*2.1. The Nonprofit Sector*

Through civic engagement, the nonprofit sector furthers social causes to solve complex local and global issues in collaboration with the public, private, and business sectors. A formidable sector, nonprofit organizations play an intricate role in economic and social services delivery systems as they work toward the common good of those they serve [5]. Nonprofit organizations are frequently called upon and play vital roles during times of crisis [6]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofit organizations struggled to help their communities while trying to endure the situation themselves. The nonprofit sector is expected to react to social, political, and organizational forces in addition to responding to environmental crises like hurricanes, tsunamis, or other natural disasters. They also react during disruption, for instance, when disruption or displacement occurs due to war or famine. However, COVID-19 was and continues to be unprecedented in the breadth and magnitude of these forces, and the impact on the nonprofit sector remains

unknown. Narrowing to the organizational level, nonprofits across the United States reported operational fallout from the pandemic, including weakened revenue streams and heightened demand for services and support. Early evidence also indicates that not all mission sub-sectors have fared the same, with variations existing according to the subsector's programming, populations served, and even revenue sources [7,8].

A resilient sector, the nonprofit sector is vast, encompassing global concerns like healthcare, the environment, water, humanitarian aid, human rights, human suffering, freedom and democracy, inequity and inclusion, disparity of resources, and sustainability [9]. According to the United Nations, "a civil society organization (CSO) or non-governmental organization (NGO) is any nonprofit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level" [10]. GuideStar by Candid registered 14,380 international nonprofit organizations focused on international development and relief services and an additional 8773 focused on international human rights, peace and security, international understanding, and service [11]. There are 185,241 charities in England and Wales as of 10 May 2021. Regarding the gender of volunteers, 66% of the population in England that participated in voluntary activities in 2020 were female [12].

According to a report by the Council on Foundations, non-governmental entities, known collectively as social organizations, reported 810,000 social organizations in The People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2018 [13]. The formal nonprofit organizations, informal nonprofit organizations, and government-organized nonprofit organizations (GONGOs), except for the Red Cross Society of China, which operates as an independent system within The People's Republic of China, are registered at the Ministry/Bureau of Civil Affairs [14]. The nonprofit social organizations and grassroots organizations that have neither official government ties nor the backing of wealthy individuals and or large corporations, deliver the primary care for marginalized groups like people with rare and chronic diseases, pregnant women, the economically disadvantaged, the elderly, and people with disabilities [15]. An extensive search for the number of global nonprofit organizations led to a precursory number of 10 million. However, this number is unsubstantiated, with limited databases to support the cumulative total.

In the United States, nonprofits are non-governmental entities organized to provide services or pursue a mission without earning a profit [16]. Incorporated as tax-exempt entities under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, these organizations represent charitable foundations, private educational institutions, hospitals, healthcare service organizations, social assistance, or service organizations. In addition, child or animal welfare organizations and some types of advocacy organizations are included in the classification. Names synonymous with the nonprofit sector are human service organizations, the third sector, civil society, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and voluntary action associations [5].

On 11 July 2022, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recorded 1,831,723 exempt organizations in the United States. Additionally, 2042 nonprofit organizations were registered in Puerto Rico, with 2197 international nonprofit organizations and 14,003 exempt organizations recorded in the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., for a total of 1,849,965 exempt organizations registered with the IRS [17]. In the United States, the nonprofit sector received \$449.64 billion in charitable contributions in 2019 [18]. Furthermore, the industry contributed \$1.4 trillion to the economic base of the United States in the first quarter of 2022 and accounted for more than 12 million jobs in 2016 [19,20]. At the center of the nonprofit sector are women, who comprise 75 percent of the workers in education, healthcare, and social assistance, the industries that encompass most U.S. nonprofits [16].

The nonprofit delivery system is essential in the United States to meet the growing needs of people exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Coming out of the pandemic in 2021, current President Biden reestablished the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships within the President's Executive Office, strengthening the nonprofit sector and its partnership with the federal government [21]. The executive order cited "the global pandemic, a severe economic downturn, systematic racism, climate crisis, and polarization as reasons to seek civil society partnership to meet such challenges [5]. Abramson (2020) and Feiock and Andrew (2006) contended that nonprofit organizations are valuable partners and conduits in the federal government's delivery of programs and services to meet the growing needs of people in the United States [22,23]. However, new data provide further evidence that the public served by nonprofits continues to be at risk. In the face of the ongoing public health and economic crises, too many nonprofits are still struggling to meet increased service demands, confronting a combination of decreased revenue and expenses that are higher than pre-pandemic contributing to stress and the phenomenon of burnout [24].

Post-COVID-19 research pertinent to the impact of the coronavirus on women in the nonprofit sector associated with social service organizations or direct delivery providers is almost non-existent or limited. While research is conducted in the education, healthcare, and mental health sectors, all of which fall under the umbrella of the nonprofit sector, there remains limited research on the impact on women as service provider professionals. However, in a 2021 report conducted by the Center for Nonprofit Philanthropy and research partners, in a sample size of 2306 direct service providers and community building advocacy, the research showed:


More research is needed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on service provider professionals, specifically women. For this article, however, what is available to explore and learn from is extractable evidence-based research, results, and implications based on empirical data where more than 50% of the research responses were from women in nonprofit organizations.

The research for this article led to the phenomenology of burnout experienced by nonprofit service provider professionals. The phenomenon of burnout was evident in a systematic literature review that extended across all classifications of nonprofit organizations registered with accrediting agencies. Furthermore, burnout was a phenomenon worldwide as women responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Therefore, this paper examines how burnout impacted women in the nonprofit sector during the pandemic and what changes need to take place to address burnout now and in a post-pandemic workplace. The implications will provide nonprofit and business leaders with the knowledge necessary to support women in the nonprofit sector, strengthening civil society. Additionally, the research will help the nonprofit sector understand how COVID-19 reshaped the nonprofit sector's workforce and what is needed to engender the commitment of the nonprofit workforce beyond the pandemic [6].
