PSLF and the Nonprofit Workforce Shortage

For those of us running or advising charitable organizations, the workforce shortage has been particularly challenging. These employers are not always in a position to increase wages and benefits to attract talent. When the candidate pool gets thin, hiring slows--or worse, we make do with candidates that may not have all the skills or experience required by the job.

Inflation has compounded the problem as candidates or employees who might previously have accepted lower wages in a nonprofit career may feel they simply can't afford to any longer.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was intended to encourage people to choose a career in service of others, by forgiving an employee's qualifying student balance after 10 years working in public service. Recent changes to the PSLF program have made it easier to navigate, and many more people will qualify than in the past. This creates an opportunity for nonprofit organizations, right at the time they need an edge in recruiting new talent.

As observed by The Council of Nonprofits in a recent article:

PSLF means that nonprofit (and government) employers have an advantage in recruiting and retaining employees, since we can offer special and meaningful financial benefits to our dedicated workforce. These advantages will soon become even more valuable when the repayment pause ends in August and tens of millions of people must begin making payments on their loans again.

Those responsible for hiring in charities (including board members looking to recruit leaders) should become familiar with PSLF, and when appropriate, promote the program as a benefit of employment. One might go so far as to say that board members as fiduciaries have an obligation to help the organizations under their oversight take advantage of what is effectively a federal subsidy to the nonprofit industry!

CalNonprofits has made available a toolkit for nonprofit employers to assist them in promoting the program to employees and candidates. And the program is easier to access than ever before. See the PSLF Help Tool.

Have the organizations you support been promoting the Public Service Loan Program as a benefit of employment? What other things can nonprofit employers do to attract and retain candidates in a competitive talent market?