Burnout Is Breaking the People Who Keep Things Going

How nonprofits can protect their teams—and their mission—by making wellbeing part of the work

Burnout is no longer a background issue in the nonprofit world. It’s the backdrop. Quietly shaping how people show up, how long they stay, and whether the work feels sustainable at all.

Recent studies point to a growing crisis: Nearly half of nonprofit professionals report feeling chronically exhausted. Many are considering leaving the sector—not because they’ve stopped believing in the cause, but because they’ve stopped believing they can survive it.

This matters. When people burn out, it doesn’t just affect them. It affects teams. Communities. Entire missions. The human infrastructure that supports social change starts to crack.

Why It’s Happening

The reasons aren’t mysterious. They’re systemic—and painfully familiar:

• Underfunding. Teams are expected to deliver more impact with fewer resources.
• Staff shortages. When someone leaves, there’s often no one to replace them. The load simply shifts to whoever’s left.
• Compassion fatigue. Constant exposure to need and urgency takes a toll, especially when change feels slow.
• Blurred boundaries. Many people working in nonprofits feel a deep personal connection to the work. But without clear lines between work and self, exhaustion becomes identity-level.

Over time, this chronic strain isn’t just tiring. It’s disorienting. People start to lose their sense of clarity, energy, and purpose.

Why Staff Wellbeing Isn’t a Luxury

There’s still a tendency in some circles to treat staff wellbeing as an extra—something nice to offer when the real work is done. But here’s the truth: if you ignore wellbeing, the work doesn’t get done. Not well, and not for long.

Think of it this way: If a parent is constantly running on empty, they’ll struggle to be present for their children—not for lack of love, but because capacity has limits. The same is true for nonprofit teams. You can’t offer energy you don’t have. You can’t model care if your system is frayed.

Taking care of staff is not a tradeoff. It’s the foundation. It’s how you build the kind of presence, resilience, and clarity that long-term change requires.

Coaching as Culture Care

Coaching isn’t a fix-all. But it does create space. Space to step out of the constant doing and look at what’s actually happening—without judgment or pressure. It offers structure for reflection and tools for resilience.

Here’s what changes when coaching becomes part of how a team operates:

• Performance is redefined. It’s not just about what gets done. It’s about how people feel doing it—engaged, aligned, seen.
• Connection deepens. Team coaching opens space for mutual understanding and clearer collaboration.
• Clarity returns. When the fog of exhaustion lifts, people remember why they’re here. And how to work in ways that don’t cost their wellbeing.

This isn’t just about preventing burnout. It’s about creating cultures where people can contribute from a place of wholeness, not depletion.

What Leaders Can Ask

If you’re leading a team—or part of one—this moment invites reflection:

• Are we building a culture that protects people’s energy, not just their output?
• Do we treat care as part of the work—or something to figure out on your own?
• Are we willing to try new approaches that support both mission and humanity?

Coaching can be one of those approaches. It’s not flashy. It doesn’t promise instant transformation. But done well, it helps people work with more clarity, more trust, and more capacity to stay in the work—not just for a season, but for the long haul.