Insights
CEO departures at record levels in 2025: a look behind the trend and how nonprofits are responding
July 2025
Staff turnover has been an area of concern for businesses and organizations since Baby Boomer retirements began accelerating in 2019. Then came the Great Resignation beginning in 2021, as American workers began to reevaluate their career goals, priorities and expectations for work-life balance. While the rate at which workers were quitting jobs leveled off in 2023, the rate at which CEOs who are leaving their jobs—particularly in the nonprofit sector—is reaching record levels in 2025.
This news is likely startling for nonprofit boards who are already dealing with multiple challenges such as rising costs, retrenchment in government resources, increased need for services and general uncertainty. In order to help nonprofit board members and leaders proactively respond to this moment, we took a deep dive into the literature to explore what’s behind it and how innovative organizations are addressing it.
Record level CEO departures
In June, the Houston Business Journal (HBJ) reported that 860 CEOs had left their jobs this year through April, an increase of 15% from the same time period last year. Based on the data reported by HBJ, it is the highest number they have ever recorded January through April. The government/nonprofit sector had the highest number of CEO exits in that period and continued to have the highest number of changes through May.
What’s behind the trend?
While timing is certainly a factor—HBJ pointed out that many companies focused on “talent and workforce planning” in the second quarter—a closer look reveals the tremendous pressures being faced by nonprofit CEOs. In February and early March of 2024, the Chronicle of Philanthropy surveyed more than 350 CEOs about their on-the-job experiences to learn more about the challenges they face and how they’re managing them. While the majority of the leaders reported a high level of job satisfaction (96 percent), many say they feel a great deal of pressure to succeed and struggle with work/life balance.
In recent years, the usual pressure has been compounded by increased demand for nonprofit services amid funding uncertainties and rising costs. In a 2024 survey of nonprofit leaders, 73 percent reported increased demand for their programs within the past year while 81 percent reported higher operating costs—an average increase of 15 percent. The Center for Effective Philanthropy reports that in early 2025, many nonprofit leaders were expecting costs to continue to rise without a corresponding increase in revenue, potentially forcing them to make difficult decisions regarding staffing and tapping into reserve funds. With so much uncertainty and extra strain on staff as they try to do less with more, burnout is a top concern for nonprofit CEOs—for themselves and their teams.
Nearly two-thirds of the CEOs in the Chronicle of Philanthropy survey said their jobs have been made more difficult due to “the country's polarization—over politics, race and culture.” A third said that they're likely to leave their job within two years; twenty-two percent say they are likely to leave the nonprofit world altogether.
How are nonprofit boards and leaders responding to this market?
As with any storm nonprofits have weathered, from recessions to COVID, the key to riding out this particular squall is flexibility, creativity and strategic planning.
Easing the Strain
To help ease the strain on CEOs and compete for talent, nonprofit boards need to focus on trends in leader preferences and motivations—especially as younger generations advance in their careers. Organizations that create a flexible culture capable of supporting the goals and preferences of their employees will be not only more competitive in recruitment, but more successful in retaining staff.
Board support can make or break a CEOs experience. Nearly 40 percent of CEOs in the Chronicle of Philanthropy survey said they don’t have engaged boards, and less than a quarter of respondents said their board members are enthusiastic fundraisers. With fundraising taking up a large amount of many nonprofit leaders’ time, board members can make a huge impact by helping strategize, connecting leaders with potential donors and making asks themselves.
With increasing concern over job burnout, benefits that focus on physical, mental and financial health are becoming increasingly important to CEOs when seeking new opportunities. More nonprofits are offering benefits such as free access to mental health apps or stress management classes, demonstrating an awareness of the challenges their leaders navigate and a commitment to supporting them.
Investing in Top Talent
Salaries for nonprofit CEOs have increased in recent years in response to a tighter leadership talent market. With the increase in departures, this trend is likely to continue. In a July Forbes article, Founder and CEO of the nonprofit Well Aware Sarah Evans argues that the “low overhead ratio narrative” that persists in the nonprofit sector has been harmful in recruiting top talent since it suggests that investing in people is wasteful. She challenges nonprofit leaders to be more transparent about the real costs involved in generating sustainable results. While factors such as organizational size, budget and even regulatory standards influence compensation, nonprofit boards are increasingly recognizing that CEOs shoulder tremendous responsibility and should be paid accordingly.
Succession Planning
Finally, boards aren’t waiting for the CEO to announce their departure plans before starting to think about succession planning. Once viewed as primarily a tool for corporate boardrooms, many nonprofit boards now realize the importance of having a plan for the eventual departure of their leader, whether it occurs in a month, a year or several years. Strategically thinking about how to navigate planned and unplanned transitions, how the organization will manage the transition time between CEOs and other key actions the organization will need to undertake through the loss of their leader are key to success in these turbulent times. Besides helping organizations minimize the disruptions the CEO departure can cause by creating an action plan for the transition and search, proactive succession planning can help strengthen teams by developing internal talent. And even if an internal team member isn’t ready to take on a CEO role when departure occurs, mentorship helps ensure that valuable organizational knowledge isn’t lost when a leader leaves.
Image by Pawel Czerwinski