In a time of rapid change, political uncertainty, and rising demand for services, nonprofit leaders are looking to proactively build nonprofit resilience. Across the sector, organizations are strengthening their adaptability by embracing flexibility, deepening partnerships, and staying focused on their core missions. That includes exploring cross-sector collaboration, investing in community-led solutions, and/or making tough but necessary choices. Funders, too, are adopting more responsive, collaborative approaches to support this evolving work.
Whether your nonprofit is already building resilience by redefining key relationships, or just beginning to assess what’s needed to move forward, these articles—drawing on research and the insights of those with deep experience—should help you plan strategically.
Embracing change and reimagining nonprofit resilience
Nonprofit resilience, in the face of ongoing challenges, means embracing change, staying flexible, and focusing on what’s necessary to adapt and endure. This approach may involve proactively identifying shifting trends and developing strategies to prioritize sustainability.
Embracing rapid change: Trends shaping the nonprofit sector in 2025. Trista Harris, president of FutureGood, shares three key predictions poised to shape the nonprofit sector this year. Grounded in extensive research and conversations with hundreds of sector leaders, her forecast highlights a unifying theme for 2025: the need to embrace and adapt to rapid change.
Nonprofit survival strategies: Strengthening mutual support, ruthless prioritization. Tracy Kronzak, chief strategy officer at Benevolent Tech, shares key strategies for nonprofit resilience in times of crisis. She emphasizes the importance of strengthening mutual support, including through resource and knowledge sharing, and practicing “ruthless prioritization” to maintain stability, ensure continuity, and avoid staff burnout.
Forming strategic partnerships to adapt, collaborate, and stay resilient
As nonprofits navigate shifting political and funding landscapes, leaders point to deepening partnerships as a crucial strategy for strengthening nonprofit resilience and advancing their missions.
Rebuilding nonprofit resilience through mergers and partnerships. Development Gateway CEO Josh Powell and Sarah Orton-Vipond, director of engagement & partnerships, share guidance for nonprofits facing disruptions in government funding. The article explores how mergers and strategic partnerships can help mission-driven organizations working in international development stay resilient and continue their work.
How cross-sector collaboration can create lasting change. Kendra Davenport, president and CEO of Easterseals, shares how businesses and nonprofits can form meaningful partnerships that are strengthened by supportive government policies to drive lasting change. She highlights the power of corporate social responsibility and public-private partnerships in helping these efforts succeed.
What do nonprofits need from funders at this moment? Elisha Smith Arrillaga, vice president of research at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, highlights findings from a CEP report that reveals what nonprofit leaders say they need most: flexible funding, communication, and partnership. She emphasizes that navigating today’s challenges may require funders to embrace new ways of working together.
Navigating challenges while staying grounded in nonprofit mission
Nonprofit resilience depends on clear priorities, strong networks, and a focused mission—especially when responding to evolving challenges. This requires building connections, fostering engagement, identifying mission-oriented goals, being proactive, and, at times, making difficult decisions and charting unknown territory.
Dr. Tara Chalakani, the CEO of Preferred Behavioral Health Group, outlines three strategies to help strengthen strategic resilience for mission-driven organizations facing uncertainty, especially in filling social service gaps. She encourages nonprofits to strengthen peer connections, stay engaged with elected officials, and remain grounded in their core purpose by focusing on what they do best.
5 tips to help nonprofits meet unforeseen challenges. Save the Children COO Aleksander Dardeli shares strategies to help nonprofits navigate unexpected challenges, adapt to fast-changing conditions, and emerge stronger. His advice emphasizes proactive approaches—even when that means making tough decisions or taking an unfamiliar path.
Strengthening community resilience through local leadership and connection
As communities confront overlapping crises and shrinking resources, nonprofit leaders are turning to locally driven solutions and trusted intermediaries to build lasting nonprofit resilience from the ground up. Philanthropy can support solutions led by grassroots organizations by leveraging its flexibility, prioritizing local leadership, and taking a broad view of the communities it serves.
Bridging gaps and weaving networks: The vital work of place-based intermediaries. Joan Marie Godoy, CEO of Radical Partners, and Saejin Yoo, arts administrator for the New England Foundation for the Arts and consultant for Radical Partners, explain how place-based intermediaries bolster grassroots organizations in their regions. They highlight the growing importance of these connectors in helping communities thrive and driving meaningful, locally rooted change.
Sustainable community-led solutions shaping disaster philanthropy. Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, explores how funders can reinforce long-term progress by investing in community-led approaches, especially amid compounding global crises and shrinking public resources. She emphasizes that philanthropy’s strength lies not in replacing public investment but in fostering inclusive partnerships and taking a long-term view to strengthen community resilience.
Do you have any tips for nonprofit resilience during challenging times in the sector? Please feel free to share them in the comments.
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The post Redefining resilience: Strategies for building nonprofit resilience in a changing world appeared first on Candid insights.
