What if the real question right now isn’t how to sustain budgets, but how to sustain impact?
There is a real sense of urgency right now.
Nonprofits need actual dollars to pay staff and sustain the infrastructure that makes their work possible. As federal funding streams shrink or disappear, we risk losing some of our smaller organizations, the very ones that are often most effective at engaging communities and improving conditions on the ground.
What worked in fundraising before may not work now.
The fundraising energy feels a bit frenetic. When we operate from panic, it is easy to lose sight of the original vision. Nonprofits may find themselves approaching private funders and local governments with a sense of desperation. Some funders are responding by increasing their giving beyond the typical 5%. Others, perhaps wary of making the wrong move, are retreating into additional lengthy rounds of visioning and strategic planning.
This moment calls for something slightly different.
It is a moment to focus on sustaining impact.
Impact is the effect your efforts have on people’s lives. It is not simply counting outputs, like the number of people fed. Impact asks: What changed because that person received food? Maybe children were able to focus at school. Maybe parents could pay rent and stay housed rather than choosing between food and housing.
It is the impact that excites us. It’s what gets nonprofit leaders out of bed, and it’s what makes a Program Officer happy to champion a cause.
Sustaining impact also is different from sustaining budgets. Now, we are not naive to the fact that this work costs money and needs funding, but what can be helpful is to shift our mindset and framing to impact, to open our minds to different ways of sustaining the impact beyond the dollars. Instead of asking, “How do we maintain this level of revenue?” we might ask:
“How can we continue achieving meaningful impact for our communities despite this funding crisis?”
When we focus on sustaining impact, creative solutions begin to emerge.
Here are five ways nonprofits and funders can keep impact at the center during uncertain times.
1. Passion is Sexy
When a nonprofit leader says, “We will keep this work going no matter what,” that’s alluring to a funder. Work from the original passion and commitment. Organizations are founded because someone saw a gap and believed something better was possible.
If that founder was not you, chances are you joined because that vision inspired you.
What was the original spark?
(Hint: it is bigger than whatever is on your desk right now.)
Name that vision again and hold it in front of you as you work. For example, share photos and stories of the impact you are having in real life with staff and stakeholders.
2. Center the Impact—Past and Future
What impact has your organization or grantmaking already had? Frame it as real changes in people’s lives. Celebrate those shifts.
Then allow yourself to dream.
If you and the community you work with had a magic wand, what conditions would you co-create? For now, don’t think about the dollars. Think about how you might reverse engineer this into fruition.
Even when it feels like the moment calls for shrinking, dreaming helps clarify what matters most. Share that vision widely.
3. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships
Now is the time to gather with like-minded people.
Hopefully, those relationships have been building all along. If relationships have been on the back burner because of other urgencies, that is understandable, but relationships are no longer a luxury.
“If you want to go far, go together.” We are all familiar with this saying, and it stands truer than ever in moments like this.
Activate your network. What are others seeing? What are they trying? What have they stopped doing? How can you support one another?
Nonprofits: How can you strengthen referral networks so that together you expand your collective reach? How can you tell the story of that shared impact?
Funders: What are your peers funding, and where are the gaps that need attention to keep the ecosystem functioning?
4. Strengthen Power Ecosystems
Individual services matter deeply. But if we want change at scale, we must also influence systems and policies.
One pathway is building power ecosystems, or networks of organizations across sectors working together to improve community conditions through systems and policy changes, guided by the people most affected by inequities.
Funders: How can you better support these ecosystems rather than isolated projects?
Nonprofits: What collaboratives are you part of? What would help you work together more effectively? What would increase your collective influence?
5. Smash the Box
Forget thinking outside the box.
For a moment, imagine there is no box at all.
Nonprofits: Brainstorm five or six low-barrier ways to generate community-driven support. Think creative, joyful, and mission-aligned. One example I saw recently was a community-organized queer comedy show that raised funds for families affected by ICE.
Funders: What rules could you loosen or rethink to show up in new ways for organizations doing essential work?
Sometimes a little flexibility can keep vital organizations alive.
A Question for You
How do you stay focused on impact when the world feels urgent and uncertain?
We would love to hear your thoughts.
Support for Nonprofits and Funders
Nonprofits: If your organization or collaborative would like support developing a Sustainability Plan that helps articulate impact to the right funders in ways they can hear, we can help.
Funders: If you would like to support the sustainability of your grantees, we offer both grantee training and planning services.
Reach out to ginger@gingerleeglobal.com with comments and inquiries.
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