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TREC Research & News Stressed but Steadfast:
Executive Summary
 Our
study found that executive directors at environmental organizations in
the Western United States and Canada are generally satisfied in their
positions, but they are struggling with the demands associated with
keeping their organizations afloat financially. Not surprisingly,
those few executive directors in very large organizations (with
budgets of more than $1 million) that are able to hire additional
management and fundraising staff, and who receive substantial
salaries, feel the least stress and plan to stay in their jobs the
longest.
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The great majority of the executive directors in our survey,
however, work in smaller, newer organizations whose budgets are less
than $500,000. These executive directors have less assistance from
other staff, receive lower salaries, and more often report feeling
stressed on the job, particularly by the organization’s fundraising
needs. Although these executive directors are planning shorter
tenures with their organizations, most do not see themselves leaving
in less than three to five years, which is in keeping with other
recent studies.
In both large and small organizations, executive directors are
hampered by not receiving adequate fundraising assistance from their
Boards of Directors, no matter how otherwise supported by the Board
the executive director feels. This deficiency may have stronger
consequences for the majority of executive directors in smaller
organizations, as they are likely to need the Board’s help more in
the absence of supporting staff.
According to our data, women are gaining experience in leadership
positions in the environmental field, which has long been dominated
by men. Although women mainly lead smaller nonprofits, they are
beginning to be hired in the top positions in larger organizations
as well. People of color, on the other hand, are woefully
underrepresented among
environmental executive directors.
These findings suggest a number of actions—for Boards, funders,
technical assistance providers, and executive directors
themselves—that might help leaders in the majority of environmental
organizations work with less stress. Being less likely to burn out,
they may remain in the environmental sector longer. Key among these
actions are the following:
- Boards of Directors must recognize their fiduciary
responsibility for their organizations and team more deliberately
with executive directors in fundraising.
- Funders should provide longer-term funding and in larger
amounts, along with funding for infrastructure to enable
organizations to stabilize.
- Technical assistance providers should develop a range of
support services specifically for executive directors, including
joint fundraising training for executive directors and Board
members, support forums for leaders to vent frustrations and learn
from one another, and training in management and leadership
skills.
- Executive directors must commit themselves to strengthening
their Boards of Directors’ understanding of their financial role. They must also put their own role in perspective by focusing
on developing their leadership skills.
- All key actors should continue to nurture gender and
racial/ethnic diversity in the environmental sector.
Stressed
but Steadfast (PDF) - the full report
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