The federal government is once again on the brink of a shutdown. For nonprofits and public agencies that rely on federal grants, contracts, or approvals, this brings familiar uncertainty: Will payments stall? Will grant reviews be delayed? Will already-thin staff be forced to do more with even less?

Will it last a day, a month, or longer?

In moments like these, it’s easy to hunker down and think only about survival. And yes—addressing immediate needs is critical. But organizations should resist the pull of near-termism. Shutdowns come and go. What matters most is positioning your organization to thrive not just tomorrow, but one, three, even five years from now.

Across the country, nonprofit and public sector organizations are facing the hard truth of reduced funding. Whether due to shifts in government priorities, economic slowdowns, or the winding down of pandemic-era investments, the result is the same: organizations are being asked to do more with less.

I was on a call with a public sector client recently who was sharing their concerns about funding cuts, and the potential for impact on their programs and services. They said [paraphrased], “We’ve been told the cuts are coming, and decisions are being made on what programs to keep. So we really need to get better at sharing our data and telling our story.”

The first few weeks of 2025 have brought significant changes for many nonprofit organizations, particularly those engaged in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, LGBTQ+ services, international aid, immigration, education, and health and human services. A series of new executive orders are reshaping federal funding priorities, compliance requirements, and eligibility for a broad array of programs critical to nonprofits.

For many nonprofits, this has created uncertainty about the future of their work, funding, and partnerships. In this post, we’ll break down some of the key executive orders impacting the nonprofit sector, discuss potential challenges, and explore practical steps organizations can take to navigate these changes.

On March 28, 2024, the US Census Bureau published a news release that they have issued updated standards for maintaining, collecting and presenting race and ethnicity data.

Because so many nonprofit and public sector organizations base their collection of race and ethnicity data on US Census standards, these changes will likely have far-reaching effects, particularly for those organizations who receive federal funding to provide programs and services.

The updated standards are intended to create more “useful, accurate, and up-to-date” federal data on race and ethnicity that reflects an increasingly diverse America.