In light of recent federal decisions like the Office of Management and Budget memo freezing federal grants and unclear Executive Orders, nonprofits are anxious and concerned about our ability to meet our missions.
During crises, focus on your key levers of organizational stability: strong internal controls; sustainable revenue mix; strategic HR; ethical leadership.
Below are resources and tangible steps your nonprofit can take to help you navigate the uncertainty.
This page will continue to be updated as we find new resources.
Legal & HR Compliance
Nonprofit Legal Compliance in an Unfriendly Political Environment (Nonprofit Quarterly)
List of compliance matters to prepare to address a threat.
Navigating the DEI Landscape: Insights from HR Professionals (Minnesota Compass)
Interviews with HR professionals in government, business, and nonprofits to better understand the challenges organizations face in implementing DEI initiatives and the effectiveness of their strategies.
Scenario Planning
Navigating Rapid Policy Change: Let’s Plan Together (See What I Mean)
A tool to analyze potential consequences of new policies, evaluate risks and opportunities, and determine the best course of action.
Weathering the Storms: Building Social Justice Resilience Against Opposition Attacks (Road Map)
Guidance on preparing for and beating back opposition attacks.
How to Simplify and Streamline During a Crisis (Nonprofit Risk Management Center)
When you face an existential threat or mission-disrupting event.
Nonprofit Scenario Planning (The Bridgespan Group)
Guide to build scenario plans to successfully navigate uncertainty of local, national, or even global events.
Emergency Succession Plan Template (Propel Nonprofits)
Craft an emergency response plan should your Executive Director become ill or temporarily unable to perform their duties.
True Business Planning for Nonprofit (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
(Video) The distinction between business planning, financial planning, and strategic planning; how to present risks to board members; frameworks to analyze your model and explain to stakeholders.
Resiliency Tactics During Financial Crisis: The Nonprofit Resiliency Framework (Wiley)
A research study establishing the Nonprofit Resiliency Framework mapping tactics in five areas: financial, human resources, outreach, program and services, and management and leadership.
Risk Assessment Template (Tangelo Tree Consulting)
Identify risks; rate likelihood of occurrence; rate potential impact; identity top risks for further discussion; plan to mitigate risk.
Financial Modeling
Strong Nonprofits Toolkit (Wallace Foundation)
Resources to strengthen your nonprofit financial management.
12 Urgent Financial Action Steps for Nonprofits: A 2025 Checklist (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
An action checklist designed to build your organization’s agility under turbulent conditions.
Finance Fundamentals for Nonprofits (Nonprofit Finance Fund)
A collection of tools and resources to help you navigate change and opportunity.
Navigating Through Times of Financial Crisis (Nonprofit Finance Fund)
Assess your nonprofit’s potential financial risks and create a plan to respond to them.
What to Watch and Do as Your Nonprofit Enters a Chaotic 2025 (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
(Video) Nonprofit leaders and experts examine key financial trends that nonprofits need to navigate an uncertain landscape.
Scenario Budget Planning Template (Propel Nonprofits)
Think through different possibilities and consider the impact on your programs and organization.
Cash Flow Management (Propel Nonprofits)
Management strategies to help your nonprofit prevent cash flow shortages.
Cash Flow Template (Propel Nonprofits)
Template to help you understand the ebbs and flows of your cash.
Cash Flow Management: A Tactical Review for Nonprofits of All Sizes (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
(Video) Tools to use for projections and forecasts, and tactics to manage cash after you have identified a potential problem.
How to Prepare: An Update on the Federal Funding Freeze (Abdo)
Proactive steps to mitigate financial distress.
Cash Flow Considerations: Federal Funding Pause (CLA)
The most urgent need for many organizations — particularly for those with tight balance sheets and reliance on timely federal grant reimbursements — is cash flow.
Federal Funding Freeze Memo Withdrawn: What to do now? (CLA)
Proactive financial steps to consider as questions linger.
Understanding Nonprofit Markets (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
Framework through which leaders can segment the market, develop a shared understanding of relevant forces, and prioritize the most pressing market-based challenges they face.
Do You Have the “Right Revenue?” (Spectrum Nonprofit Services)
Explore “right” revenue as a way of analyzing and deepening your understanding of the connection between financial resources and mission impact.
Nonprofit Advocacy
Advocacy Causes and Organizations (New Jersey Center for Nonprofits)
A list of national organizations to connect and strengthen alliances about the issues you care about.
The Power of Minnesota Nonprofits 1-pager (MCN)
About Minnesota’s nonprofit sector.
How to Effectively Meet with State Legislators (MCN)
Build confidence and get prepared to reach your advocacy goals.
Find Your Elected Officials (MCN)
Helpful Tips for Contacting Legislators (MCN)
Legislators value and need contact with constituents and others who have expertise on an issue.
Navigating the Minnesota Capitol Complex (MCN)
Advice on how to best navigate during 2025 session construction.
Share Your Story with MCN
MCN is collecting real-world impacts of recent federal decisions on nonprofits. Your survey response helps us advocate for nonprofit protections with legislators and the media.
Board Support & Oversight
Governing in a Time of Crisis (Propel Nonprofits)
10 actions for boards.
Revisiting the Financial Oversight Role of Nonprofit Boards (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
(Video) The real financial governance challenges of nonprofit boards and how they can function more effectively through redirecting efforts and redefining duties.
Beyond Financial Oversight: Expanding the Board’s Role in the Pursuit of Sustainability (Nonprofit Quarterly)
This article stresses that sustainability and engagement with the work is essential for nonprofit boards as they approach the future.
How Board Members Can Learn to Spot the Red Flags (Propel Nonprofits)
Rather than expecting board members to instantly recognize a problem in the making, let’s encourage boards to learn to ask the questions that will lead them there.
The Board’s Financial Leadership (Nonprofit Financial Commons)
(Video) Recorded webinar to help nonprofit boards understand their fiscal leadership, including fiduciary duties, committees, audit, legal forms, and internal controls.
Boards in Times of Adaptation (Propel Nonprofits)
(Video) Recorded webinar.
Data & Evaluation
Census and Survey Data (IPUMS)
With many federal data sources being removed, find census and American Community Survey microdata.
Communications
Communicating in a Crisis: What, When, and How (Center for Creative Leadership)
How to decide what, when, and how to communicate with your team and organization.
Philanthropy / Grantmakers
Supporting Our Communities: Key Strategies for Navigating Federal Funding Threats (Geo)
Critical steps grantmakers can take now to protect grantees.
Your Nonprofit State Association
State association map (National Council of Nonprofits)
Tap into your local nonprofit network for support.
The Role and Impact of State Associations of Nonprofits (National Council of Nonprofits)
When it comes to keeping up with the changes happening at the federal, state, and local level, state associations of nonprofits have convened, informed, and advocated for the sector.
Have a resource suggestion? Email MCN.