“Tell me about your outcomes.”

This is the question that causes many behavioral health leaders face to freeze. Shoot! you think. I know we’re doing great work, but I feel like we just can’t quantify it!

“We’ve got lots of data. I see the change in our youth every day - just come by and visit one of our programs, and you’ll see it too!”

You know it’s just an ok answer. When funders and other community partners experience and see your work, they’re more likely to get involved and support you.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck in a cycle of scrambling for funding, worrying about payroll, and trying to do more with less, you’re not alone. Many nonprofit and public sector leaders face the relentless pressure of what’s called the nonprofit starvation cycle. It’s the reality of being asked to deliver big impact with limited resources, often under the weight of funder expectations to keep “overhead” low. The result is a scarcity mindset that keeps organizations in survival mode rather than thriving.

The danger of a scarcity mindset is that it convinces leaders they can never invest in the very things that would strengthen their organization — staff, systems, and strategy. Every week feels urgent, and long-term planning feels out of reach.

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.”

As fiscal years wrap up, many nonprofit, public health, and human service leaders find themselves staring at a thick stack of charts, graphs, and narrative summaries. The evaluation report is finished. The numbers are in. The funder deliverables are met.

Now what?

For too many organizations, that report becomes the end of the evaluation process. It gets submitted, filed, and rarely referenced again until the next grant cycle. But strong leaders—those who drive lasting change—use evaluation differently. For them, data isn’t a formality. It’s a leadership tool.

Here’s how those leaders turn evaluation reports into real impact.

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.