Florida Nonprofits Survey 2022

This 2022 edition of the Florida Nonprofits Survey gives our state insights into what the wins and challenges were for Florida’s nonprofits in 2022. While many organizations have either moved away from pandemic-related ways of operating or adapted them into their regular operations, challenges still exist for the sector. Funding and human resources – staff and volunteer – top the issues that nonprofits are facing. The sector is not immune to the struggles of other sectors, like inflation and a workforce shortage. In addition, Hurricanes Ian and Nicole hit Florida in 2022, a harsh reminder of the roles natural disasters play in our state.

Through all of the challenges, nonprofits across the state have continued to provide vital programs and services to our communities and those who need them. Every resident of Florida can support our sector by listening to what their needs are and helping them fill those needs. Key findings in this survey include:

The ongoing challenges:
  • 34% of nonprofits say funding is their biggest challenge. That includes decreased funding for programs, access to funds, and unrestricted funding. In addition, nonprofits are not able to find or leverage new sources of funding – they are heavily reliant on those who already know and invest in them.
  • Volunteers are another major challenge – 41% of organizations say it is a resource of which they need more. Avoiding burnout of current volunteers and finding new ones, while also providing different types of volunteer experiences, is something nonprofits struggle with.
  • The nonprofit sector is also experiencing staffing challenges. 27% are having trouble filling open staff positions, 25% are experiencing voluntary staff turnover, and the mental health effects on staff remains high. Some organizations have raised salaries and/or increased benefits, but not all organizations have the resources to do so.
  • The pipeline for leadership in the sector needs attention – approximately 1/3 of current CEOs will have left their jobs by 2025.
  • Although nonprofit budgets are growing, unrestricted revenue and cash reserves are not. This means that nonprofits are finding short term revenue sources for programming but may not be investing enough into the infrastructure and long term sustainability of their organizations. It also demonstrates the effect Inflation and rising costs are having on nonprofit organizations. They increase both the financial strain and the fundraising burden on nonprofit organizations.
  • Hurricane Ian affected a quarter of the nonprofits in Florida, in ways ranging from property damage to inability to provide services due to resource loss to staff being unavailable.

The bright side:
  • Providing programs and services is a bright spot for nonprofits. 46% of organizations are providing services fully in-person, and 45% served more people in 2022 than they did in 2021. Nonprofits have not had to make additional changes to the way they provide services in 2022 like they did during the pandemic.
  • In addition, 60% of nonprofits are serving the same number or more clients now than they did in 2019.
  • Some human resource wins: burnout of staff, Board members, and volunteers is about half of the level it was in 2021 and about a third of nonprofits have been able to add staff members. • Individual donors are the largest source of nonprofit fundraising, which confirms what the Giving in Florida research told us – that Floridians are generous.
  • Overall, nonprofits are much less concerned with effects from the pandemic in 2022 than they were the previous two years. Half of survey respondents say they have returned to pre-pandemic conditions of working, 30% of nonprofits are confident in their ability to stay in existence for more than 2 years, and the number of challenges and concerns that nonprofits have has been steadily decreasing.


To download the full report, click here.

To view the presentation slides click here, and to view the Zoom presentation click here.

If you have any questions, please contact lmcdermott@flnonprofits.org. 

Thank you to Wells Fargo for generously sponsoring this research.