2025 has been a tumultuous year for nonprofit organizations, boards, and their beneficiaries.
From funding uncertainty to sudden, dramatic policy shifts, nonprofits throughout the U.S. — and, to a lesser extent, worldwide — aren’t sure how different the end of 2025 will look from the beginning. The only certainty seems to be that it will look markedly different.
But to identify solutions, nonprofit boards must first correctly identify the problems. There are many:
- Political volatility has disrupted funding streams and introduced new restrictions on some advocacy efforts and programming for initiatives such as DEI.
- Economic uncertainty is squeezing individual and institutional donors alike, so a decrease in large and small donations appears to be likely.
- Government funding is under a much tighter microscope. Some nonprofits already have lost federal funding sources; others, unsure if they might be next, believe they must proceed cautiously with their dollars.
- New restrictions and mandates from the federal government have upended longstanding policies and practices at nonprofits, leaving them scrambling to rework their playbooks.
While many nonprofits are taking a “wait and see” approach to all the sudden change, there are measures that boardrooms should take now to understand priorities, challenges, and when to act.
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Why Boards Must Own Crisis Oversight
Depending on how an organization operates, it can be tempting for the more “hands-off” boards to trust their executive leadership teams to navigate the waters. This isn’t a wise approach.
“It’s the lead director’s job to make sure there’s continuity of conversation,” said Stuart R. Levine, Chairman and CEO of Stuart Levine & Associates, in a recent OnBoard ATLAS Leadership Series webinar, “What Boards Need to Know for 2025.” “Gone are the days when a director would show up for a quarterly meeting and then wouldn’t engage for another quarter.”
In times of turbulence, it’s vital that boards remain a steadying presence. They should remember — and act upon — these 3 points:
- Boards must ensure mission continuity, legal compliance, and financial resilience.
- A lack of preparedness or decisiveness at the board level can deepen crises and delay recovery.
- Veteran board members bring invaluable experience, but must now lead with agility, not just governance acumen.
Dr. Emilie Socash, Founder and CEO of the Nonprofit Help Center, said the challenges nonprofit board members face are more acute than their commercial board counterparts. “It can be a scramble to get board members to be board members,” she said. “To get engagement outside the boardroom can be equally challenging.”
Crisis Management Tips for Today’s Nonprofit Climate
To manage crises effectively, nonprofits should proactively create a robust crisis management plan that includes a dedicated team, clear communication protocols, and regular training. This plan should address potential scenarios, engage relevant stakeholders, and prioritize transparency and accuracy in all communications.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of key crisis management tips for nonprofits:
- Risk Assessment and Scenario Planning: Begin by assessing potential crises and their risks to your nonprofit. Arrange risks according to their likeliness to occur and the potential harm they could cause to the nonprofit.
- Establish a Crisis Management Team: Build a team of people with assigned roles who will act when a crisis occurs. Executive Leadership Team members and leadership further down the org chart should know their roles in each type of crisis.
- Develop Response Procedures and Protocols: Consider the correct course of action for each crisis intervention. In case of a funding freeze, the steps may involve giving each budgetary item extra scrutiny to determine how vital it is to your nonprofit’s mission, vision, and values.
- Training and Exercises: Your crisis response team needs more than just a memo to respond swiftly in a crisis. Training is important. For the same reason organizations do fire drills a few times a year, it is vital that crisis response leaders and their teams go through training and exercises to ensure they are ready to act swiftly when a crisis occurs.
- Review and Update Regularly: A crisis management plan is not a “set it and forget it” matter. Because tools, resources, and risks are constantly changing, it is important to review and update your crisis response plans regularly.
The Bottom Line: Prepare for Crises Before They Occur
While the world-turned-upside-down nature of 2025 is unique in recent history, the reality is that funding from outside sources is never guaranteed. Government regulations will constantly change — even more so now, in our current political climate.
It’s more imperative than ever for nonprofit boards to be prepared for potential crises. They owe it to their organizations, stakeholders, their benefactors, and most importantly, their beneficiaries.
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About The Author
- Adam Wire is a Content Marketing Manager at OnBoard who joined the company in 2021. A Ball State University graduate, Adam worked in various content marketing roles at Angi, USA Football, and Adult & Child Health following a 12-year career in newspapers. His favorite part of the job is problem-solving and helping teammates achieve their goals. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two dogs. He’s an avid sports fan and foodie who also enjoys lawn and yard work and running.
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