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Thesis
Nonprofit arts workers of Philadelphia: passion and precarity
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jan 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011272
Abstract
This thesis investigates the working conditions of nonprofit arts workers in Philadelphia, focusing on burnout, salary and compensation, work-life balance, educational attainment, demographics, and labor organizing. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines a survey of current and former nonprofit arts employees with qualitative open-ended responses, this research centers workers lived experiences to gauge the status of the average worker in Philadelphia. Findings reveal widespread burnout, chronic overwork, and dissatisfaction with compensation, despite respondents' high levels of education and strong commitment to organizational missions. Many participants reported working beyond paid hours, assuming responsibilities outside their formal job descriptions, and experiencing blurred boundaries between personal and professional life. Compensation emerged as a key point of pressure among the sample, with a quarter of workers earning wages below local cost-of-living standards. These conditions contribute to high turnover and increasing desire to leave the nonprofit arts sector. Demographic data highlights persistent systemic failures embedded in nonprofit arts labor. The workforce represented in this study is disproportionately white, highly educated, and predominantly female, reflecting national trends. The findings suggest that meaningful change will require drastic structural changes including funding models that support sustainable staffing, equitable compensation, transparent leadership, and collective organization.
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Details
- Title
- Nonprofit arts workers of Philadelphia
- Creators
- Christian Xavier Aimable
- Contributors
- Pamela Yau (Advisor)Julie Goodman (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- viii, 49, l-lvii pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Arts Administration; Arts and Entertainment Enterprise; Drexel University; Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
- Other Identifier
- 991022161042104721