Nonprofits need revolutionary thinking in audience engagement if they want to survive
The nonprofit world is caught in a perfect storm, and many organizations are fundamentally misreading the moment. For decades, nonprofits ran on a static and reliable playbook: Chase government grants, court institutional donors, send the obligatory newsletter, and host the annual gala with open bars and cover bands. It was a comfortable model that did not require active audience engagement. Organizations could simply rely on the steady flow of federal funding and foundation checks.
Then lightning struck. Twice.
The Trump administration's DOGE team landed like a wrecking ball on the nonprofit sector, freezing grants and ultimately turning the once-reliable federal funding spigot into a game of Russian roulette. This policy had near instantaneous effects: At least 14,000 nonprofit jobs were lost two months after inauguration day.
Yet the DOGE disruption only amplified a shift that was already underway. As nonprofits were suddenly losing institutional funding, audience behavior underwent its own revolution: People started donating through their phones at unprecedented rates, began engaging with video content at increasing rates, and developed expectations for digital engagement that most nonprofits weren't remotely prepared to meet.
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