What Happens When a Nonprofit Leader Steps Down?

Thirty years is a long time to devote to any pursuit, and Karen Cragnolin, the oft-honored founding mother of RiverLink, can attest to that. During that time, she says she held every job in the organization, and was planning to finally move on this year when, during surgery, she suffered an aneurysm that robbed her of much of her mobility. But the board was ready with a succession plan, and after about a six-month search, Garrett Artz came on board Sept. 1 as the new executive director.

Across North Carolina, however, thousands of nonprofit boards of directors are facing CEO transitions, as burnout takes its toll and aging baby boomers retire. According to “Countdown to the Inevitable,” a new report from the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, almost one-third of respondents to the organization’s survey of nonprofit CEOs said they’re planning to leave their job in the next two years, and most of those have already notified their boards.