by: Saul Ettlin
The nonprofit sector is under extraordinary strain. The recently released State of Nonprofits 2026 report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy paints a sobering picture: rising burnout, unstable funding, reductions in workforce, increased demand for services, and growing operational uncertainty are pushing many organizations to the brink.
Nearly half of nonprofit CEOs report that burnout is now “very much a concern,” while 73% say demand for services has increased dramatically. At the same time, almost 60% report it has become harder to secure foundation funding, and 39% of nonprofits ended the year operating at a deficit.
Included in the report is a path for resilience: nonprofits are adapting through collaboration.
Organizations are increasingly sharing services, co-locating programs, collaborating on fundraising, and exploring joint operational models to reduce costs and strengthen impact. While these can help alleviate stresses, they are not just near-term fixes. They point toward a larger shift in how nonprofit infrastructure needs to evolve in the years ahead. This is where nonprofit centers can play an important role.
While not a panacea, nonprofit shared space can address many of the pressures by reducing overhead costs, fostering partnerships, and creating community among mission-driven organizations. These shared spaces can help nonprofits move from isolation toward collective resilience.
Lowering Costs in a Difficult Funding Environment
The CEP report highlights that nonprofits are actively considering reducing office space and cutting other expenses in response to financial instability. For many organizations, occupancy costs remain one of the largest fixed expenses after staffing. Shared space offers a practical solution.
When nonprofits co-locate, they can create space efficiencies by sharing conference rooms, kitchens, copy and mail rooms, common areas, and event space. They can also consolidate real estate operations such as reception services, technology infrastructure, internet service, janitorial support, and security. In many nonprofit centers, organizations also share back-office functions including accounting, communications, and IT.
Community Spaces Network’s 2024 State of the Shared Space Sector report revealed that 92% of tenants receive below-market-rate rent and 84% have access to better resources than they could secure on their own.
These efficiencies matter. In a moment when organizations are “tightening operations,” shared infrastructure can help preserve scarce dollars for mission delivery.
Importantly, shared spaces can also provide access to higher-quality facilities that smaller organizations could never afford independently. This includes better ADA accessibility, transit-
accessible locations, community gathering space, and shared work environments that strengthen staff experience and sense of community.
Addressing Burnout Through Community
One of the clearest findings in the CEP report is the emotional toll on nonprofit leaders and staff. Many respondents described feelings of exhaustion, fear, isolation, and uncertainty. Shared space can help counteract these feelings.
Nonprofit work can sometimes be lonely, particularly for smaller organizations operating with limited staff capacity. This has been amplified increased reliance on hybrid and remote work.
Shared environments create opportunities for peer connection, informal problem-solving, and mutual support. Leaders can exchange ideas in hallways, collaborate over coffee, or simply experience the reassurance that they are not facing these challenges alone. Some spaces hold Executive Director round tables or other specialized staff sessions to build camaraderie and tackle organizational challenges.
These interactions are not incidental. They build social infrastructure within the sector.
Many nonprofit centers also intentionally program community-building activities, wellness initiatives, trainings, and shared learning opportunities that help strengthen morale and reduce burnout. In a time when many leaders feel they are “barely holding it together,” community itself becomes a form of resilience infrastructure.
Our 2024 State of the Shared Space Sector report shows that shared space is having a positive impact: 84% of organizations say that being at a nonprofit center boosts morale, and 82% say it increases staff sense of belonging.
Collaboration as a Survival Strategy
Perhaps most notably, the CEP report found that half of nonprofits have initiated new collaborations in response to current conditions. Some organizations are already sharing services, co-designing programs, pursuing joint funding opportunities, and co-locating operations. Shared spaces accelerate this work.
Physical proximity increases trust, relationship-building, and opportunities for innovation. Organizations working under one roof are more likely to discover overlapping goals, coordinate services, and pursue collective impact strategies. Shared spaces can also strengthen cross-sector partnerships with public agencies, philanthropy, artists, and community groups.
Co-location and collaboration don’t just benefit organizations at the center, it also creates better experience for the communities’ serve. As demand for services increases, shared spaces can make it easier for clients to access multiple resources in one trusted location, reducing transportation barriers, confusion, and the burden of navigating fragmented systems. A family visiting a nonprofit center may be able to access food assistance, housing support, workforce training, mental health services, arts programming, or legal aid all under one roof. Co-located organizations can also coordinate care more effectively, make warm referrals, and respond more quickly to emerging community needs. In a time of growing stress and instability, shared spaces
can help create welcoming, community-centered environments that feel more connected, accessible, and human for the people nonprofits exist to serve.
As nonprofits face increasing uncertainty, these collaborative ecosystems are essential to realizing thriving, resilient communities.
Investing in Nonprofit Infrastructure
The challenges described in the CEP’s State of Nonprofits 2026 report are unlikely to disappear soon. But the report also makes clear that nonprofits are not standing still. They are adapting, collaborating, and searching for more sustainable operating models.
Funders, policymakers, and civic leaders should recognize shared nonprofit space as part of the solution.
Too often, space is treated as overhead rather than mission-critical infrastructure. But stable, affordable, collaborative space enables nonprofits to serve communities more effectively, support staff more sustainably, and build stronger networks of collective action.
Shared spaces aren’t a panacea. Nonprofits still need sustainable funding and policy support. But at a moment when nonprofits are being asked to do more with less, shared spaces offer something increasingly rare: efficiency, connection, and hope.
For funders and policymakers watching nonprofits struggle, the message is clear: invest in and promote shared physical and operational infrastructure as a complementary strategy. For nonprofits leaders: if you haven’t explored shared space arrangements, the time is now.
The crisis facing our sector is urgent. But so is the opportunity to transform how we work together.
To get started, visit our resource page.
For information on the impact of Nonprofit Centers on read Community Space Network’s 2024 State of the Shared Sector by downloading the report:
For more information on the challenges facing nonprofits, read the full State of Nonprofits 2026 report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy: