When we presented CEP’s new report, “State of Nonprofits 2026: What Funders Need to Know” in a webinar last week, our attendees came prepared: We brought the data and you brought excellent questions.
Here, we return to some of those questions, offering answers where we can and resources where you can continue to learn. If you haven’t yet watched the webinar, you can find the recording on CEP’s YouTube channel.
(NB: These questions are edited and anonymized versions of attendee questions submitted via the chat during CEP’s May 12 webinar. Some include quotes, others are compiled versions of questions asked in different ways at various times. As such, none are attributed, but if you recognize a question here as yours, know that we thank you for your thoughtful contribution!)
Addressing Burnout
Q: Burnout has been a theme in CEP’s State of Nonprofits reports for years now — and this year’s data shows that the problem is getting worse, not better. What’s behind this trend? What, if anything, is different about this moment that we should be paying attention to?
This year’s “State of Nonprofits report” found that almost half of nonprofit leaders say their own burnout is “very much” a concern to them, up from just under 30% last year. That’s a significant increase over time.
What feels different now compared to similar periods of high demand for services (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) is that, in the last year and a half, the value of the nonprofit sector as a whole has been questioned and, in some cases, denigrated. For the many nonprofit staff who are under-resourced and navigating higher demand than ever (working at “175%” as one leader shared in our report), as well as facing broad attacks on the sector, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing a sharp uptick in burnout, lower morale, and heightened levels of stress and fear.
– CEP Research Team
Q: Restricted or unrestricted? We’re struggling with the best way to support infrastructure and staff wellness while also providing flexibility — if we reach out to our grantees to ask about these unusual, specific needs, that would result in a restricted grant. However, we normally provide unrestricted, general operating support, which they may or may not use for staff wellness or infrastructure support. What’s the best way to help?
Every nonprofit needs unrestricted dollars. Especially in a moment of rapid change, nonprofits need to adapt and that is accelerated by the flexibility provided by less restricted grants — particularly of meaningful size and duration. So, funders need to ask themselves questions about whether they’re creating restrictions that just aren’t fit for the purpose of social impact in this moment.
But general operating support grants never have been and still aren’t a panacea — and it can be hard for leaders to make the choice to spend unrestricted dollars on crucial items that contribute to staff wellness, like sabbaticals, for example. Sometimes, it can be a gift to a nonprofit leader to restrict such a gift.
General operating support grants are also not mutually exclusive with the kinds of capacity supports that many nonprofits need, and in these past months we’ve seen many funders effectively add specific support for nonprofit capacity on top of the core grants they’re making. Surdna Foundation’s Resilient Organizations Initiative is one example. Of course, listening first is important and can help funders target capacity building to nonprofits’ greatest unmet needs.
– Phil Buchanan and Kevin Bolduc
What Can Funders Do? Who Are the Exemplars?
Q: What examples do we have of private funders that are increasing giving during this challenging time so that we can share that information with our private funding leaders and boards?
We know from research we conducted last year that by August 2025, 30% of staffed foundations giving more than $5 million annually had increased payout from budgeted levels. Additionally, more than 45 foundations have now signed the Level Up Philanthropy pledge, committing to “increase grantmaking by 20% or more” or to “deliver an endowment payout rate of 8% or higher for at least two fiscal years.”
In a recent CEP blog post, Phil Buchanan makes a case for why perpetual foundations can and should step up payout, pointing to examples such as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and regional funders like Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust (hear from the Trust’s president, Dr. Laura Gerald in the webinar) and Skillman Foundation. There are many others that have been public about higher payout including the MacArthur Foundation, Margeurite Casey Foundation, and McKnight Foundation.
– CEP Research Team
Q: Sector advocacy — and risk: What are some key ways the sector can come together to better advocate for itself — both funders and nonprofits? How should organizations think about risk in doing so?
This is a much larger question — and conversation — than we can answer here! However, as Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, noted during the webinar, funders and nonprofits can come together over “courage, unity, and shared narrative.” During the conversation, she noted the importance of working together to not only build the infrastructure and political will to support the nonprofit sector, but to tell “our own story of hope and impact” to counter the misinformation campaign that has eroded trust in the sector.
In terms of risk, CEP’s “A Sector in Crisis” research published earlier this year showed that the risks to funders and nonprofits are very different. While funders are largely worried about financial, legal, and digital safety risks, many of the nonprofits we’ve surveyed and talked to are concerned about not being able to continue to operate: putting food on the tables of their community members, preventing irreversible environmental damage, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and the many other vital roles nonprofits fill in our society.
So it’s important to right-size the risk for your organization and, as CEP President Phil Buchanan and others have noted, weigh that against the risk of inaction. It’s also worth remembering that risk is mitigated when individuals and organizations move together.
– CEP Research Team
Q: Pausing to listen? In moments like this, when nonprofits are under pressure to adapt quickly and navigate uncertainty, it can be easy for listening to become secondary to urgency. But I actually think this is when strong feedback practices matter most because they help organizations stay grounded in what communities are experiencing in real time, rather than making decisions based only on assumptions, internal pressures, or funder expectations. Are there any examples of organizations doing this well?
Perhaps especially in a crisis, it can be easy to squander valuable resources if funders aren’t listening carefully to guide their own adaptation. Sadly, we’ve faced other recent crises that raise these same tensions. I always come back to a few principles about listening that range from listening only when you’re truly willing to act on what you hear, to ensuring you’re listening through multiple approaches, to ensuring that some of those approaches are comprehensive so that no one falls through the cracks. Feedback Labs and Fund for Shared Insight also have a great set of advice about how to listen appropriately and effectively in ways that help funders cut through chaos.
– Kevin Bolduc
CEP’s Research
Q: CEP’s research plans: In addition to nonprofit leader burnout, CEP’s study this year names an atmosphere of “fear” for nonprofit leaders. Is that something you will continue to track? And, relatedly, what insight, if any, does CEP have about burnout or stress at foundations in the current context?
We plan to continue to survey nonprofit and foundation leaders annually — for example, we recently put out a brief “snapshot” report that explores some of the challenges foundation leaders are experiencing in this moment, including navigating feelings of fear and anxiety at their own organizations.
But we’re always curious to know what would be most helpful for funders. If you’re interested in learning more about or supporting CEP’s research, know that you can reach out to us for more information!
– CEP Research Team
Watch the “State of Nonproifts 2026” Webinar:
