People enter nonprofit work because they care about what happens to their communities. That commitment often carries them through difficult budgets, unexpected needs, and a long list of responsibilities. But it cannot make an impossible workload possible.

At Equilibria Strategies, we are taking a closer look at the connection between organizational decisions and the people who carry them out. Our first area of development under Strategy in Common will focus on sustainable leadership and organizational capacity.

What nonprofit leaders are telling researchers

In its 2026 State of Nonprofits report, the Center for Effective Philanthropy found that 46% of surveyed nonprofit CEOs said their own burnout was very much a concern, compared with just under 30% in 2025. Another 25% said burnout was significantly affecting their staff, and 66% expressed concern about their organization's financial stability.

These are different measures. They reflect leaders' reported concerns and perceptions, not clinical burnout diagnoses for either executives or employees. The report reflects a national panel of U.S. nonprofits receiving foundation funding. It does not describe every organization, and it does not establish what is happening specifically among small nonprofits in New Mexico.

Still, these findings merit attention from executives, boards, and funders. They connect workforce concerns to a difficult operating environment. When demand and responsibility increase while funding remains uncertain, organizations have to make decisions about what work they can responsibly sustain.

Why I am starting with the organization

I have spent more than two decades in nonprofit and association leadership. I know how easily a small team can spend its days responding to what is urgent while important questions about priorities, staffing, governance, and budgets wait for another meeting.

Sometimes the most useful conversation begins with a few direct questions. What are we asking people to do? Which commitments matter most? Who has the authority to make a decision? What can we stop, simplify, share, or delay? What support would make the plan realistic?

The World Health Organization's 2022 guidelines on mental health at work recognize organizational interventions that address psychosocial risks such as workload and work organization. Its recommendation for universal organizational interventions is conditional, based on very low-certainty evidence. That limitation matters. It supports taking working conditions seriously without claiming that any particular consulting method has proved it can reduce burnout.

The U.S. Surgeon General's Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being adds an important dimension: worker voice and equity. A workplace cannot understand its pressures by listening only to the people who hold the budget or write the strategic plan. Employees should have a meaningful opportunity to explain what happens as they do the work, with appropriate protections for their privacy and dignity.

What we plan to explore

Our first concept is a Sustainable Leadership Review for small nonprofit organizations. We are considering a limited engagement that examines responsibilities, workloads, board and staff decision-making, resources, and a few changes that leaders could realistically carry forward.

We are not presenting this as a finished or tested program. Before offering it, we want to speak with nonprofit executives, staff, board leaders, and potential funders; compare existing tools and services; and learn whether organizations would use and pay for this kind of support. If those conversations support the concept, we will seek one paid pilot with agreed deliverables and measures of usefulness.

Our intent is to focus on decisions teams can act on. A review might lead to a shorter list of priorities, clearer authority, a manageable 90-day work plan, or a decision to hold off on a new initiative. Those would be practical outputs, not evidence that burnout has declined. We would evaluate the pilot on its own terms.

Restoration and collaboration remain part of the longer view

Over time, I also want to connect this work to two related interests: restoration for people leading social change and collaboration that helps organizations share responsibilities more thoughtfully.

Coaching, meditation, and reflective practice can give leaders space to consider boundaries and decisions. They cannot solve inadequate staffing, unsafe workplaces, or financial insecurity. Likewise, collaboration may help organizations use resources together, but it can also create new demands. We will treat both areas as possibilities to explore rather than automatic solutions.

My hope is straightforward. I want Equilibria to help organizations make choices that respect their mission, their resources, and their people. The next step is to listen carefully, check what others have already learned, and begin with one manageable test.

If you lead, work for, govern, or fund a small nonprofit, I would welcome a conversation about what makes your work sustainable and what currently gets in the way. Book a conversation or email connect@equilibriastrategies.com.

Sources and context

Editorial note: This article introduces an area of practice we intend to investigate. It does not report evaluation findings for an Equilibria program or claim a newly discovered research gap. The featured photograph illustrates workplace discussion; it does not depict a client or research participant.

Written by Kelli Bohannon for The Work in Motion Blog.

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