Nonprofit org chart example
A mid-sized charity drawn the way funders read it: the board on top, an executive director who answers to it, programs on one side and the money — fundraising and finance — on the other.
How a nonprofit is usually structured
The board is on the chart. A nonprofit's executive director reports to the board of directors, and drawing the chair at the top says so — it's the first thing a funder, an auditor or a new trustee looks for. Everything else reports to the executive director.
Below that, the organization splits between the mission and the means. Programs is the largest function and is organized by program, each with a manager and a small team of front-line staff; the volunteer coordinator usually sits here too, because volunteers deliver programs. Development (fundraising) is the other pillar: grants, donors, events. Finance and administration, and communications, are the shared spine.
Small nonprofits have very senior titles for very small teams — a director of development with three reports is normal, and so is a director of finance who is also the office manager's boss and the HR department. Chart the title; describe the team.
Typical titles by level
The vocabulary these charts use, from the top down. Titles vary by country and by company; the levels don't.
| Level | Titles you'll see |
|---|---|
| Governance | Board Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Trustees (on a governance chart, not the staff chart) |
| Leadership | Executive Director (or CEO), Deputy Director, Director of Programs, Director of Development, Director of Finance & Administration |
| Managers | Program Manager, Grants Manager, Communications Manager, Volunteer Coordinator, Office Manager |
| Front line and support | Case Worker, Youth Worker, Housing Advisor, Outreach Worker, Donor Relations Officer, Events Coordinator, Bookkeeper, Administrative Assistant, Executive Assistant |
Where these charts go wrong
Charts here fail by leaving the board off (so the executive director looks accountable to nobody), by drawing program staff under whoever holds the grant rather than whoever manages them, by listing every volunteer, and by an executive director with twelve direct reports because there was never money for a deputy.
Questions people ask
- Should the board be on a nonprofit org chart?
- Yes — as one card at the top, above the executive director. It records the accountability that makes a nonprofit a nonprofit. Individual trustees and committees go on a separate governance chart if you need one.
- Where does fundraising sit?
- Under a director of development who reports to the executive director, beside programs rather than under it. In very small organizations the executive director is the fundraiser and development is a manager with one report; the line is the same.
- How do you show volunteers on an org chart?
- Through their coordinator. The chart shows staff structure; a volunteer program is a function, not a list of names. Regular volunteers with a defined role can be drawn as contractor-type cards under the person they report to.
- What do funders want to see in an org chart?
- That the board sits above the executive director; that finance is independent of programs; that the roles their grant pays for exist and are filled (or honestly marked as open); and a date. Most grant applications ask for the chart as an attachment — export it once a quarter.
Other industries
- ManufacturingTwo shifts, and quality kept out of production's line.
- LogisticsDispatch runs the day; supervisors run the people.
- ConstructionOffice and field, meeting on every project.
- Software startupSquads under a CTO; product managers on a dotted line.
- Medical practiceA clinical line and a business line, crossing at nursing.
- SchoolDepartments led by teachers who also manage.
- HotelSix divisions around one general manager.
- Marketing agencyDisciplines own people; pods own the work.
- Security & facilities servicesSites stacked under supervisors; a 24-hour control room.
- Sales teamRegions for closers, a team for openers, RevOps beside them.
- Accounting firmA partner pyramid, three service lines.
- Law firmPractice groups, and the business side that runs the firm.
- ChurchA board that governs, a pastor who leads, ministries below.
- RestaurantFront of house and back of house, meeting at the pass.
- IT departmentRun, build and secure, under one director.
- HR departmentPartners, specialists and operations: the three legs.
- Local governmentElected above appointed, and two officers who answer to the council.
- Utility companyField crews, a 24-hour control center, and a regulator in the room.
- BankThree lines of defense, drawn as lines.
- Staffing agencySales desks, recruiting desks, and a back office that pays two thousand people.
- HospitalTwo hierarchies that meet at the bedside.
- Retail chainHead office, the field, and a store drawn once.
- Small businessOne owner, two managers, and the jobs the owner still does.
- Finance departmentAccounting closes the books; FP&A says what they mean.
- Marketing departmentDemand, product, brand, and the operations under all three.
- Customer service departmentTeams on the floor; quality, training and scheduling beside them.
- Engineering departmentProduct teams under a VP of engineering; platform, data and security under the CTO.
- Operations departmentSupply chain, fulfillment and the functions that keep both honest.
- Product departmentProduct, design, research and the operations that measure them.
- Consulting firmThree practices, one firm behind them, and no engagement on the chart.
- Real estate brokerageAgents who are not employees, on the chart anyway.
- Insurance agencySales on one side, service on the other, and the lines where they meet.
- Dental practiceA clinical line the law draws, and a business line the office manager runs.
- UniversityAn academic line and an administrative line, and governance kept off the chart.
- E-commerce companyThe site is the store, the warehouse is a contractor, and the lines between them are drawn.
- Veterinary clinicThe doctors own the medicine, the manager owns the day, and the technicians answer to both.
- Auto dealershipThe front end sells the cars; the back end pays the bills; the chart shows where they meet.
- School districtSchools on one line, the money on another, and a board that governs from a second chart.
- Police departmentPatrol takes the calls, investigations takes the cases, and professional standards answers to the chief alone.
- Nursing homeThe administrator holds the license, the director of nursing holds the building, and the survey reads both lines.
- Property management companyThe owners and the boards are clients, the site staff are employees, and the chart is where the two facts meet.
Or start from a structure — functional, divisional, matrix or flat — or from your own spreadsheet. The guides cover a reorg, a merger, an assistant's chart and a consultant's deliverable.
Make it yours
Download the spreadsheet, replace the names, import it — the chart redraws itself. Or start empty and drag people until it's true. Building is free at any size.