Non-Profits in Difficult Times

Alden F. Briscoe, MAT

Introduction

In March of 2025 many of our consultants had heard comments from some individuals working in the non-profit sector that they were concerned about the political and economic situation in the country and that non-profits would be affected adversely. We decided to interview a few people to get a sense of what, if any, their concerns were, and whether there was any pattern to their concerns overall and across non-profit sector and job types. Between March 2 and March 31, 2025, we interviewed 28 individuals from 9 sectors. To expand the data, in April we conducted a survey through which we received another 27 responses giving us a total of 55 responses in ten sectors.

The responses came from the ten sectors listed below. (Two of the sectors had only a single response so we decided not to draw any conclusions from those sectors.)

• Arts
• Associations (received only one response)
• Consulting (received only one response)
• Environmental
• Foundation
• Healthcare
• Higher Education (including community colleges)
• Human Services
• Independent Schools
• Religion

In addition to sector, we broke interviewees into several job functions as follows:

• CEO
• Fundraiser
• Other

The respondents were scattered across fifteen states as follows—although the preponderance (45%) were from California:

• Arizona
• California
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Virginia

Comments

Although the interviews were spread across ten sectors, fifteen states, and several kinds of positions, this is a small sample from which to draw major conclusions. It should also be noted that all of the interviews and many of the survey responses were completed prior to April 3, when the markets cratered because of the President’s tariff announcements, (though they have come back since then), so economic concerns which were expressed in April only show up in some of the responses.

What Did We Learn

• There are significant concerns among individuals in the non-profit sectors.
• The concerns vary among sectors.
  • In general, in the education sectors (both independent schools and higher education — excluding large research universities) – appear to have minimal concerns about their ability to continue to operate much as they have, and to raise money
  • Likewise, in general most of the foundations we surveyed indicted that they would be able to meet budget, accomplish their mission, and raise money, though some respondents expressed concerns for the greater society.
  • Similarly, the religious sector – and we believe we only got responses from the Christian parts of this sector – does not appear to have concerns about accomplishing their mission, meeting budget, and raising money.
  • Individuals in the arts, healthcare, and human services sectors are extremely worried about meeting their budget, accomplishing their mission, and raising money.
• It’s still too early to know what the full effects of the current

Details by Sector

Arts & Culture: We interviewed/surveyed six people in the arts and culture sector. Five of the six expressed concerns about meeting their budget, four of six expressed concerns about accomplishing their mission and raising money, and two of the six expressed concerns about retaining or hiring staff. Only one said they were cutting staff, but half said they were reviewing at their fundraising program. Half of them said that their board had raised concerns about the current situation.

Association: We got one survey response from a fundraiser in an association. That person expressed concern about meeting its budget, accomplishing its mission, and raising money and indicated that their association was increasing fundraising efforts. Given that we had a single response, we are reluctant to draw any conclusions from this single response.

Consultant: We interviewed/surveyed only one consultant. That person expressed concerns about non-profits being able to meet their budget, accomplish their missions, and raise money. Again, given that it is a single response, we are reluctant to draw conclusions about this sector.

Environmental: We interviewed/surveyed six people in environmental organizations. Three of them expressed concerns about meeting their budget, four expressed concerns about accomplishing their mission, and two expressed concerns about raising money. Three of them indicated that they were not taking steps to make changes yet, but were monitoring the situation carefully. One respondent indicated their organization was cutting staff and one indicated it was reviewing its fundraising program.

Foundations: We interviewed/surveyed five foundation executives. Four of them did not express concerns about meeting their budget, accomplishing their mission, or raising money but one expressed extreme concern about the overall direction of the country and the non-profit sector.

Healthcare:  We interviewed/surveyed eight people in the healthcare sector. Three-quarters (6) of the eight expressed concerns about meeting their budget and raising money, and half (4) of them expressed concerns about accomplishing their mission and retaining or hiring staff.  Five indicated they were increasing fundraising efforts, two said they were cutting staff, and five said they were increasing fundraising efforts. One explained that they were facing a double dilemma:  cuts in Medicare and Medicaid (which would lead to decreased funding) and they were seeing insurance companies radically increase the denial rate for insurance claims, so that patients were less able to pay for and receive needed medical services. 

Higher Education: We interviewed/surveyed five people in the higher education (including community college) sector. (None of these came from a large research university.) Four of the five expressed minimal concerns for their sector, but one expressed concerns about  their ability to meet their budget, accomplish their mission, and raise money. Two expressed concerns for their international and un-documented students., and two stated that their boards had raised concerns.

Human Services: We interviewed/surveyed fifteen people in the human services sector. Ten of the 15 expressed concerns about meeting their budget and eleven expressed concerns about accomplishing their mission.  Five indicated that they were cutting staff, and six said they were relooking at their fundraising program.

Independent Schools: We interviewed/surveyed six people in the independent school sector. None of the six expressed a concern about accomplishing their mission. Only one of six expressed a concern about meeting their budget and only one of six expressed a concern about raising money or retaining or hiring staff. Only one indicated that they were doing anything different. Several noted that they were taking extra care that international students carried their identification papers when off campus.

Religion: We interviewed/surveyed four people in the religion sector. Two expressed concerns about meeting their budget and three expressed concerns about accomplishing their mission, but all four expressed concerns about raising money. None expressed concern about retaining or hiring staff. One indicated that they were looking at fundraising efforts.

Recommendations

We recommend redoing this project—both interviews and survey —in about six months (fall of 2025).

• At that time the effects (or lack thereof) of the current political environment will be clearer.
• We recommend in the interviews picking more individuals from different states in order to get a broader cross-section of respondents.
• We recommend asking whether the respondents’ organizations have taken actions – such as cutting staff or reworking budgets – or have been unable to achieve their missions.

Appendix

We asked the following questions:

1.     Do you think that the current political environment is affecting or will affect your non-profit’s ability to:

• a.     __ Meet its budget
• b.     __ Accomplish its Mission
• c.     __ Raise Money
• d.     __ Retain or Hire Staff
• e.     __ Do Something Else

2.    What steps are you taking to deal with any issues?

• a.     __ None
• b.     __ Hiring Fundraising Staff
• c.     __ Cutting Staff
• d.     __ Increasing Fundraising Efforts
• e.     __ Reviewing at Your Fundraising Program
• f.      __ Other

3. Have your board members raised concerns about the current situation?

• __ Yes
• __ No

If so, what issues have they raised?

4. If you want some kind of help, how could we or some other consultant help you?

5. Other questions/comments?