Social Impact Staff Retention Project
The 2025 Social Impact Staff Retention (SISR) survey responses are now closed. The data and report will be released early next year—please sign up below for receive updates.
Launched in 2024, the Social Impact Staff Retention research project (SISR) collects data on nonprofit worker engagement. Respondents are asked whether they are seeking new jobs (or will be over the next year), whether they are not, and why. Details are also collected about tenure, scope of work, and whether job seekers plan to stay in the nonprofit sector or look to other fields.
Keep scrolling for the inaugural report (2024) findings, and to sign up for updates about SISR and the state of nonprofit work.
Findings from 2024
Among other striking details, the inaugural SISR survey found 7 in 10 nonprofit employees were looking for/considering new jobs, two-thirds of whom were unsure if they would stay in the social sector. For information on the findings, click the following links.
Infographic
Findings & Recommendations
Interview (We Are For Good)
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on the state of nonprofit work.
About SISR.
In the fall of 2023, working through social networks and directly with nonprofit organizations and their employees, the Social Impact Staff Retention survey was administered online. Responses were collected from a random sample of nonprofiteers across the United States (n=260). Participants were CEO/founders, IT professionals, fundraisers, marketers, and beyond — no one group held a majority. Responses came from a range of experiences as well, from fewer than 5 years working in nonprofits to more than 30. The survey collection was kept anonymous to improve results.
About the project leads.
Michelle Flores Vryn brings 15+ years of nonprofit experience to the table with expertise spanning various aspects of development — from major gifts and institutional giving to capital campaigns and digital fundraising. Contact Michelle.
Evan Wildstein is a nonprofiteer with 20+ years of experience in fundraising, strategy, and operations. He recently published The Nonprofiteer’s Fundraising Field Guide, the first critical review of philanthropy through the lens of servant-leadership. Contact Evan.