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Authors
Marla Cornelius
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services
Patrick Corvington
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Albert Ruesga
Meyer Foundation
Recent Coverage
US News and World Report
The Washington Post
Baltimore Examiner
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The San Francisco Examiner
Ready to Lead?
Next Generation Leaders Speak Out
A National Study Produced in Partnership by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Meyer Foundation and Idealist.org.
A skilled, committed, and diverse pool of next generation leaders would like to be nonprofit executive directors in the future, according to a new national survey of nearly 6,000 next generation leaders. However, the survey also finds that there are significant barriers: work-life balance, insufficient life-long earning potential, lack of mentorship and overwhelming fundraising responsibilities which may prevent many younger nonprofit staff from becoming executives.
The survey, Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out, is the largest national survey to date of emerging nonprofit leaders and was produced by the Meyer Foundation in partnership with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Idealist.org. According to the Urban Institute, there are currently more than 850,000 registered public charities in the United States. Read more
Highlighted Graphs and Charts
Graph: Do you want to be an executive director someday?
Chart: Do you want to be an executive director someday?
Chart: Ranking of preparation needs for nonprofit executive leadership
Graph: Preference for those actively seeking a job outside their current organization
Chart: Top five reasons not to pursue an executive director position
Chart: Ranking of financial concerns about committing to a career in the nonprofit sector.
Additional Resources
Click here to see additional resources on career information, retirement planning, leadership and management, as well as blogs and articles of interest about nonprofit next generation issues.
Related Publications
Daring to Lead 2006
Relentless fundraising pressure, weak boards of directors, low salaries, and lack of management support are causing many executive directors of small to mid-sized nonprofit organizations to leave their jobs. Daring to Lead 2006, a new study based on a survey of nearly 2,000 executive directors in eight metropolitan areas throughout the U.S., reports that three out of four nonprofit executive directors are likely to leave their jobs within the next five years... Download