According to the Social Impact Staff Retention’s project 2026 survey data, 7 in 10 nonprofit workers in the U.S. were looking for or considering a new job in 2025. The reasons why they were considering other career opportunities were varied, but the top reasons were:
As the nonprofit sector continues to experience high staff turnover, your organization needs to make an effort to create a positive employee experience that retains staff members and implement strategies to prepare your nonprofit for when staff members actually leave.
This article provides several strategies your nonprofit can leverage to combat the challenges associated with high staff turnover.
Strategies to Retain Staff Members
1. Automate menial tasks.
Many people join the nonprofit sector because they want to make a true difference in the world. So, if their work consists mostly of manual data entry and other menial tasks, they likely won’t find their roles meaningful and may consider leaving.
To resolve this problem, use automation to streamline your nonprofit’s operations. Some of the tasks you can automate include:
- Producing initial drafts of marketing and fundraising communications
- Sending donation receipts
- Sharing event reminders
- Collecting recurring donations
- Generating giving reports
For example, Bloomerang’s AI tools for nonprofits guide explains that AI messaging tools allow you to auto-generate email responses or internal updates, and brainstorm campaign ideas or newsletter drafts. That way, your staff members will have more time for the mission-driven work they were looking for in the first place.
2. Implement wellness initiatives.
Nonprofit professionals are prone to burnout since they often work long hours and take on multiple roles. To prevent burnout, you must prioritize employee well-being, including physical, mental, emotional, and social health.
By implementing wellness initiatives, you can help employees take care of themselves so they can show up to work refreshed and ready to execute their responsibilities. Potential initiatives may include:
- Subsidizing gym memberships
- Providing access to counseling services
- Offering subscriptions to meditation and mindfulness apps/subscriptions
Try offering a variety of options and see which your staff members like best. Alternatively, you can also send a survey to your employees, asking them for more suggestions.
3. Practice internal stewardship.
Just as you show gratitude to major donors and any other supporters, consider doing the same for your staff members. Stewarding your staff makes them feel appreciated and valued, increasing the likelihood they’ll stick around.
Here are a few ways you can show your gratitude to your staff:
- A simple word of thanks: You can thank your staff publicly via an email newsletter or at an event, or privately, depending on each employee’s preference. A genuine “thank-you” can sometimes be enough to lift people’s spirits, so take advantage of that.
- Hosting an appreciation event: Have you just finished a campaign that took months to plan? Throw a party for everyone involved to thank them for their efforts. You can get extra creative as well, by having games and live entertainment and serving tasty snacks.
- Social media spotlights: Share a couple of photos of your employees on your social media pages with a caption highlighting all they’ve done. Be sure to tag them, too, so that they can see the post and share it with their friends and family.
However, please remember to ask for your employees’ permission before posting a photo of them on social media. Some aren’t comfortable with public recognition, so adjust accordingly.
Tips to Prepare Your Nonprofit When a Member Leaves
4. Centralize institutional knowledge.
Picture this: one of your staff members identified and cultivated several amazing donors, but they never recorded any of the fine details about them. Now, this staff member is leaving, and with them goes your nonprofit’s relationship with those donors. Long story short, you’re back to square one.
Avoid this type of scenario by making sure that staff members record donor interactions in your nonprofit’s CRM platform. Ensure that everyone is trained to collect the relevant information, such as donor names, addresses, and contact information. Interaction notes with donors are also necessary because they provide context for any future conversations with them.
Keeping your CRM updated is also helpful when you’re onboarding new staff members. Since all the data is in one place, new employees can easily pick up where the resigned members left off and continue building donor relationships.
5. Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs).
When turnover happens, it can be difficult to get new hires up to speed. To expedite this transfer of knowledge, create a library of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every critical function at your nonprofit.
Some of the nonprofit processes that you can create SOPs for include:
- Donor data entry. Clearly define how staff members should enter donor information into your systems to ensure standardization.
- General Event Management. This is a quick guide to all the events your organization usually holds, including nonprofit conferences. Meetings and events can be confusing for new members, so an SOP can walk them through the process. This SOP should explain the different types of events in your nonprofit, what to expect from each, and what to prepare for every time.
Update your SOPs regularly to keep them relevant and useful. To distribute this responsibility among your team, consider assigning different staff members to specific SOPs that they can be responsible for keeping current.
High staff turnover is a common occurrence for nonprofits. When you prepare for the challenges staff turnover may bring, you can offer a stronger staff experience and ensure your operations run smoothly.
