The Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s second annual Prom Night in May, 2026 wasn’t a fundraiser. There were no speeches, no donation appeals and no strategic planning sessions. Instead, it was something much simpler: an evening for nonprofit professionals to relax, laugh and connect with one another.
An event with no agenda beyond creating space for nonprofit teams to connect may sound like a luxury in a sector where time and resources are always stretched thin. But our recent Workplace Team Culture Survey suggests these moments of connection may be more important than many organizations realize.
Forty-seven nonprofit leaders participated in the survey, and the message was clear: nonprofits overwhelmingly believe workplace camaraderie matters. Respondents rated the importance of team culture on a scale of 1-100 at an average of 86 out of 100.
The challenge isn’t convincing leaders that camaraderie is valuable. It’s making room for it.
Nearly one-third of organizations reported investing in team-building only once or twice a year, while nearly 13% said they rarely or never invest in it. Just 12.8% make team-building a monthly or weekly practice.
The gap between what organizations believe and what they actually prioritize raises an important question: If team culture is critical to success, why isn’t it treated as critical?
Why Camaraderie Matters
Merriam-Webster defines camaraderie as “a feeling of friendliness, goodwill and familiarity among the people in a group.” In the workplace, it’s much more than getting along.
Strong camaraderie creates trust, encourages collaboration and helps employees feel that they belong. It gives teams the confidence to share ideas, navigate conflict and support one another during demanding periods.
Our survey reflects those benefits. Organizations that invest in team culture reported the greatest improvements in:
- Staff retention (69.6%)
- Employee morale (57.8%)
- Cross-team collaboration (56.5%)
Respondents also reported gains in productivity and community impact, reinforcing that healthy workplace culture doesn’t just improve employee experience—it strengthens organizational performance.
The broader research tells a similar story. Gallup has consistently linked employee engagement with stronger workplace relationships. Harvard Business Review has found that teams perform better when they build trust and navigate conflict effectively. Google’s Project Aristotle identified psychological safety—the belief that people can speak up without fear—as one of the strongest predictors of high-performing teams. Deloitte has likewise connected positive employee experiences with stronger retention.
Taken together, the evidence suggests that camaraderie isn’t simply about making work more enjoyable. It’s a strategic investment in organizational health.
The Cost of Not Investing
Many nonprofit leaders already understand the benefits of team culture. The barriers are rarely philosophical—they’re practical.
Budgets are tight. Staff members are busy. Team-building can feel like something that happens only after every other priority has been addressed.
Yet overlooking workplace relationships carries its own costs.
High turnover, burnout, disengagement and communication breakdowns all come with significant financial and organizational consequences. Studies have found that employees with strong workplace friendships are more likely to stay with their organizations. HR Reporter reports that employers overwhelmingly see workplace friendships as improving productivity, morale, mental health, culture, and retention, while happier employees tend to be more productive. Other research has linked strong team cultures with lower absenteeism and higher engagement.
SHRM links workplace friendships to reduced loneliness and stress, better well-being, and improved job satisfaction and performance. SHRM also notes that productivity and retention go down while absenteeism and presenteeism go up when employees are disconnected.
Viewed this way, investing in camaraderie isn’t an added expense. It can help reduce much larger costs over time.
Building Camaraderie Doesn’t Have to Break the Budget
The encouraging news is that meaningful investments don’t have to be expensive.
Our survey found that one-third of organizations dedicate just 1% to 2% of their budgets to team-building activities, while very few spend more than 5%.
Even modest investments can create lasting impact when they are intentional and consistent. As Tava Health notes in its guide to cultivating camaraderie in remote settings, connection can be strengthened through simple, repeatable practices such as informal check-ins, peer recognition, and recurring team rituals that prioritize consistency over complexity.
Organizations can foster connection through informal lunches, recognition programs, trivia games, volunteer days, coffee chats, scavenger hunts, or recurring team celebrations. Digital spaces, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams channels dedicated to sharing personal wins or recognizing colleagues, can further strengthen relationships in hybrid and remote teams.
The most successful efforts share a few characteristics:
- Start small and build consistently.
- Choose activities that reflect your organization’s values rather than generic “forced fun.”
- Ask employees what they enjoy and use their feedback to shape future activities.
- Make participation easy by respecting workloads and schedules.
Low-cost engagement ideas can make camaraderie accessible even for nonprofits with limited budgets, while regular team-building cadences help sustain the benefits over time. Applauz emphasizes that engagement does not need to cost a bundle, and EML recommends recurring activities, often quarterly or supplemented by shorter micro-sessions, to maintain team cohesion and momentum.
Consistency matters more than extravagance. A simple quarterly tradition that employees genuinely look forward to often creates more lasting value than a single expensive retreat.
Connection Is Built Through Rituals and a Sense of Ownership
Research from Tava Health, Forbes and other workplace experts suggests that repeated moments of connection, not one-time team-building exercises, are what ultimately shape organizational culture. When employees feel seen, supported and included, camaraderie becomes part of everyday work rather than an occasional event.
But consistency alone isn’t enough—ownership matters, too. When employees help shape workplace traditions, they are more likely to embrace them as authentic expressions of organizational culture. The strongest camaraderie rituals reflect an organization’s values and are created with, not just for, its people.
Prom Night is one example. The event began as an idea from Chief of Staff Taylor Strange, while the second annual Bridgerton-inspired theme was developed by Communications Associate Ellie Shippey. Because the event grew from within the organization rather than being imposed from the top down, it gave nonprofit professionals permission to connect without an agenda.
More than a social gathering, Prom Night became a tradition that reflected and reinforced the Center’s values of community, belonging and joy: a reminder that the most meaningful workplace rituals are the ones employees help create.
From Nice-to-Have to Strategic Priority
Camaraderie isn’t a distraction from an organization’s mission. It helps make the mission possible.
Organizations with stronger relationships are better equipped to collaborate, adapt to change and retain talented employees. Small, intentional investments can create ripple effects that improve trust, engagement and overall workplace health.
If your organization is looking for a place to start, don’t focus on planning the perfect event. Focus on creating one meaningful tradition your team will want to repeat.
Host a themed lunch. Celebrate milestones together. Start a monthly recognition circle. Create space for people to connect without an agenda.
Then ask your team what mattered most—and build from there.
Because the strongest workplace cultures aren’t built in a day. They’re built through small moments that, over time, help people feel that they truly belong.