Seven in ten nonprofit employees are currently looking for the exit, and they aren’t just leaving for better pay. They’re fleeing broken internal systems and "accidental" managers who haven't been trained to lead. If you’ve felt like the traditional nonprofit model is dead, the data backs you up.
Evan Wildstein co-leads the Social Impact Staff Retention Report (SISR), a longitudinal study on why people stay or leave the sector. He’s an in-house leader who’s tired of "self-care" talk that doesn't fix the workload, and he’s got the data to prove where the sector is failing its best people.
// Why the "unsure group" is your biggest risk and how one bad manager seals their fate.
// The "Plumbing vs. Paint" paradox and why organizations keep ignoring the leaks under the sink to focus on branding.
// Why backfilling a role without auditing the workload is a recipe for immediate turnover.
// The "Adjacent" shift: Why 12% of the workforce is eyeing coaching and fractional work as their preferred escape hatch.
// The truth about "passion for the mission"—and why it won't pay a utility bill or fix a 60-hour work week.
"The nonprofit sector you and I knew is dead. Stop trying to revive it."