Funders Should Support Nonprofit Leadership Transitions — Now
Offering individualized support to new CEOs can increase their chances of success and stabilize organizations during times of change. Here are key ways funders can make an impact.
[This is a short extract of my article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. You can read the full article here.]
Being a first-time CEO at a nonprofit can feel quite overwhelming. That was certainly my experience, and it’s the consistent feedback I receive when coaching new executives. This should not be surprising given the pressure and myriad responsibilities that come with these jobs.
What is surprising is that newly minted leaders rarely receive structured support during their early months. Funders should do more to support new CEOs and ensure that the leaders and organizations they invest in are equipped to thrive during a leadership change.
Why Support New Leaders
First-time CEOs have to deal with the usual challenges of leading a nonprofit, manage the uncertainty that comes with a change in organizational leadership, and come to grips with being in the top job. That is asking a lot of any leader. It is no wonder so many struggle in their first CEO role and a significant percentage fail—to the detriment of these individuals and the organizations they serve.
Nonprofit leadership is tough in the best of times. And these are not the best of times. Today’s leaders are contending with ever-tightening government budgets; unrelenting challenges of fundraising and complicated board dynamics; decisions about how best to respond to important, contested issues like the Israel-Gaza war and DEI; and in the United States, the impacts of a potentially stricter regulatory environment.
Incoming CEOs face a host of additional challenges. Many funders pause or reduce their support during times of leadership change. Most new executives are recruited externally, with research showing that outside hires take twice as long to get up to speed as internal ones, and a significant proportion fail within the first 18 months.
Many first-time CEOs are not used to looking at the big picture — or over the horizon —and they are often overwhelmed by the loneliness of the role, feeling they have no one to turn to when dealing with particularly difficult problems.
Further, as nonprofits make a long-overdue push to diversify their leadership, boards and organizations often fail to consider the unique pressures placed on new leaders of color and others who have been marginalized. A 2022 survey by the Building Movement Project found that incoming executives of color lack the support provided to their white counterparts, are asked to do more for lower pay, and feel less trusted by their boards.
If we want to pay more than lip service to the undoubted need for more diversity of identity and lived experience among nonprofit leaders — and for more successful first-time CEOs in general — then we need to give them ample support to maximize their chances of thriving. That support should be thoughtful and tailored to the pressures and challenges they are likely to face and to the talents, expertise, and perspectives they bring.
How Funders Can Help
Grant makers have the clout to encourage nonprofits and their boards to better support new leaders and to provide resources to help them do so. Here are key ways funders can improve leadership transitions.
[You can continue to read the full in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, here.]