Media Contact: Chloe Heskett | chloeh@cep.org | 617-395-4092
CAMBRIDGE, MA – In a new report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), most foundation leaders report concern about the state of staff well-being at organizations they fund. However, about half of foundations engage in practices to support grantee staff well-being.
The new study follows on the heels of CEP’s second annual State of Nonprofits report, which finds that burnout remains a top concern for nonprofit leaders, many of whom see the issue as impacting their organizations’ ability to achieve their missions.
“CEP’s State of Nonprofits 2024 highlighted that burnout remains top of mind for nonprofit leaders across the country, both for their staff and themselves,” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D., vice president, Research, at CEP. “We hope this new Research Snapshot on well-being helps foundations and nonprofits work together to find ways to fight burnout and support the well-being of staff and leaders that are doing critical work with communities across the country.”
The report released today examines funders’ perspectives and actions on the well-being and burnout of staff at the organizations they fund (grantee organizations). The data reveals:
- 18% of foundation leaders say they possess a “deep” understanding of staff well-being at funded organizations.
- 25% of foundation leaders report a limited understanding or no understanding of staff well-being at funded organizations.
- 38% of foundation leaders indicated that staff burnout is a concern for most or all of their grantees.
- 42% of foundation leaders report that grantee burnout has a moderate to significant impact on their foundation’s ability to achieve its mission.
- Half of foundation leaders report that their foundation is engaging in practices to support the well-being of staff at organizations they fund.
- Foundation leaders who report a deep understanding of staff well-being at organizations they fund are almost twice as likely to engage in practices to support staff well-being.
Foundations that support grantee well-being report using a number of practices to do so, including asking about staff well-being during check-ins with grantees, providing capacity-building grants to support well-being, and offering knowledge about well-being practices.
Read the full report at
The Center for Effective Philanthropy provides data, feedback, programs, and insights to help individual and institutional donors improve their effectiveness. We do this work because we believe effective donors, working collaboratively and thoughtfully, can profoundly contribute to creating a better and more just world.
