Nonprofits Prioritize Recruitment and Skills-Based Hiring Amidst Evolving Talent Landscape

A new report by LinkedIn reveals key trends shaping the talent landscape for nonprofit organizations in 2025. The “Nonprofit Talent Report 2025” highlights the growing importance of optimizing recruitment processes, embracing technology, and adopting skills-based hiring approaches to attract and retain talent.

Key Findings:

• Recruitment Optimization: Nonprofits are prioritizing the optimization of recruitment processes, with project management, onboarding, and applicant tracking systems identified as the fastest-growing hard skills for talent acquisition (TA) professionals. This indicates a focus on streamlining operations and improving the candidate experience. Generative AI (GAI) tools, like those in LinkedIn Recruiter, can assist with repetitive tasks, freeing up TA professionals to focus on human-centric duties.
• Tech and Human Skills: Nonprofit TA and Learning & Development (L&D) professionals are embracing technology, particularly HR systems and recruitment tools. Hard skills like building presentations and data analysis are increasingly important, alongside soft skills such as interpersonal skills and critical thinking.
• Demand for AI Talent: Demand for AI talent in the nonprofit sector is outpacing supply. The number of nonprofit job posts on LinkedIn mentioning AI and GAI increased by 2.6x between Oct. 2022 and Sept. 2024, but the share of AI talent in the nonprofit industry only increased by 2.0x.
• Skills-Based Hiring: Nonprofits are slowly but surely adopting a skills-based approach to hiring talent, focusing on candidates’ skills rather than degrees or job history. From 2020 to 2023, the number of nonprofit paid job posts on LinkedIn that did not require a degree increased by +14%.

Insights:

The report emphasizes that nonprofits are adapting to complex socioeconomic landscapes by seeking employees with specific skills, including AI, to boost their workforce. Investing in existing employees through L&D programs to equip them with AI skills is also crucial.

The findings suggest that nonprofits are increasingly recognizing the importance of data analysis and technology in optimizing their processes and achieving their missions. Skills-based hiring is also emerging as a key strategy for attracting diverse and qualified candidates.

Methodology:

The Nonprofit Talent Report 2025 is informed by LinkedIn survey data and platform insights from the Future of Recruiting and Workplace Learning 2025 reports.

This report provides valuable insights for nonprofit leaders and HR professionals looking to navigate the evolving talent landscape and build effective teams for the future.