Managing Nonprofit Burnout by Building Fortitude
A growing share of nonprofit professionals reports real concerns about burnout, a trend that will only continue without deliberate intervention. In fact, in the 2026 State of Nonprofit Report, a staggering 89% of nonprofit leaders expressed concerns about burning out, up significantly from 2025.
Our last post on nonprofit burnout took a light approach, mixing dark humor with real self-preservation tips. This post takes a more serious turn, drawing from the research two nationally recognized researchers, Dr. Stephen Hippler and Dr. Laurence Weinzimmer, presented at the August 4 OneTable QC workshop on the topic.
Contrary to popular belief, burnout does not stem solely from long hours or a difficult work environment. Hippler and Weinzimmer’s research shows that burnout grows out of a persistent gap between the demands placed on someone and the resources available to meet them. Too many priorities, unclear expectations, and thin staffing all count as demands. Skills, time, energy, and support all count as resources. When that gap continues unaddressed, stress turns into frustration, and frustration, left unresolved, leads to burnout.
They also point out that demands do not only come from the work environment. We have demands placed on us at home and in our personal lives. Our bodies cannot distinguish between the two; stress is stress. When I had a young son, I remember somewhat kiddingly saying that I went to work “to rest.” At that time, my personal stress outweighed my professional stress, but either – or both – could have led to burnout.
Rather than waiting for burnout to hit and trying to bounce back from it, Hippler and Weinzimmer point toward something better: building your internal capacity to avoid getting knocked down in the first place. They call this capacity fortitude.
Their research offers an encouraging finding — people can build fortitude deliberately, at any stage of a career, and doing so measurably lowers the risk of burnout.
Their framework breaks down a handful of practical habits that you can begin to implement immediately to reduce your risk of burnout.
Every day, reconnect with your purpose. Ask yourself why this work matters; name what draws you to the mission rather than what frustrates you. If you have a backroom job, intentionally and frequently connect with your clients and your mission to remind you why your work matters. If you have a client facing role, look for the differences you make every day, especially the small ones that add up to changed lives.
Build real skills, not just endurance. Much of what looks like burnout actually traces back to a missing skill — a new manager unsure how to run a meeting, a new development staff person without confidence in grant writing. Invest in training before frustration sets in, particularly in year 2 or 3 of your role, since that window carries the highest risk of burnout and turnover. They point out that in addition to hard skills, work on your time management, communication, and political skills to further build your fortitude.
Set and hold boundaries. Decide in advance what falls inside your hard stops and what falls outside them, then model that behavior openly and communicate it with others. Block off your calendar for thinking time or to attend your child’s sporting event. Decide when you will and will not respond to emails.
Grow a support network before a crisis hits, not during one. Build relationships with colleagues, mentors, family, or friends while things go well, so support already exists once things get hard. When things get tough – or start to get tough – reach out to your network. Too often we wear burnout and stress as badges of honor, not wanting to burden others with our problems – or seem weak in their eyes. That only hurts you in the long run.
Reframe setbacks as information, not verdicts. Perhaps my favorite piece of advice from their talk: perfectionism kills fortitude. Strive for excellence, not perfection, and learn from your mistakes. Treat a missed grant or a difficult donor meeting as useful data rather than proof of failure. How can you learn from this mistake to not repeat it in the future?
Practice purposeful gratitude. A brief, consistent habit of naming 3 things that went right during a hard week measurably lowers stress reactivity. When you look for the good, you shift your mindset and everything tends to look cheerier.
While these habits focus on building your own fortitude, organizational leaders should also model them and coach their staff to build their fortitude. Whether intended not, a leader who answers email at midnight teaches their team to do the same. A team absorbs a leader's self-talk more than a leader often realizes. Model that process out loud for staff — “well, that did not work, next time I will try this” — rather than falling into silent self-criticism. Finally, build gratitude into regular staff meetings or shared team channels so the whole team benefits from the practice.
Which of these habits could you put into practice this week, for yourself first, and then for the team you lead?
