2026 Nonprofit Workforce Survey

Independent Sector commissioned the Workforce Module in the 2026 National Survey of Nonprofit Trends and Impacts, a nationally representative survey from the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute, along with American University and George Mason University.

To ensure that all workforce survey questions were relevant, the survey was sent to a sample of 501(c)(3)s that excluded organizations with no paid staff. Our team made the decision to create an expanded Nonprofit Trends Survey Workforce Sample that included three distinct subsamples of 501(c)(3) organizations that are usually excluded from the National Survey of Nonprofit Trends and Impacts: 1) grantmaking organizations, including private foundations and public charity grantmakers; 2) hospitals, universities, schools, and similar entities; and 3) religious organizations, clubs and societies, and some other organizations. We included those subsamples for the purpose of comparing their characteristics with those of the service-providing nonprofits that the Nonprofit Trends and Impacts Study examines.

The survey focused on the number of staff, volunteers, board members, and consultants; pay and benefits; staff turnover and obstacles to retention; training and development needs; volunteer management; and resource sharing with other organizations.

Independent Sector will continue to share the findings of this landmark research in the coming months.