Non-profit leaders are navigating mounting challenges — from funding freezes to attacks on the language they use and the communities they serve — and the need for space to regroup and strategize has never been more urgent.

On May 28, NationSwell convened a group of peer leaders for a candid discussion about how we can be nimble and effective in a swiftly evolving landscape.

Some key insights from the discussion appear below:

Key takeaways:

  • Adopt short-term pragmatism while planning for long-term resilience. Rather than framing strategy around long-term organizational sustainability, several leaders are focusing on short-term adaptability, emphasizing nimble pivots, warm lead cultivation, and realistic budgeting. 
  • Bridge the gap between funder caution and nonprofit urgency. A disconnect persists between what nonprofits need (e.g. more capital, more flexibility) and what funders are offering (e.g. deliberate, slower-moving strategies). Bridging this chasm requires coordinated field-wide messaging, funder education, and intermediaries that can facilitate solution-oriented discussion. 
  • Prioritize transparency and grounded leadership. Executives emphasized the importance of open, honest communication, both within leadership circles and with staff. Being clear about what is known and unknown, while modeling vulnerability, has helped maintain trust, particularly in moments of organizational or funding instability.
  • Normalize nonprofit consolidations and shared infrastructure. In a financially constrained and uncertain landscape, nonprofit leaders are proactively exploring mergers, acquisitions, and structural partnerships. This moment presents an opportunity for funders to support responsible consolidation efforts and shared services that streamline operations and extend impact. 
  • Rethink donor engagement strategies. Leaders are seeing success with listening tours, reframing proposals in response to donor constraints, and rebalancing toward more place-based, community-anchored approaches. These methods help preserve key relationships and open doors for new partnerships.
  • Invest in leadership development as a resilience mechanism. The field is confronting a dual crisis: external funding threats and leadership fatigue. Now is a critical time to support succession planning and mentorship across generations, particularly for rising leaders managing back-to-back shocks early in their careers.
  • Use values alignment as a stabilizing force. Organizations are returning to their core values to navigate ambiguity, realign priorities, and avoid mission drift. Reaffirming organizational identity, especially when facing funding restrictions on identity-centered language, anchors staff morale.
  • Recognize and respond to the emotional toll of continuous crisis. Nonprofit leaders likened the current environment to the early pandemic, marked by confusion, fatigue, and emotional overload. Strategies like all-staff transparency briefings, mental health weeks, and permission to “tap out” reflect an emerging ethos: institutional survival depends on tending to human needs