“[It] Can Be Challenging…But It Can Be More Rewarding:” A Grounded Theory Study on Surviving & Thriving in the Nonprofit World

Studies of nonprofit staff and volunteers have reported both high levels of satisfaction and high turnover rates. Can both findings be true? This study seeks to understand the holistic experiences of frontline nonprofit staff and volunteers in the process of helping beneficiaries who receive material goods from their organization. This study employed Constructivist Grounded Theory, utilizing data from 22 intensive interviews conducted between October 2023 and November 2024. Participants were primarily female (68%), identified as White (68%) or Black (32%), and ranged in age from 24 to 86. Grounded theory analysis led to the development of five categories. Frontline workers described a journey from wanting to do nonprofit work, receiving intangible benefits, acknowledging the drawbacks of their position, responding to organization rules, and ultimately being transformed. Together, these five categories formed a theory that explains how frontline nonprofit workers not only survive but thrive in the often-difficult nonprofit world. Future research should further evaluate and refine the theory of surviving and thriving in the nonprofit world by examining it with more diverse samples and across different nonprofit organizational contexts.