COEUR d’ALENE — Nonprofit organizations across Idaho are struggling to hire and retain the employees who deliver essential community services in areas like food assistance, mental health services, education and the arts, according to a new report from the Idaho Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Center program.

Nonprofits make up Idaho’s fourth-largest private workforce, according to the Idaho Community Foundation, employing an estimated 79,000 people across the state. 

Idaho nonprofits are operating in a tight and competitive labor market, with one in five organizations reporting open positions they’re unable to fill. 

“People are the programs,” said Vice President of Impact & Nonprofit Center at the Idaho Community Foundation, Kevin Bailey. “When a nonprofit can’t hire a case manager, there’s a family that doesn’t get housing support. When a youth mentor leaves and can’t be replaced, there’s a teenager who loses a lifeline. This report is a warning signal that the workforce we rely on to keep our communities strong is under significant strain.” 

Developed in partnership with Boise State University’s Idaho Policy Institute and nonprofit associations across the Northwest, the report includes responses from 180 Idaho organizations, representing a range of missions, budgets and regions. 

The report found that average turnover for Idaho nonprofits is 27% for full-time staff and 37% for part-time staff, which the foundation said creates instability for organizations and the people they serve. 

“These numbers translate into real impacts in communities,” Bailey said. “When nonprofits are consistently short-staffed, waitlists get longer, burnout gets worse and it’s harder for Idahoans to access the programs they count on.” 

In response to hiring and retention challenges, many organizations reported expanding flexible work schedules, enhancing medical and dental benefits and increasing professional development opportunities. 

Nicole Hammons, development director for Safe Passage, said access to mental health support and personal days has played a big role in staff retention. A positive office culture that implements staff outings and other activities has also helped. 

“Our work is pretty heavy, so making sure people are taken care of is important,” Hammons said. 

Safe Passage sees little staff turnover, Hammons said, with most of the roughly 35 employees having been on board for five years or longer. She said the team's small, close-knit nature makes a difference. 

“We’re lucky in the sense that, when we get employees, they want to stay,” she said. 

Among organizations facing hiring challenges, 73% increased compensation, according to the report, but average increases ranged from 5% for executives to 9% for operational support staff. Many nonprofits struggle to match the wages offered in other sectors. 

“Nonprofit staff are often the first phone call when someone loses housing, needs mental health support, or is searching for care for an aging parent,” Bailey said. “It is not acceptable for the people holding our safety net together to be one paycheck away from needing those same services themselves. Idaho’s communities are stronger when the people doing this work are paid fairly and have access to solid benefits.”