A couple of weeks ago, thousands of nonprofits and the people who rely on them every day saw their world turned upside down overnight. Not even the rapid changes at the outset of the pandemic could compare to having less than 24 hours notice that payments for delivering services in their community would be paused. That seismic act led the National Council of Nonprofits to take a step we’ve never taken before. In “Why we filed a lawsuit against the administration,” our President & CEO Diane Yentel details why NCN took legal action for the first time.

The good news is that the litigation has resulted in funding resuming for a lot of organizations. But too many haven’t seen payments resume, and others are learning of sudden contract and grant program cancellations. If your organization is still feeling the effects, please share your stories with us, so we can understand the different challenges and the impacts in local communities and work toward solutions.

We don’t know what the days, weeks, and months ahead will hold, but know that NCN will not stop in its efforts to ensure your nonprofit can continue its vital work.

Leading off this edition of Nonprofit Essentials focused on finding a path forward through financial uncertainty, Ruth McCambridge and Steve Zimmerman of Nonprofit Financial Commons provide an action checklist for nonprofits. Among their twelve action steps, they recommend evaluating cash flow, and looking at potential external and internal barriers to use of cash. They also suggest having conversations with funders, and underline the importance of open communication with all stakeholders.

Nonprofit Finance Fund’s State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey – one of the largest of its kind – collects data about nonprofits’ health and challenges and formulates them into an accessible, evidence-based illustration of how the nonprofit sector is faring. It’s a powerful platform for nonprofits large and small, across sub-sectors and geographies. Data are used to advocate for the policies needed to secure nonprofits’ long-term resilience, supporting the communities we all care for and serve.

We are proud to help NFF raise our sector’s voices. Please take the #NFFSurvey and ensure your organization is heard.

In this article published with the Center for Effective Philanthropy, Britt Lake of Feedback Labs and Melinda Tuan of the Fund for Shared Insight examine the challenges philanthropy is facing in the current climate. They emphasize the importance of funders acting to support their grantees and communities without either falling into paralysis or making hasty decisions. The article also highlights the importance of listening, so funders can move quickly while grounding their decisions in the needs identified by the communities they support.

In this article, Nonprofit Risk Management Center Executive Director Melanie Lockwood Herman discusses the key elements of resilience in the face of events that scenario planning could not have envisioned. She emphasizes the importance of resilience, suggesting sorting key activities into three categories: things to continue doing, things to stop doing, and things to start doing. The overall message is to focus on what is essential and be proactive in adjusting strategies to navigate through disruptions effectively.

Hundreds of people visit our job board each day, where they find thousands of nonprofit jobs across the country like those in this recent sampling. Browse jobs or list openings at your nonprofit.