Workshop tackles financial, operational hardships faced by nonprofits
A clinic in November at the RLA Learning and Conference Center in Cranberry Township aimed to help nonprofits in the area become more agile, resilient and sustainable in an uncertain economy.
To many nonprofits operating in Butler County, the workshop could not have come at a better time. Constant funding challenges combined with the federal government shutdown brought uncertainty to the nonprofit sector around the nation.
Joe Mahoney, executive director of the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, said health care providers like the center had already missed out on getting a rate increase for the first six months of 2025 because of state funding challenges. The delay in the passing of the state budget by the Pennsylvania legislature also caused delays in payments to the Gaiser Center, Mahoney said.
The November workshop led by Elevate NP of Southwestern PA and the Bridgespan Group proved useful to Mahoney. He said learning in a group of other nonprofit leaders added to the pool of advice and potential solutions to the challenges they are all facing.
“They had consultants that walked through, templates on how to plan ahead for these threats to nonprofits,” Mahoney said. “Really they would do breakout groups to talk through individual threats. How to make contingency plans and plan for the future.”
In addition to this session, Elevate NP of Southwestern PA and the Bridgespan Group led other sessions in Allegheny and Washington counties. Jon Hoffmann, director of assessment and navigation at Elevate NP, said the sessions were aimed at nonprofits of all kinds, and the advice offered could be applied to any nonprofit organization.
Hoffmann said the nonprofits that likely got the most out of these sessions were small- to mid-sized ones that are more likely to be affected by changes in state or federal policy or funding. He added that many of the nonprofits at the sessions were ones that were at risk of losing funding, or those that were dealing with prior funding challenges.
“On the small end, one paid staff, and on the high end, organizations with a couple million dollar budgets and 20 to 30 employees,” Hoffmann said of the nonprofits the sessions were geared to. “They're not just a startup, they have staffing and infrastructure. Those are the ones we see having the hardest time navigating external pressures, funding changes, demand changes.”
After leading the session at the RLA on Nov. 19, Hoffmann shared the feedback he heard from the nonprofit representatives in attendance. He said the most common challenge they are facing is the constant changing of public funding and the need for more donations to fill that gap, as well as the need for more output at the same time.
These challenges were brought to the surface during the federal government shutdown, Hoffmann said.
“We did have a handful of food access organizations participate ... those organizations are really at the intersection of a couple pressures,” Hoffmann said. “SNAP benefits being interrupted spiked demand to food organizations. Together with rising demand and rising costs, it was a real challenge for those.”
Hoffmann said the sessions he led apply the operations of the attendees’ own groups in exercises and practice scenarios.
“Fundraising capacity, how you recruit and retain talent — things like that are long-standing needs that every nonprofit needs,” Hoffmann said. “Public funding, really high demand on philanthropy, that has implications on every other aspect of how they function.”
Mahoney said nonprofits like the Gaiser Center are always looking at how to make the most of their funding, and even how to earn more funding through other avenues. He said that although the Gaiser Center wasn’t directly impacted by the government shutdown, the center serves many people who would be affected by cuts to social aid programs, which could have ripple effects on the Gaiser Center.
Because of the constant need for funding, however, Mahoney said brainstorming fundraising efforts and revenue streams was a good use of time at the workshop.
“It never changes as far as safeguarding against funding threats. Diversify funding and revenue streams, keep funding low,” he said about nonprofit funding ideas. “The recommendations are always the same.”
Because financing is one of the biggest challenges nonprofits are facing, which in turn leads to more strain on employees and general operations, Hoffmann said some nonprofits at his sessions expressed interest in merging with other agencies. Some nonprofits cover similar areas of need or purpose, and Hoffmann said those agencies connecting with one another through the workshops led to more conversation around collaboration.
Additionally, artificial intelligence was part of the conversation, a tool that Mahoney said could be used to fulfill some of the more routine parts of health care work, like screenings for appointments and calls.
“Say you had to cut staffing, say funding trickles down to staffing, can you use AI for screenings, something along those lines,” Mahoney said.
Hoffmann said Elevate NP is following up on this possibility by organizing workshops based around mergers.
