Nonprofit Directors Aren’t Superhuman...

...and It’s Time We Stopped Pretending.

 

Karin Maney is a Consultant and Grant Writer with the Elemental Group team. She received her MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and spent over a decade as the Executive Director of the Community Building Institute Middletown, Ohio. Karin has extensive experience writing both private foundation and government grants as well as grants management expertise. 

When I began as Executive Director for a startup nonprofit in Greater Cincinnati, our mission was clear: to combat staggering poverty.

With a modest budget of $125,000 and three part-time staff members, we launched our work. Over eleven years, we transformed into a thriving $1.5 million organization with over 30 employees, building programs that fundamentally changed lives—a baby pantry, high-quality after-school programs, and adult education including workforce development, ESL, and HSE courses. By every external measure, our work flourished. Internally, however, I was collapsing.

As the organization expanded, my role multiplied to include staff support, budget management, program expansion, fundraising, grant writing, compliance, and board reporting. I poured endlessly into others, convinced that the leader’s job was to sustain everyone else, without realizing I desperately needed support myself. This is the central paradox of nonprofit leadership: success often leads to increased isolation and burden. Leaders are celebrated for their resilience, but rarely given the space to acknowledge their own limits. This is why coaching, development, and external resources are not luxuries, but necessities.

The Cost of Ignoring Leadership Health

Burnout is an epidemic in the sector. According to the Building Movement Project’s "Race to Lead Revisited" report, 45% of nonprofit leaders report experiencing burnout, with women and leaders of color facing even higher rates. A Bridgespan Group study found that executive turnover is a major risk, often costing an organization up to 150% of a leader’s salary in disruption and recruitment.

Despite this risk, leadership support remains inadequate. A Stanford Graduate School of Business survey revealed that while nearly two-thirds of nonprofit leaders want coaching or external development, less than one-third actually receive it. Furthermore, BoardSource research shows that nonprofit executives consistently cite isolation as one of their top three challenges—a problem that peer networks are specifically designed to solve.

The Two Biggest Traps

Nonprofit leaders and their boards often fall into two critical traps regarding leadership development:

1. “We can’t afford it.” In tight budget environments, leadership support is often sacrificed, deemed "overhead" instead of infrastructure. This mindset is shortsighted. Organizations with well-supported executives consistently demonstrate stronger outcomes, raise more money, and retain staff longer. Not investing in the leader ultimately imposes a far greater cost on the mission itself. 

2. “I don’t have time—it feels selfish.” Nonprofit leaders are masters of sacrifice, making time for personal growth feel indulgent. However, leadership support is about stewarding the mission wisely. Making space for a retreat or a coaching session directly strengthens the organization's foundation.

A Call to Action

Sustaining the leader is synonymous with sustaining the mission. To ensure nonprofits can continue their vital work, we need a systemic shift:

· Boards: Budget for executive coaching and leadership development just as you would for core program expenses. Ask your Executive Director, "How are you doing?"—not just "How is the organization doing?"

· Funders: Design grants that explicitly include capacity-building funds for leadership development. A dollar invested in executive health can have a tenfold positive impact on the community.

· Leaders: Give yourself permission. Proactively build support systems now—such as peer cohorts and coaching—before burnout forces a crisis.

Looking back, I wish I had understood that investing in myself was not a matter of indulgence but of essential stewardship. The ultimate takeaway for the sector is this: supporting the leader is not a luxury; it is a necessity. If we’re truly committed to the mission, we must invest in the people who carry its weight. When leaders are thriving, missions not only survive but have the capacity to transform communities.

Karin Maney | The Elemental Group

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Did you know The Elemental Group works extensively with faith-based nonprofits and not just churches? Everything from fundability assessments to strategic planning, business development, grant writing, and more. Click here to check out our free 12-question “Pulse Check” for a quick self-assessment of your organization’s health and effectiveness!