Investing in Nonprofit Leaders

Nonprofit leaders are the backbone of the social sector, yet they're stretched thin - balancing competing pressures to deliver services while raising the funds needed to sustain the organization. Funders can strengthen an organization by providing core resources to those in leadership who guide mission direction and opportunities for impact.

Most funding opportunities support specific projects or programs, and there's been growing momentum around operations support. But investing in leaders themselves — often grouped under the umbrella term of "capacity building support" — deserves the same attention.

The returns compound: strengthening individual leaders doesn't just benefit them; it pays dividends for their organizations as a whole. Better leaders build better organizations.

What do nonprofit leaders need?

On behalf of our clients, harp-weaver regularly collaborates with nonprofit leaders, seeing the challenges they face and the needs they have. Many of these challenges have been identified —managing boards, fundraising, and operations, applying for uncertain funding, and addressing other challenges that arise on a regular basis. Recently, we’ve been hearing of more challenges — loss of government funding, increasing costs due to inflation while facing funding challenges, an increased need for services, and policy changes that have affected funding and operations.

The Center for Effective Philanthropy's State of Nonprofits report found that nonprofit CEOs and other leaders are under significant stress, with funding challenges among the top contributors: the share reporting that burnout is "very much a concern" jumped from 30% in 2025 to 46% in 2026.

More than ever, nonprofit leaders need support from their funding partners.

How can funders support the organization and the capacity of leaders to facilitate growth

Funders have a variety of tools that they can use to support their partners. Grants such as general operating support and capacity building grants help sustain operations while also providing professional development opportunities for executive and emerging leaders. Multi-year support demonstrates a commitment to an organization while also relieving that nonprofit of having to apply for a grant year after year, which helps build a trusted relationship toward shared goals

Funders can also create programs — whether grantmaking or operational within their own work — to support direct leadership development. The Greater Philadelphia Area has a number of leadership development opportunities focused on nonprofit leaders. Some are operated directly by funders while other funders support their grantees in participating in programs at other institutions. These opportunities provide space for leaders to network with others while also learning skills to strengthen their leadership capabilities.

Put that into practice

To put these findings and learnings into practice, we recommend that foundation staff conduct due diligence to understand the needs of their grantees and their respective nonprofit leaders.

1) Review the nonprofit ecosystem to understand sector-based needs and how they inform leaders’ work.

Understand the broader nonprofit sector needs based on available research, and how those points may provide context on your grantees’ leaders’ experiences.

2) Listen to your partners.

While research across this sector helps inform knowledge of the current environment, it’s vital that funders spend time listening to their grantee in order to understand their specific situation and experiences. As the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) article references, grantees need a listening partner and safe space for reflection to air their concerns, reduce stress, and consider solutions.

3) Make suggestions based on the above.

Listening to their grantees’ leaders can help funders devise appropriate programs or opportunities for consideration and participation.

At harp-weaver, we work closely with funders who care about leadership development to invest in these capabilities — whether through advising the development of their own programs, conducting research in the space, or bringing grantee voices into grantmaking program design. Across each of these engagements, our goal is the same: help funders translate their commitment to leaders into practical, lasting support.

Conclusion

In many ways, investing in nonprofit leaders is about strengthening the aligned mission you look to achieve. All leaders need personal investment, particularly as it relates to how and why they lead. When funders take that into consideration and support those efforts, they are strengthening the overall nonprofit sector with the executive tools to make a greater difference.

Developing today's leaders and building up the next generation with the readiness and capacity to become leaders is something larger than just addressing current issues; it's about securing the future of nonprofits and their ability to fulfill their public mission.