Independent Sector and United for ALICE have previously shed light on the 22% of nonprofit workers who are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) and the way that varies by race and ethnicity: Black, Hispanic, and American Indian nonprofit workers are nearly twice as likely as white nonprofit workers to be in households living below the ALICE threshold and struggling to make ends meet.
Previous research has shown that race and ethnicity are strongly associated with wealth in the United States: the average wealth in 2024 was $285,000 for Hispanic households, $352,000 for Black households, and $1.5 million for white households. However, research has not yet examined savings and wealth-building among nonprofit workers specifically.
A New Analysis of Financial Hardship Across Racial/Ethnic Groups
Independent Sector and United for ALICE have released a fact sheet taking a closer look at the connection between financial security, savings, and race/ethnicity among nonprofit workers. This novel analysis uses additional national datasets to take a closer look at several indicators: reported difficulty paying bills; whether households have emergency savings to cover three months of expenses; and whether households consider themselves to be on track with retirement savings. These indicators are considered by both ALICE status and race/ethnicity.
To conduct these analyses, United for ALICE researchers considered data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 Household Pulse Survey and combined several years of data from the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking—which gathers detailed data on household finances—to build a sufficient sample size for analysis by race and ethnicity among nonprofit workers, who make up no more than 10% of the U.S. workforce.
The fact sheet shows that households above the ALICE threshold are better off on these indicators. However, both above the ALICE threshold and below it, Black and Hispanic nonprofit workers tend to be more likely than white workers to have difficulty paying bills and less likely than white nonprofits workers to have sufficient savings to cover three months of expenses in an emergency. For example, among households below the ALICE threshold, 43% of white nonprofit workers say they have three months of emergency savings, but just 40% of Hispanic workers and 38% of Black workers do. Black nonprofit workers are also less likely than white nonprofit workers to be on track with their retirement savings: among nonprofit workers in households above the ALICE threshold, 64% of white workers are on track with retirement savings while just 50% of Black workers above the ALICE threshold are.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The pervasiveness of these wealth and income gaps suggests that issues are greater than can be addressed by a single organization. More work is needed to address longstanding and ongoing policies of discrimination in areas of work, housing, education and infrastructure that limit financial stability and wealth building for many families.
Going forward, further research is necessary with respect to other assets (like homeownership) and other ways nonprofit workers access funds (like loans and lines of credit). Additionally, further research on the differences between nonprofit workers and those in private and government organizations may reveal insights into how to boost savings rates by income as well as race/ethnicity.
In the meantime, programs like United For ALICE at Work demonstrate how organizations can improve outcomes for ALICE nonprofit workers.
Learn More and Engage
- View the ALICE Nonprofit Workforce Dashboard, an interactive tool with state-level data on nonprofit workers’ financial status.
- Read ALICE in the Nonprofit Workforce, a first-of-its-kind study on financial hardship in the sector.
- Read a fact sheet on the economic benefits of closing the ALICE gap.
- Mark October 13-16 on your calendar for Independent Sector’s National Summit 2026. We’ll be developing and sharing strategies to help the nonprofit workforce thrive.
