with your peers. We’re hosting sessions to gather insights from philanthropy professionals, charitable nonprofits, volunteer and strategic engagement experts, policy advocates, academic centers, researchers, and Independent Sector members. View the full list and register for a focus group here.
2. Take a brief survey. Help us identify the key challenges facing the charitable sector workforce, uncover information gaps, and pinpoint where Independent Sector can have the greatest impact. Complete the survey.
3. Share a resource. If you know of an impactful workforce development program, research that highlights key challenges in the charitable sector workforce, or a thought leader we should connect with, email us at research@independentsector.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Your insights are vital to this work. Thank you for helping us advance the health of the charitable sector workforce.
