Press Release Headlines

STUDY: Nonprofits Continue to Experience Growth While the Private Sector Remains Stagnant

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Nonprofit HR today announced the results of its ninth annual Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey, which this year indicates the nonprofit sector is continuing to project job growth, while the private sector remains stagnant. According to the survey, 57 percent of nonprofits anticipate hiring at least one new employee in 2016 (a 7 percent increase over 2015), compared to only 36 percent of for-profit companies who plan to hire, the same percent as last year. Additionally, 34 percent of nonprofit organizations increased their staff size in 2015. However, despite the growth boom in the sector, nonprofits are still lacking formal recruitment and retention strategies and budgets and are losing out on the top talent they need to grow.

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To view the infographic and full report of 2016 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey results, please visit http://www.nonprofithr.com/2016-survey/

Key Findings from the 2016 survey include:

Nonprofit Projected Growth

  • Nonprofits are projecting job growth in 2016 while the for-profit sector remains stagnant.
    • 57 percent of nonprofits anticipate hiring at least one new employee in 2016, an increase of 7 percent from last year.
    • In comparison, based on a study from Careerbuilder, only 36 percent of corporate employers anticipate hiring in 2016, the same as last year.

Recruitment Challenges

  • 33 percent of nonprofits cite an inability to hire qualified staff within a limited budget as a top staffing challenge in 2016.
  • Over 54 percent of organizations do not have a formal recruitment strategy and 71 percent do not have a formal recruitment budget.

Retention Challenges and Increased Competition for Talent

  • Retaining staff under 30 continues to be the greatest diversity challenge in the nonprofit sector.
  • Although retention is a top employment challenge, 84 percent of nonprofits do not have a formal retention strategy.
  • Additionally, 76 percent of nonprofits are unsure if they will or will not have a retention strategy in 2016.
  • The turnover rate in the nonprofit sector remains steady from last year at 19 percent.

"The last few years this survey has validated the strength of the nonprofit sector as it continues to grow, outpacing the corporate sector and holding its spot as the third largest employer in the country," said Lisa Brown Morton, CEO of Nonprofit HR. "That said, nonprofits are competing with the corporate sector for top talent. As the sector continues to experience growth and jobseekers have more options to choose from, the lack of formal recruitment and retention strategies will become an even more serious challenge to the sector. This dynamic has the potential to negatively impact nonprofits' ability to effectively achieve their missions in the future. The time for organizations to get serious about recruitment, retention and culture is now."

For more information and to download full survey results, please visit http://www.nonprofithr.com/2016-survey/

ABOUT NONPROFIT EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES SURVEY
The national Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey has been conducted by Nonprofit HR on an annual basis since 2007. The 2016 report surveyed 443 nonprofits nationwide (a representative sample of the sector) in order to provide a snapshot of current employment practices, economic trends and their implications on the nonprofit sector. Research addresses nonprofit staffing, recruitment and retention practices, including information on staff size, projected growth, recruitment strategies, budgeting and staffing challenges.

ABOUT NONPROFIT HR
Nonprofit HR is the country's only human resources firm that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations. The company provides human resources consulting, executive search and talent acquisition services, and also produces an annual study on nonprofit employment trends and various educational programming for nonprofit professionals. Nonprofit HR has offices in Washington D.C. and Chicago.

MEDIA CONTACT
Katie Nuckolls
Email
312-955-0925