In moments of political volatility, climate disruption, and economic strain, nonprofits are often the first line of support. As crises intensify across the United States, so does the pressure on nonprofit organizations behind the scenes. Yet, across philanthropy, healthcare, and regional economies, a clearer truth is emerging: wellbeing can be a necessary condition for sustaining the important work of the nonprofit workforce.

In moments of political volatility, climate disruption, and economic strain, nonprofits are often the first line of support. As crises intensify across the United States, so does the pressure on nonprofit organizations behind the scenes. Yet, across philanthropy, healthcare, and regional economies, a clearer truth is emerging: wellbeing can be a necessary condition for sustaining the important work of the nonprofit workforce.

This week’s brief is wedged between devastating sociopolitical realities: large-scale unrest and injustices in Minneapolis and beyond, engineered chaos clashing with organized defiance, critical funding cuts, mounting uncertainties, and immense community grief. What we know is that it is often organizers and nonprofit workers who are attempting to hold the fabric together. Right now, nonprofit work is particularly heavy. The stakes and the emotional toll are high. Even in these dark times, there are still meaningful signals that the sector is learning: wellbeing is a condition for achieving justice.

This is our first Bi-Weekly Wellbeing Brief of 2026. This edition features four weeks (instead of the usual 2 weeks) of information on nonprofit burnout trends and innovations in workplace wellbeing. As we step into a new year, many nonprofit and social-impact professionals are returning to work with both hope and fatigue. The reality of burnout has stayed the same, and fortunately, the conversation about wellbeing has not slowed. What’s emerging is a clearer and more mature understanding that burnout is shaped by culture, crisis, systems, and curiosities about how the work will be carried ahead.

This is our last Bi-Weekly Wellbeing Brief for 2025! Although we only started this initiative a few months ago, we're thrilled to see the response from our online community. Despite Thanksgiving last week, our inbox was flooded with news on #NonprofitBurnout and #NonprofitWellbeing. Thematically, we read several articles tackling burnout as it relates to specific populations (immigration lawyers, those of Jewish faith, etc.). We’re seeing a wave of creative, structural, and even experimental solutions. The field is moving beyond “more resilience” and toward multi-layered strategies that address the roots of exhaustion.

As the holiday season emerges, burnout continues to percolate as a systemic challenge in the nonprofit sector. However, funders, local governments, and other networks are increasingly responding with strategic investments in people and structural support to curb burnout. These developments are shifting the narrative towards wellbeing being foundational to sustaining impact.