Nonprofit Career Secrets No One Tells You: What I Wish I Knew Before Starting

What if someone had pulled you aside on your first day in nonprofit work and told you the truth?

In this episode of Burnout & Breakthrough, I'm having the conversation I wish someone had with me on my first day in nonprofit work. The real stuff that you don't learn about until you've been in the trenches long enough to get burned. Like how your passion can be weaponized against you, or why "collaborative environment" often means "no one's actually in charge."

I asked my network what they wish they'd known before jumping into this field. Their answers were raw, honest, and necessary—from learning that being the "go-to person" eventually backfires, to realizing that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is walk away.

Key Takeaways

• How passion exploitation shows up in nonprofit workplaces (and the research that proves it)
• Why impact gets reduced to meaningless metrics—and what that costs us
• The hidden costs of flat organizational structures and unclear decision-making
• Honest advice from seasoned nonprofit professionals on surviving and thriving

If you've ever felt blindsided by the realities of nonprofit work, or if you're considering this path, this episode is your heads-up.

Read the full blog post that pairs with this episode → No One Told Me This: The Silent Truths of Nonprofit Work

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Want to go deeper? Here are some great books and articles I mentioned in today’s episode:

Academic Studies & Research:

• Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout: A brief history and how to prevent it. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/07/burnout-a-brief-history-and-how-to-prevent-it
• Kim, J.Y., Campbell, T.H., Shepherd, S., Kay, A.C. (2020). Understanding contemporary forms of exploitation: Attributions of passion serve to legitimize the poor treatment of workers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(1), 121-148. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000190
• Sawaoka, T., & Fiske, S. T. (2023). The cost of compassion: Emotional labor and burnout among nonprofit workers. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 28(1), 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000331

Books:

• Ebrahim, A. (2019). Measuring social change: Performance and accountability in a complex world. Stanford University Press.

Industry Reports & Publications:

• Baird, K. (2021). The nonprofit workforce crisis: A call for leadership. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_nonprofit_workforce_crisis
• Baird, K. (2021). Nonprofit workers are stressed, burned out, and leaving. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/nonprofit_workers_are_stressed_burned_out_and_leaving
• Nonprofit HR. (2021). 2021 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey. Nonprofit HR.
• National Council of Nonprofits. (2022). The nonprofit workforce shortage crisis. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org
• Nonprofit Quarterly. (2019). Nonprofit employees are more likely to burn out. Nonprofit Quarterly. https://nonprofitquarterly.org
• Nonprofit Quarterly. (2021). Burnout crisis in the nonprofit sector. https://nonprofitquarterly.org
• McKinsey study on nonprofit performance metrics (tracking dollars raised, membership growth, visitors, people served, overhead costs)

Key Statistics Cited:

• 95% of nonprofit leaders express concern about staff burnout
• 42% of nonprofit employees are considering leaving due to burnout/pay equity/workload
• 61% of those considering leaving cite compensation as the key driver
• 50%+ point to stress and burnout as major workforce shortage causes
• 19% nonprofit turnover rate vs. 12% across all sectors
• 30% higher burnout rates for nonprofit workers vs. the private sector
• Nearly 50% of nonprofit leaders struggle to fill staff vacancies
• 75% of nonprofit leaders say burnout impacts organizational effectiveness
• Only 20% of nonprofits have formal employee engagement strategies

Additional Sources Referenced:

• Reducing Nonprofit Employee Turnover | Spark Group | Nonprofit Development and Strategic Planning
• Insights to Impact: 2024 Workplace Well-being Report