Addressing the Crisis Within Nonprofit Organizations
While the nonprofit sector is often celebrated as the backbone of communities, recent data suggests that this backbone is nearing a breaking point. We often talk about “community well-being” as an external goal—something to be delivered to clients and neighbours—but the YMCA WorkWell Insights to Impact 2024 Report makes it clear that we are neglecting the very people doing the work. The “do more with less” mentality has moved past being a badge of honour; it has become a threat to the sector’s survival.
High Purpose, High Exhaustion
There is a painful irony at the heart of nonprofit work: the more people care about their mission, the more likely they are to burn out. According to the 2024 report, 76% of nonprofit employees feel a deep sense of meaning in their jobs. On the surface, this looks like a success story. However, this level of passion is currently masking a mental health crisis.
The numbers are difficult to ignore:
- 58% of nonprofit workers are struggling with burnout.
- For 1 in 4 employees, this isn’t just an occasional bad week—they feel burned out “often” or “extremely often.”
- Leaders are suffering most: 71% of nonprofit leaders report regular burnout, with 33% saying they feel it constantly (YMCA WorkWell, 2024).
When we apply these percentages to Canada’s nonprofit workforce of 2.5 million, it means over 600,000 people—the people we rely on to fix our social problems—are currently running on empty.
A Looming Exodus
We are also facing a massive loss of institutional knowledge. The report found that 20% of the workforce—one out of every five people—intends to quit within the next six months. If this holds true, roughly half a million professionals could walk away from their organizations this year (YMCA WorkWell, 2024).
When asked why they want to leave, the reasons are grounded in basic survival:
- Pay: 61% simply cannot afford to stay in their current roles.
- Burnout: 41% are leaving to save their own health.
- Lack of Appreciation: 37% feel their contributions are invisible.
The emotional weight of the work is also taking a toll. 76% of staff report that negative interactions with the public or the people they serve directly damage their well-being. Those who deal with these difficult interactions are three times more likely to be chronically burned out and twice as likely to be looking for the exit (YMCA WorkWell, 2024).
Moving Beyond “Resilience”
For too long, the nonprofit sector has relied on the “resilience” of its staff to paper over lack of funding and unsustainable workloads. The Insights to Impact data proves that resilience is not a bottomless well.
If we want to build healthy communities, we have to start by building healthy organizations. This means moving past the “hero” narrative and addressing the sobering reality: we cannot expect people to solve society’s most complex problems while they themselves are struggling to stay afloat. A sector that is constantly in crisis mode cannot provide the stability that our communities desperately need.
Reference: YMCA WorkWell. (2024). Insights to Impact 2024: Workplace Well-Being Report—The State of Employee Well-being in Canadian Nonprofit Organizations. https://www.ymcaworkwell.com/insights-to-impact-2024
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