Changemaker Conversations: The Podcast for Nonprofit Leaders · Alyssa Conrardy and Lindsay Mullen

Fix Your Funding, Part 2: Build Your Nonprofit’s Crisis Response Fundraising Strategy

·28 min·2 clips

Lindsay explains why you must stop sugarcoating financials and urgently involve your board to avert a nonprofit deficit.

This episode focuses on creating a crisis-response fundraising plan for nonprofits facing financial instability in 2026. Hosts Lindsay Mullen and Alyssa Conradi, principals at the advisory firm Prosper Strategies, guide leaders through immediate corrective actions. They build upon a previous episode that identified four key financial health metrics: operating reserves, restricted revenue ratio, budget surplus/deficit, and revenue diversification. The hosts explain that a budget deficit or low operating reserves necessitates quickly raising cash, starting with complete transparency to the board of directors. They suggest asking board members to contribute funds earlier than planned or to activate their networks through a coordinated outreach window. For organizations with a high restricted revenue ratio, the strategy involves communicating with existing funders to convert some restricted gifts into flexible, unrestricted support. If revenue diversification is the primary issue, the advice is to experiment with only one or two new, high-touch fundraising strategies rather than attempting a major overhaul. Alyssa shares an example of a board planning a "thank-a-thon" to call and steward donors at the start of a meeting. Lindsay recounts a story of a funder who was grateful an executive director transparently shared a federal funding gap, allowing them to prevent program shutdowns. They describe a medical research organization successfully convincing disease-specific donors to provide unrestricted funding by explaining operational needs. The hosts emphasize that in a crisis, leaders must prioritize the lowest-hanging fruit and highest-return strategies, not attempt to fix everything at once. A surprising claim is that a financially stable organization should ideally hold four to six months of cash in operating reserves, with some holding up to a year. They note that many nonprofits are currently dipping into these reserves due to unexpected funding shifts. An interesting insight is that a lack of revenue diversification often requires disciplined creativity, focusing on high-touch, low-lift strategies rather than launching multi-year individual donor programs during a crisis. A memorable moment is the pragmatic admission that having all four financial metrics in trouble is unfortunately common in the sector. The tone is supportive, educational, and conversational, blending strategic advice with relatable anecdotes from their consulting work. The style is practical and step-by-step, aimed at reducing overwhelm for leaders in stressful situations. Nonprofit executive directors, development directors, and board members grappling with immediate budget shortfalls or cash flow problems would find this episode particularly useful. Listeners seeking broad, inspirational fundraising ideas or those from organizations with stable, diversified funding might find the crisis-focused content less immediately relevant.

As heard by us

A steady, practical guide for nonprofits trying to raise money under pressure.

The episode stays centered on funding pressure, with Lindsay Mullen and Alyssa Conradi laying out how nonprofits can shape a fundraising strategy that still holds up in a difficult year.

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Why you'd press play

Build a crisis response fundraising plan for a nonprofit under funding pressure.

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