If you have mixed feelings about what 2023 will bring your nonprofit, you have good reason.
You and your team are probably exhausted. The demand for nonprofit services surged early in the COVID pandemic and, for many, hasn’t abated. Staffing crises and supply chain issues deepen, compound, drag on.
But you’re probably energized for this year, too. Promising things are happening in the nonprofit world—things that feel invigorating and infectious (in a good way, not a pandemic way).
More nonprofits now collaborate and partner to deliver services and advocate for change in the sector and in the world.
More grants and donors for equity and justice work have emerged. A trickle won’t do it; the sector needs a flood. But the spigot to fund the work of our time has begun to open.
More funders have a glimmer that “overhead” might mean the difference between a living wage and poverty for a frontline nonprofit employee. More funders realize that providing multiyear unrestricted funding, and lowering barriers to access, will unleash transformative ideas to help make society more equitable. Again, many more funders need to realize these things. And as the tide continues to shift, more will.
Challenges and opportunities abound for nonprofits in 2023.
This is a year to question everything.
Remember when you questioned everything and pivoted at the beginning of COVID? The pace of change moves so fast now that nonprofits must constantly question, adjust, and re-evaluate, immediate crisis or no.
We’ve put together a guide to help nonprofit leaders navigate the challenges and potential of 2023. To succeed, leaders must be real about capacity. So we know that many of you won’t tackle all these issues at once this year. That’s OK. We’ve designed this guide so you can jump in at any issue—once you pass a central point, the one thing we believe all nonprofits must improve on in 2023. We’ve included some “recess” activities along the way: ideas for constructive ways to step away from a thorny issue, regroup, get a new perspective, or de-stress.
We have a lot to do. Let’s get started.
