Study: Nonprofit leaders say worker shortages and hiring top challenges

The fact that there are staffing issues in the nonprofit sector is not news. However, it is concerning that lack of resources has become nonprofit leaders' No. 1 concern, surpassing donor acquisition. 

As the number of donors dwindles and a larger share of total donations continues to come from a smaller pool of donors, it becomes more difficult for nonprofits to know where to set their priorities for the year ahead.  

Here are key findings from NonProfit PRO’s 2023 Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study: 

Major gifts. More nonprofit leaders cited major gifts (44%) over direct mail fundraising (43%) as their top revenue fundraising source.  

Online fundraising. Digital communications remained their top donor engagement strategy, yet the majority of nonprofit leaders (78%) cited their digital fundraising revenue as half or less of total fundraising. 

Donor data. For 28% of nonprofit leaders, their organizations continue to struggle with capturing the correct data to adequately engage donors.  

2023 priorities. Looking ahead, nonprofit leaders are focused on corporate partnerships, recurring giving and data-driven decisions.