Friends,
We find ourselves in a time of significant transition and challenge for the nonprofit sector. Leadership today means navigating a landscape of policy shifts, funding uncertainties, and rapid changes that affect our organizations and the communities we serve. Many of us feel the weight of making critical decisions while the ground beneath us shifts.
Turbulence is Real: Decades of Nonprofit Resilience
I remember stepping into the nonprofit sector in 1987, just weeks before the October stock market crash known as “Black Monday.” I was fresh-faced, idealistic, and frankly, somewhat naive. Little did I know that this would be the first of many challenges that would test not just my resilience but the very core of the nonprofit sector’s commitment.
The tragic events of September 11, 2001, transformed everything. The world seemed to fracture, and nonprofits became critical lifelines of hope and healing. Then, in 2007, the Great Recession hit, stripping away financial cushions and forcing us to reimagine sustainability. And just when we thought we’d seen it all, COVID-19 descended in 2020—a global disruption that redefined connection, community, and collective purpose.
Steadying the Ship: Wisdom from Rough Waters
At skipper school a few years back, I learned a critical maritime survival technique called “heaving to” – a method sailors use to stabilize a vessel during violent storms. Instead of fighting the waves, you position the boat to minimize drift, reduce strain, and preserve critical resources. The boat doesn’t make progress, but it survives.
I watched our instructor demonstrate this in “sporty” conditions on Corpus Christi Bay; the small sailboat becoming a study in strategic stillness. “Sometimes,” he said, “survival is your primary navigation.” Those words have echoed throughout my nonprofit leadership journey.
Blueprint for Resilience: A Structured Approach
The Bridgespan Group’s recent webinar on scenario planning offers a robust framework for navigating uncertainty. Drawing from their insights, here are three critical strategies for protecting your organization’s core:
1. True North: Creating Your Organizational Compass
Protect your mission by establishing clear, values-driven principles:
- Find ways to continue core programs safely
- Prioritize activities where there is the greatest need in the communities you serve
- Prioritize staff well-being and long-term team development
- Aggressively protect revenue streams before cutting critical expenses
2. Mapping the Possibilities: The Art of Scenario Planning
Develop a structured approach to uncertainty:
- Identify key drivers of impact and economics at risk
- Construct best-, moderate-, and worst-case scenarios
- Create a portfolio of actions:
- “No regrets” actions with universal benefits
- Flexible “handbrake” actions that can be quickly implemented or reversed
- Larger, more permanent strategic shifts
3. Decision Points: When to Hold, When to Pivot
Establish transparent decision-making processes:
- Define specific dates or events that will prompt organizational action
- Involve your board and senior team in scenario discussions
- Seek external expertise (legal, financial) to help identify and mitigate risks
- Don’t wait to implement “no regrets” actions
A Solemn Duty
Leadership in the nonprofit sector demands both courage and strategy, especially when navigating uncertainty.
Like seasoned skippers who know when to set sail and when to heave to, effective leaders recognize that safeguarding their organization’s mission demands both bold momentum and deliberate pause.
Scenario planning isn’t merely a defensive measure—it’s a proactive approach that transforms unpredictability into opportunity. By anchoring decisions in clear guiding principles, nonprofit leaders can steer their organizations through stormy conditions while keeping their most essential work intact.
The wisdom lies in developing the judgment to know which waves to ride and which to weather, ensuring your organization survives today’s challenges and emerges stronger for tomorrow’s journey.
Stay strong. Stay focused. Protect the core.
Kimberley
