Strategy & Your Board in 2026
Strategic planning is a widely accepted expectation for nonprofit Boards of Directors. Think about what 2026 might demand in how you approach this work.
The nonprofit sector faces significant uncertainty.
Too many nonprofits sighed with relief this year because they didn’t receive Federal funding cuts. Continued or increased Federal funding cuts will impact much of state and local government funding. As life-sustaining critical services lose that support, individual donors, and even established donors, are likely to shift their giving priorities. The overall financial resources are shrinking.
Financial markets feel riskier than usual. The New York Times cites Market Volatility Underscores Epic Buildup of Global Risk.
According to a Candid study released last month, 70% of the nonprofit workforce is considering leaving their current position. “The top reasons nonprofit employees cite for leaving have been consistent from 2023 to 2024: too much work and too little support (59%), limited growth opportunities (54%), unsupportive management (52%), and inadequate pay and benefits (50%).” Only 1 in 3 plans to stay in the nonprofit sector.
Strategic plans cannot just be a three-year to do list. Consider options like what some of our clients have already done in the last year.
Establish and use guiding principles to provide parameters for implementation. Here’s. a perfect example - taking a hard look at sustainability following traditional mission lines, a small organization is evaluating an aligned partnership model that expands their mission in complementary ways. Before pursuing this significant change, the board agreed on key guiding principles that keep their traditional mission centered and, if followed, help them make decisions in consistent ways.
Prioritize the programs you will defend before the choice is forced on you. One client looked at the entirety of their programming and pre-emptively made decisions on the order in which they would close programs if needed. Some decisions were tied to funding restrictions, but they easily agreed on the core program they will fight to keep at all costs because of its essence to the mission and no other comparable programs in the community
Set proactive evaluation points throughout the plan’s timeframe and be willing to act on them. Strategic plans are often aspirational – and should be! But they also need to provide evaluation points and off-ramps where appropriate. One client had a brilliant vision and tempered it with checkpoints on financial health and having the right leadership on board in critical areas.
Once the plan is made, how much should boards be involved? Asking critical questions is more important than ever. An organizational failure in 2025 involved unrealistically high expectations from both staff and the board. Management by exception can fail very quickly and those three months of reserves likely won’t allow for a graceful exit if worse comes to worse.
We expect 2026 to be a year that can be successfully navigated. With clear principles, steady due diligence, and the right questions, most risks can be managed. Your mission may not depend on it—but it will be stronger for it.