Center on the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Workforce
Advancing the research, resources, and solutions organizations need to help their people — and missions — thrive.
The Future of the Charitable Sector Depends on the People Who Power It
Across the country, millions of people working in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations dedicate their talent, expertise, and energy to strengthening communities and advancing the public good. Their work is essential to our economy, our civic life, and our democracy.
But the nonprofit workforce faces persistent and emerging challenges — from recruitment and retention to compensation, burnout, employee well-being, leadership, and a rapidly changing external environment.
The Center on the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Workforce, an initiative of Independent Sector, is building the knowledge, infrastructure, and solutions needed to better understand these challenges and strengthen the nonprofit workforce for the future.
A Stronger Sector Starts With its People
The charitable sector includes 1.9 million organizations and 14 million paid workers, along with millions more volunteers and national service participants. Nonprofit workers contribute to nearly every aspect of American life: from health care and education to social services, advocacy, faith communities, and civic life.
Yet too many of the people who make this work possible face financial hardship, burnout, workforce shortages, and other systemic challenges.
The Center on the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Workforce is working to build a deeper, more complete understanding of the nonprofit workforce, and turn that knowledge into action.
What Do We Mean By the Nonprofit Workforce?
When we say nonprofit workforce, we mean the people who power nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. That includes paid employees as well as the volunteers, board members, consultants, and others whose work makes these organizations and their missions possible.
Building the Infrastructure for a Thriving Workforce
The Center serves as a national hub for research, learning, collaboration, and innovation. Rather than providing direct workforce services, the Center strengthens the systems, knowledge, and resources that help organizations and their people thrive. Our work connects four essential functions:
Measure and Understand Workforce Health
We build shared tools for assessing the health of the nonprofit workforce and tracking how it changes over time. Standardized diagnostics, benchmarking, and longitudinal data help organizations understand what is working, where challenges persist, and how their experience compares with the broader field.
Turn Evidence into Practical Tools and Learning
We translate research, data, and validated workforce practices into resources organizations can use, including diagnostic tools, training, professional development, and other practical support that helps nonprofit leaders strengthen their workforce practices.
Connect Organizations to Learning and One Another
Strong infrastructure only matters if it reaches the field. We work through networks, cohorts, convenings, and other learning opportunities to help organizations put tools into practice, learn from one another, and build stronger connections.
Turn What We Learn Into Broader Solutions
What we learn from organizations across the country helps identify challenges that cannot be solved by better internal practices alone. Research and workforce data can inform broader policy and systems solutions: from how nonprofit work is funded and reimbursed to national service and other issues affecting the people who power the sector.
Our Advisory Board
- Dr. Ryan Kelsey, Urban Institute
- Dr. Isaac Agbeshie-Noye, SHRM Foundation
- Sara Lamback, Jobs for the Future (JFF)
- Tene Traylor, Center for Opportunity and Wealth Data
- Laura Tomasko, Urban Institute
- Dr. Margaret Gorman, A23 Advisors
- Cathleen Clerkin, Candid
- Sidney Abrams, OneDigital (Nonprofit Center of Excellence)
- Dr. Tina Garrett-Ragland, Save the Children
- Brittany Collins, Betty & Davis Fitzgerald Foundation
- Jody Levison-Johnson, Social Current
- Ami Dar, Idealist
- Dr. Peter Weber, Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC)
- Dr. Tan (Andebrhan) Morales, National Black MBA Association
- Sherra Bennett, MSW, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
- Kiran Handa Gaudioso, United Way of Northern New Jersey
- Renee S. Johnson, Georgia Health Policy Center
Stay Updated on the Center's Work
Building a thriving nonprofit workforce will require better information, stronger partnerships, bold ideas, and sustained action. Sign up for email updates on the Center and ways you can get involved.
