Nonprofits face challenges under the Trump administration as public funding dwindles and missions tied to LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and racial equity come under scrutiny. Nonprofit leaders, including Elizabeth Frederick of Avenues for Justice and Daren Strunk of The Worker, emphasize the importance of staying true to their missions rather than self-censoring to secure funding, warning that altering language to appease political pressures can erode long-term trust with donors and communities.

A common issue nonprofits face is fundraisers' lack of detailed knowledge about their own programs, often due to organizational silos. Richard Perry, the founder of Giving Pathways and the Veritus Group, suggests nonprofits create a "planogram" to map out program categories and subcategories, determine costs and use this information to create compelling donor asks.

Instead of giving your team all the answers they seek, formulate good questions that create a sense of safety so they can generate ideas and come up with creative solutions, writes executive coach Kelly Meerbott, who offers five "turn-key ready" questions you can ask today. "Each of these questions is deceptively simple. But paired with active listening and genuine curiosity, they can completely change the trajectory of a conversation," Meerbott writes.

If you want to drive organizational change, empower your middle managers to model and reinforce new behavior with their teams, rather than relying on top-down directives, writes Michel Koopman, the CEO & founder at CxO Coaching. Prepare managers for the role with targeted coaching, peer-based cohorts for accountability and mentoring from senior leaders, Koopman writes.

Understanding donor motivation is crucial for building lasting relationships and enhancing fundraising efforts. Jen Shang, a philanthropic psychologist, advises fundraisers to highlight shared human connections and create positive experiences for potential donors.