10/17/2025

How Nonprofits Can Strengthen Their Finances in Turbulent Times

Nonprofits must address systemic financial vulnerabilities

The nonprofit sector is facing severe financial strain, a consequence in large part of the multibillion-dollar hole left by the Trump administration and its campaign to suspend or claw back funding for institutions perceived as promoting a "woke" agenda.

Recent data confirm the grim picture. According to Bonterra, a software company that serves the nonprofit sector, two-thirds of large nonprofits (those with revenues of more than $25 million) are suffering some or significant financial impacts due to changes in federal funding. And, in a report released earlier this year, the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) found that 36 percent of nonprofits were operating with deficits, more than double the share in 2021. More than half (52 percent) had less than three months of cash on hand, up from 39 percent in 2021.

This loss in federal funding has forced many nonprofit leaders to ask hard questions about how to find new sources of funding, maintain cash flow and simply keep the lights on.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Nonprofit Quarterly.