1966: A Journal of Creative Nonfiction is a tiny operation in the greater endeavor of Literature. The journal is published by a small staff of volunteers, headed by our editor. If you’ve submitted in the past year, you’ve noticed that we are very behind. Part of this is the normal backlog of submissions one might expect at a small magazine; part of it is caused by more special circumstances: the publication of our editor’s first book. Because we find ourselves so behind, we will not be publishing a Winter issue so that we can get caught up on our reading and other administrative tasks. We will publish a double-issue in the Spring, due out in May. If you have submitted, please know that your work is still under consideration and we will reply as soon as we are able. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment.
Sincerely,
Kelly Grey Carlisle and the Staff of 1966: A Journal of Creative Nonfiction
1966 
Did you ever consider the idea of having volunteer readers? I am one of several volunteer readers for the magazine Creative Non Fiction. We all read and score the same essay. There is a paid staff member to review our scores. I think that through this process, the exceptional pieces rise to the top of the list to send to the paid readers.
I am going to reply to my own post! Since you are already volunteer run organization, I would tweak the suggestion a bit. Increase the number of volunteer readers and have the current volunteer read the top rated essays.