How Are Nonprofit Workers Doing? Investigating the Personal and Professional Impact of COVID-19

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/cjnser565

Keywords:

COVID-19, nonprofit finances, nonprofit operations, nonprofit workers

Abstract

COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges to the nonprofit sector, and while evidence is accruing about its impact on nonprofit finances and operations, less is known about how nonprofit workers are faring. With so many organizations in the increasingly professionalized nonprofit sector reliant upon their paid staff, this study assesses how COVID-19 has changed the way nonprofit workers think about their current and future work. We use a survey of nonprofit workers who have a nonprofit graduate degree to describe pandemic-related work changes and to explore the impact of these changes on their commitment to the sector. Our findings reveal that nonprofit workers are nuanced in how they approach their work and commitment to the sector. We distill our findings considerate of how future research should endeavor to unpack the degree to which workers’ personal and professional circumstances affect how they think about their work in the sector.

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Author Biographies

Kerry Kuenzi, Public and Environmental Affairs, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay

Kerry Kuenzi is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Email: kuenzik@uwgb.edu

Marlene Walk, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Marlene Walk is an Assistant Professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI, 801 West Michigan Street, BS3025, Indianapolis, IN.  Email:  mwalk@iupui.edu

Amanda Stewart, North Carolina State University

Amanda J. Stewart is an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University in the School of Public and International Affairs, 207 Caldwell Hall, Raleigh, NC USA.  Email: ajstewa5@ncsu.edu

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Published

2022-10-20

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2022)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Kerry Kuenzi, Marlene Walk, Amanda Stewart

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