It’s actually harder to run a nonprofit organization than it is to run a private company of the same size.

That statement by Thomas Tierney, chairman and co-founder of the Bridgespan Group, a Boston-based nonprofit consulting firm, may come as no surprise to the directors of nonprofit organizations.

While coping with many of the same ongoing operational concerns as their for-profit peers, nonprofit organizations must also contend with increased accountability, fewer financial resources, complex financial reporting and requirements for public disclosure of financial information. The top five challenges include staffing and recruitment, leadership, technology solutions, communication and donor retention.

1. Recruitment of staff

Staffing surveys show that a large number of young people currently involved in nonprofit work don’t expect to remain in the field because of below-average compensation and long hours.

The good news is that many Baby Boomers who intend to remain active beyond retirement age have indicated a willingness to seek nonprofit employment. The trick, say experts, is getting nonprofits to develop the right strategies to take advantage of this opportunity. At present, nonprofits lag behind both government and private sectors in the effort to attract Baby Boomer candidates.

“Perhaps the greatest unrealized strategy is the reinvention of the nonprofit work force to accommodate a growing pool of older Americans who, by choice or necessity, will work well into their 60s, if not longer,” says Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of The Hawaii Community Foundation. “Though finished with their primary careers, most will want to remain active, and a growing number want their engagement to be around causes that matter.”

To accommodate this group of workers, nonprofits will need to offer flexible work incentives such as job sharing and time sharing and liberal vacation benefits, Taketa says.

2. Leadership

With many top-level executives on the verge of retirement, another challenge, say observers, is overcoming a “leadership deficit” in the nonprofit sector.

To compensate, Tierney says that nonprofit groups need to cultivate previously untapped pools of talent, such as women returning to the work force or mid-career executives looking for a change.

Additionally, nonprofits will have to work harder to retain their best leaders, providing them with opportunities for career development and advancement, both within individual organizations and across the sector.

“There are three elements that all organizations in all sectors need to produce results – strategy, capital and leadership,” says Tierney. “And leadership matters the most.”

3. Technology

Although budgetary challenges make it more difficult for nonprofit organizations to avail themselves of leading-edge solutions, investments in technology – from efficient networking systems to on-site and off-site data storage – are key to the successful operation of any nonprofit organization.

“Good technology infrastructure is very much like magic – it is completely invisible, and most people can’t explain how it works. But it changes things in an amazing way,” says Ann Wrixon, president and CEO of SeniorNet, a nonprofit organization that supports the use of computer technologies for older individuals.

“Well-designed technology infrastructure would completely revolutionize most nonprofits, tremendously increasing their productivity and effectiveness,” she said.

4. Communications

One might assume that nonprofits would be less inclined to suffer from the kind of communications redundancies that often plague the for-profit world. But that is often not the case.

“Nonprofits encounter as much duplication and turf issues as [for-profit] businesses,” says J.C. Dwyer of HungerMaps.org, an informational exchange group.

Here again is where technology can make a difference. Taking the time to research and identify which tools will benefit an organization the most – be it blog publishing or using HTML-enabled e-newsletters – will pay off in the long run.

5. Donor base development

In addition to maintaining their current base of support, a majority of nonprofits say that developing a newer, younger list of donors is one of the greatest challenges they face going forward.

Organizations are optimistic that the trend toward online giving – which has proven particularly effective in attracting donors in their 20s and 30s – will continue its present rate of growth. Nearly 8 percent of all charitable donations this year will be made online, according to some estimates.