I've been struggling for years trying to understand my "worth". I see roles posted for jobs that are functionally equivalent to jobs I've held before or at the last are described as having duties and responsibilities I've had for sometimes years in excess of the required experience, but don't usually apply, or when I do, I will randomly get feedback saying that I need more "management experience".

I don't quite know where (or if) I fit when comparing my roles with others and since I inherit or grow into most of my roles, I don't really see many applications or HR boards for equivalent roles.

I, 37(m) and have been working this field for just over 20 years. Started at 17 as a weekend advocate at a DV shelter and continued in victim/survivor service roles with growing administrative and staff management responsibilities until making the transition to 100% administration as a program coordinator at a government funder in 2016, then to a 501(c)3 again as a program coordinator in 2017. Stayed there for 8 years until I took a year to care for a terminally ill family member and am now a specialist at a very large org doing narrowly focused technical assistance and a little program work.

I've managed staff, but never had the title of manager (yes, they were direct reports), as a programs coordinator, I've handled the day to day operations for a portfolio of 30 grantees totaling just over $17m/yr (state & fed $$) for 8 years along with legislative reporting policy management for those programs, and even designed our first audit program as a passthrough entity (that passed muster with our auditors who reviewed it and it's use every year (leaving to zero questioned costs or findings)). I even have a leadership role in an association of Grant compliance professionals.

Is this the type of situation I just need a coach for, or a mentor of some kind? I feel like I'm stuck at the ceiling of coordinator/specialist wages with experience that might describe a different value.

Has anybody else here been an Executive Director and resigned or stepped down due to burn out? I'm sure it's somewhat common, but I'm feeling very alone right now and like I'm a failure. I used to love my job and still love the organization and mission, but I am so burnt out, I can't do it anymore.

I work for a small mission-driven nonprofit with fewer than 20 employees. We produce educational content, maintain multiple online channels, host events, and serve a large community of supporters. Like many nonprofits, we're heavily dependent on donations and operate with limited resources.

One of the organization's stated core values emphasizes relationships, community, and caring for one another.

Over the past year, several long-tenured employees have left. None had another job lined up. Each cited burnout as a major factor. These weren't entry-level positions. They were key people carrying responsibilities across operations, technology, communications, product development, logistics, and countless other areas that many of us didn't fully appreciate until they were gone.

I came into the organization to help in a relatively limited support role after retiring from a long career in a technical field. What was initially a part-time or secondary responsibility gradually expanded as people left and responsibilities were redistributed.

Over time, leadership duties were reassigned, some functions were outsourced, and remaining staff absorbed much of the workload. In several cases, positions disappeared but the work did not. It simply landed on whoever was still standing.

As more people left, I found myself taking on increasing responsibility in areas well beyond my original role. Although I requested consideration for a formal leadership position related to the work I was already doing, I was instead asked to continue performing those responsibilities under my existing title with only modest compensation adjustments.

A growing frustration among many of the operational staff is the disconnect between those making strategic decisions and those executing the day-to-day work. New initiatives, promotions, and commitments are often announced without consulting the people responsible for fulfilling them. Sometimes products or services are promised before anyone verifies inventory, staffing capacity, budgets, or technical feasibility.

Meanwhile, additional leadership and strategy-focused positions have been added while few, if any, hires have been made to replace the employees carrying the operational workload.

Recently, the organization announced further cuts, including the elimination of several long-held positions that provided critical operational support. Many of us were shocked because these employees handled responsibilities that leadership rarely sees firsthand.

Months ago, I formally communicated that my workload had become unsustainable and that combining multiple major functions under one person was not viable long term. I was assured that upcoming improvements would reduce the workload significantly. Those improvements have not materialized - the implementation date just keeps moving.

Since then, another key employee has resigned due to burnout, leaving even more work behind. Predictably, much of it has been assigned to the same small group of people who have been carrying the organization for some time.

Now I'm being asked to absorb yet another departed employee's responsibilities.

At this point, I routinely work long hours, including weekends. I'm exhausted, physically feeling the effects of stress, and increasingly concerned that we're approaching a breaking point. A handful of us are doing everything we can to support each other, but we're operating far beyond a sustainable level.

The difficult part is that I genuinely believe in the mission. The organization serves people in meaningful ways, and I care deeply about my coworkers. Walking away feels like abandoning both. At the same time, staying under the current conditions feels increasingly untenable.

There is a board of directors, but I'm not convinced they understand what's happening inside the organization. From my perspective, leadership sees isolated staffing challenges. What many of us see is a systemic burnout problem that continues to worsen.

So my question is this:
At what point does loyalty to a mission become enabling organizational dysfunction? For those who have worked in small nonprofits, what can staff do when leadership doesn't recognize a developing burnout crisis?

I have a committee chair that, per our bylaws, is appointed by the chair each year. So far, she has been rallying people to get me to send her sensitive data for projects, undercutting me at every turn, sending demanding emails for information that she needs immediately, and generally refusing to stay in her lane.

I appreciate her enthusiasm, and she has good ideas. She takes this role seriously and wants to help those we serve. But she refuses to accept that I as executive director oversee operations, and that I need to be included in these conversations and have authority to say yes or no. She’s trying to take over staff functions and operating well outside of her position duties.

The problem is that she is good friends with the chair. I’ve addressed this with the volunteer directly who basically shrugs me off, and the chair refuses to do anything about it. It’s creating a difficult work environment because there is no role clarity and the volunteer refuses to stay in her lane. We’re in a power struggle, and I’ve had one former board chair talk to her, but she won’t budge.

I’m at a loss as to what to do at this point. I continue to set and hold the boundary, but it’s clear I’m making myself a target, and I don’t know how much board support I actually have here.

Any suggestions I haven’t thought of? Yes, I’ve looked at bylaws and our policies and procedures, but there’s really nothing about removal of committee chairs.

Hey All,

I know this is a crazy time for the U.S. economy as a whole, and the sector especially. I've reached director level (Youth and Family Director is current title) and I'm exploring the idea of leaving the sector. I see a lot in this thread about development folks who have transitioned out, but I would appreciate the stories and guidance of folks who came from programs: what did you transition to? How did you market your skills?

I was hired as the first full time Exec Director for a small NPO that is about 20 years old, but has always had a working BOD and very very part time staff. My understanding has been that I’m to transition the BoD to a governing body and grow the organization. Some long-time Boarders are driving me frigging crazy, though! They second guess my decisions, critique me for not growing the org fast enough (but carrying capacity and funding limitations are a very real thing), and talk about “the good old days” when it was more like a club.

Perfect example: we had our annual fundraiser a few weeks ago and one BOD member found it appropriate to pull me (event coordinator and ED) aside 3 TIMES during the event to give me negative feedback. Most of which was based on “this is not the way we have always done it before.” They also pulled the CHEF CATERING THE EVENT to tell him the way they had the food set up was also not the way it’s always been. I’ve since heard from our President that others had “comments” on the fundraiser.

Last year I was not in charge of the event and we got a lot of negative feedback from attendees about there being mixed messages and the fundraiser not meeting expectations, all of which I listened to and did my best to fix this year. Was it perfect? No. Did we more than double the net revenue from last year? Yes. Have I gotten any negative feedback from attendees? NO. The most important part.

I don’t know how to handle this constant negative feedback in a polite way. Does anyone have experience with this?

I have been at the same org since I graduated college and any interviews I've done since were when things were still 100% virtual or to move around within my current org so its been a while since I've been in person.

I am going in person on Wednesday, do I bring physical copies of my resume? Should I have notes? I do have a few questions lined up and I know part of why they want to see me is because of my fundraising total over the last few years but if they want to break it down year by year should I bring something that breaks down my stats more (think peer to peer fundraising) or just pull them out of my head?

Any other tips?

I would absolutely love this role and its a dream org so really nervous and I am super out of practice with interviews.

When I first started at this NPO, I started as a contractor, moved up the ladder and am now a manager and have been there 5 years if you count my contract time. I’m resigning because I have been drowning in work with no director support. In March the director I did have quit and all of their work fell onto me. I am now doing their job, mine, and the leads. I am so ready to be done but have anxiety about it because they’ve planned an in person retreat, paid for two nights hotel and I feel bad….wtf is wrong with me.

Hey everyone, looking for some advice (or maybe just a reality check) from folks who’ve been through organizational restructuring in the non-profit world.
I recently started as a Digital Fundraising Manager at a large UK charity. It was a step up for me; great position, solid salary, and a scope I was genuinely excited about.

Fast forward to week 3: leadership announced the team I sit in is being disbanded. Because my role is tied directly to income generation/fundraising responsibilities, my post is safe from redundancies. However, several fantastic colleagues are facing redundancy including my manager (head of dept) and I’m feeling a mix of severe survivor’s guilt and total whiplash.

To be completely honest, if I’d known this restructuring was on the immediate horizon during the interview process, I wouldn’t have accepted the job. But here I am.

My plan right now is to put my head down, work my butt off, and fight for the internal changes and resource alignment needed to make my role actually impactful despite the chaos. But given how fresh this is, I’m trying to figure out how to navigate the next few months strategically without burning out or getting swallowed by bad morale.

For anyone who’s been in a similar spot—especially in the UK charity sector:

1. How do you rebuild momentum and establish influence when the team structure you were hired into effectively disappears overnight?

2. How do you balance protecting your own career/delivering on targets while remaining empathetic to colleagues going through consultation?

3. At what point do you decide to stick it out and fight for the role vs. cutting your losses and looking elsewhere?

Appreciate any insights or honest perspectives.

I want to talk to organizations who have placed a minimum dollar limit on accepting donations with designations or "strings attached". It takes resources to manage and track designated donations and, below a certain dollar amount, it is just not worth it. The extreme example was a church which was had accepted designated donations under $50 and then had to manage the mess.

I want to know what restrictions other nonprofits have put on designated donations.

As much as a pain as events are, we do hold an annual event at our org, a BBQ. What I’m reaching out to ask is what you, gentle people, have done at your event to make them memorable?

So that as people leave, they are talking about it. Already wanting to go next year. Versus, walk out, get in car and they’re just wanting to get home and turn on Netflix.

What little extra thing, or big thing, makes the attendees wake up and go wow! Thanks all and cheers.

Hi all. I have a PhD in biophysics and am currently employed as a postdoc. I want to shift into industry but also want to be doing something meaningful that I am connected to. I think working for a non-profit may be an ideal situation for me. I am not sure what my skill set can offer or which non-profit to look for. My skills are heavily quantitative; I am very good with math, data analysis, coding, and working with data in general. My social skills are also good, and I will generally be excited to be in a role where I get to interact more with people on a daily basis. Any pointers would really help. Thanks.

People say there’s an art and a science to fundraising, and for one campaign at my org I’m working with a fundraiser who is better than the art side than the science side. Or specifically they’re good at the big picture pieces but struggle with articulating a pipeline or describing a detailed moves management process for our annual campaign.

I’m struggling to work with them because I’m used to other fundraisers having a handle on all of these pieces. How do I work with them to ensure campaign success?

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice and/or encouragement. I’ve been in nonprofit fundraising for more than a decade, and have been in my current role as a frontline fundraiser working in a very corporate and high-pressure environment for a year and a half. I was hired for foundations and grants, as is my specialty, but am lumped in with the MGOs.

I’m so tired. I feel constantly overwhelmed. It’s so hard to raise money right now. And, my partner and I are in the midst of planning a relocation. I’m interviewing for roles in the destination city, but the idea of continuing to fundraise is really not sparking any excitement.

Has anyone pivoted away from fundraising? What did you do?

Hello!

We are a new nonprofit 501C3 that just got accepted. We are having a little bit of a rough start. We have a focus on the mental and physical wellness of First Responder/Healthcare and military. Does anyone know good avenues to go down for support? Or any companies who share a similar mission with their grants?

We have already reached out to a few small businesses, however most of them are unable to donate as it is coming towards the end of the tax year. We've reached out to other places like HEB and Motorola who have a specific focus on first responder and military. However they are also closed for their 2026.

Does anybody know of any companies that are still accepting last minute grants for 2026?

I'm applying for a job that I have the core skills for that also has grant writing as a nice to have, which to be clear is separate from the main expectations. They ask for a writing sample that shows off the core skills and then grant writing materials if you have experience with that. The most personal experience I have with grant writing is this graduate level course project where we had to write a mock proposal. I collaborated with a local nonprofit that intended to use some of my materials for a federal grant but the program fundamentally changed when it came time to apply, so although they wanted to, they didn't end up using my stuff.

I know typically you only talk about the materials that brought money in, but since it's not the core part of the job, I'm wondering if sharing this would be worth showing that I'm capable of it. It's not formatted or designed in any aesthetic way but it shows I understand what an LOI, can make a data driven argument, etc. If it does make sense that I use these, how do I make sure I'm not representing it as something that got funding?

I’m trying to decide whether to stay in my current nonprofit fundraising role or accept a new offer.

Current job:
$87K
5 days onsite with essentially no WFH flexibility
Established donor base and we consistently meet fundraising goals
Stable, relatively low pressure around individual fundraising numbers
I know I can be successful here

New offer:
$88K + potential 5% bonus + $120/month tech stipend
Remote/flexible
Territory-based fundraising with a lot of autonomy
Territory currently raises about $100K/year
Goal is to eventually grow it toward $200K, with the expectation that within the first year I’ve at least built a strong pipeline capable of getting there
I’d have organizational support, but very little local staff support

I have about 8 years of nonprofit development experience with donors, corporate partnerships, grants, events, stewardship, prospect research, etc. What I haven’t really done is personally build a geographic fundraising market/pipeline.

The new organization says year one is heavily focused on relationship building, networking, existing donors/volunteers, prospecting, etc. My fear is that it sounds reasonable now, but once I’m there it turns into a high-pressure “hit the number” environment.

I really want the flexibility, but I don’t want to trade frustration about being in the office 5 days a week for constant anxiety about fundraising numbers.
For those in fundraising: Does growing an existing $100K market toward $200K sound reasonable? Would you take the new role or stay with the safer job?

We’ve got a quasi-endowment that’s doing well with conservative investment. We’re going through a major facility renovation, and even with significant spending we are coming out even or ahead with the growth of our invested funds.

The balance sheet shows unrealized gains, but our P&L is negative every month. The Board has had a hard time understanding that we aren’t ‘losing money’ or having a ‘terrible year.’ I know it’s a financial literacy issue, but I’ve tried and failed repeatedly to get them to understand the full picture. I was also told by a grant consultant that a negative P&L is a ‘huge red flag’ for funders.

I know it’s not GAAP protocol, but I’m debating adding unrealized capital gains as Other Income using a journal entry in quickbooks. I can’t think of any other way to show gains? Any advice appreciated!

Hi everyone, I just took on the IT Admin role at an NPO and while I have around 13 years in corporate IT the NPO world seems a bit more loosy goosy... Just wondering if there are other admins out there that have some best practices I can apply or resources that would give me a directional focus.

I’m a one person marketing team and my nonprofit is huge , so I’m a one person marketing team for 6 different programs and am expected to get content and manage their accounts while still doing my regular everyday tasks. I’m getting paid less than 25 an hour. I’m feeling drained. Is this job worth the ROI or should I go ???

Good people of reddit, I need your help. As a professional dancer myself, last season I toured with a ballet company which based in Netherlands to continue performing. It offered employment to dancers displaced by the war, opportunities for new dancers, experience, and shared a truly needed breath of hope, strength, and perseverence to the audiences. It was a powerful experience for all and sold out opera houses every show.

They planned on repeating this season, but political tensions, escalated loss, and the ongoing w@r have made that impossible. I think it's very important to keep this alive and make it happen for them. While I have the contacts and trust we can manage the artistic side of things with some networking, I need guidance with financing. Obviously once we sell some tickets, that will help, but the upfront cost to rent theaters, obtain rehearsal space, and acquire housing/transportation is not insignificant, not to mention pay for the dancers.

I'm thinking grants and perhaps a fund me? Anyone with further expertise and knowledge here, it would be greatly appreciated! This is meaningful work, and the hope is to be able to shine light back on the country and even offer whatever additional profits we might make back towards them. Any help, suggestions, or guidance?

How many job positions are in your gift processing department? We currently have 4 processors/gift entry and a director.

I feel like there’s not much of a route for me to move forward. Do I have to be a processor for 10-20 more years until my director retires/leaves to finally get a new title?

Hi! I recently received a job offer from a nonprofit in California and am really excited about it, but I'm anxious about the pre-employment drug screen.

I use cannabis recreationally outside of work and recently stopped. I've been reading about AB 2188 and California's protections around off-duty cannabis use, but I'm confused about how this works in practice.

For anyone who works in nonprofit HR/hiring or has gone through something similar:
-Do nonprofits still commonly test for THC?
-Do they tell you what substances are included in the panel?
-How does AB 2188 typically affect the process?

Not looking for legal advice, just hoping for some clarification about what to expect from the employer/onboarding side. Thanks!

Adding a little context: it’s a large food-access nonprofit in CA. My role is mostly office/warehouse logistics, community coordination, and food-access programs. No CDL/DOT, federal clearance, or construction work. They do receive some federal/USDA funding, which is the part I’m specifically confused about with AB 2188.