When Policy Shifts, Your Mission Is on the Line: Why Nonprofits Can’t Sit Out

Across the country, nonprofit organizations are operating in an environment shaped by ongoing policy and regulatory change.

Over the years, I have heard the same concern from nonprofit leaders: The rules keep shifting, and the ground feels less stable.

I have watched organizations adjust in real time — often with little warning — to shifts in eligibility rules, funding formulas, and public priorities which can alter how services are delivered and who can access them.

Even small changes can affect staffing, budgets, and the stability of the communities that nonprofits serve.

In this environment, I no longer see civic disengagement as a neutral choice. If public policy decisions shape our operating environment, then engagement is part of protecting our mission as nonprofit leaders.

In my 20 years working at the intersection of nonprofits and civic participation, I have come to see nonpartisan engagement as practical governance, risk management, and general stewardship.

Policy is Operational

I often hear policy described as something that happens elsewhere, while nonprofits focus on direct service.

From where I sit, policy is operational. It determines:

• Who qualifies for healthcare, housing, food assistance, and education
• How public dollars are distributed
• Which communities feel safe accessing services

When those rules change, it impacts nonprofits immediately.

During the DOGE cuts of early 2025, and the congressional decisions that followed, I watched organizations lose government funding while demand for their services remained.

I spoke with executive directors who were stretching already-thin teams because they could not turn people away. Others, unable to stretch any thinner, had to cut staff and entire programs.

According to an Urban Institute study in October 2025, 29% of nonprofits that experienced government funding disruptions in 2025 reduced their staff, and 23% curbed program services — roughly twice the rate of other nonprofits.

Clearly, many nonprofits were unable to find replacement funding or absorb the cuts. Even “absorbing” may only buy time if it’s not sustainable.

In moments like these, I have seen how the response affects trust. Communities expect nonprofit leaders to navigate uncertainty. When we are unprepared to engage with the policy environment shaping our work, we weaken our own positions.

That is why I know that engagement is not optional.

What I Have Seen in the States

At Nonprofit VOTE, I lead a team that works directly with nonprofit leaders wrestling with these issues.

For over two decades, we’ve worked with partners in our mission to answer one simple question: How could we help the communities our partner nonprofits serve participate in elections, and how can we do it in a way that was nonpartisan, effective, and rooted in trust?

In Arizona, leaders at AZ Impact for Good told us their partners were hesitant to engage civically. I heard concerns about compliance and worries about funder perception. Some executive directors said they did not want to risk appearing political.

In response, my team focused first on clarity:

• We provided detailed guidance on what 501(c)(3) organizations can and cannot do.
• We facilitated conversations where board members and executives could raise concerns openly.
• We made compliance our central starting point, not an afterthought or an add-on meant to merely appease weary leadership.

As that work unfolded, I watched hesitation give way to confidence. Organizations began integrating nonpartisan voter registration into events they were already hosting and sharing factual election information with their communities.

No one changed their mission, because no one needed to change their mission. What changed was their willingness to acknowledge that civic participation was already connected to their work.

In Pennsylvania, my team heard from partners at the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania that communities were confused by changing rules and unsure where to find reliable information.

Their leaders wanted to respond, but were cautious about entering election-related conversations as polarizing narratives dominated.

I directed our team to provide clear engagement guidelines so organizations could move forward responsibly.

Afterward, leaders shared that clients viewed them as steady sources of information during uncertainty. Hearing that reinforced for me that careful engagement can strengthen trust.

Across these states, I have seen a consistent pattern: When leaders understand the rules and align engagement with mission, their organizations operate with greater confidence, and their communities benefit from clearer information. Communities also deepen their trust with the nonprofits serving them because of this clear, useful, and reliable communication.

And it’s effective! We examined data from our work with 120 nonprofits across nine states who engaged over 60,000 voters, which revealed that voters engaged by nonprofits saw a 10-percentage point boost in voter turnout compared to comparable voters.

And the turnout boost was even larger among young voters, low-income voters, and people of color engaged by nonprofits.

Civic Engagement as Risk Management

When policy uncertainty intensified in 2025, nonprofit leaders reached out to me asking how to respond without crossing legal lines.

I noticed a difference between organizations that had already integrated nonpartisan engagement and those that had not.

The prepared organizations had trained staff, informed boards, and internal guidelines. They were able to communicate accurate information without hesitation.

Our most engaged partners from states such as Michigan and North Carolina were able to address shifting environments head on, instilling action and leadership at a time of confusion and uncertainty for vulnerable communities.

Preparation did not eliminate pressure from these organizations. But, from my vantage point, it reduced confusion at critical moments.

Now, when I speak with boards about risk, I include civic disengagement in that conversation.

Communities most affected by policy shifts are often the least represented. Rapid changes catch organizations off guard. Trust can erode if nonprofits appear tone-deaf or disconnected from broader realities.

What Engagement Can Look Like

In my work with nonprofits, I rarely advise launching something entirely new. More often, I encourage leaders to integrate civic engagement into existing structures and programs, such as:

• Offering nonpartisan voter registration at intake or community events.
• Sharing factual election information in a newsletter that already goes out.
• Training staff and boards, so decisions are grounded in understanding rather than fear.

In Colorado, I saw how the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless was able to incorporate voter information into communications they were already sending, allowing engagement to become routine rather than exceptional.

In addition to registering over 3,000 voters in 2024, they were able to tie local issues their clients dealt with to a local levy connected to an increased budget for homeless and housing services.

Giving their communities a voice on issues that affect their everyday lives gives a sense of empowerment, and advances the overall mission of improving housing-conditions for vulnerable communities.

At another nonprofit in Pennsylvania, the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, my team supported cross-issue candidate forums that brought together housing groups, health providers, and human service organizations.

We helped them in offering voter registration, sharing reminders about upcoming elections, and engaging the youth and community members they serve, ensuring LGBTQ+ people in Lehigh Valley have the information they need to participate in elections centering the needs of their community.

These were measured steps. From my perspective, they reflected deliberate leadership rather than reaction. And in every case, communities began to have a voice in the shifting policies that make up the environments in which they live and nonprofits operate.

Sector data helps put this in perspective. While many nonprofits are already integrating civic engagement into their work, participation is far from universal.

2025 survey data from the Nonprofit Finance Fund, included in Nonprofit VOTE’s “On the Frontlines of Democracy” report, shows that 45% of nonprofits do advocacy work, and 29% of nonprofits do civic engagement activities like voter registration and GOTV.

This is promising, but more than half of nonprofits are not yet civically engaged.

Leadership in Uncertain Times

Nonprofits are often described as the backbone of communities. They continue to hold high levels of public trust, and that trust carries weight.

In times of shifting policy and uncertainty, communities turn to the organizations they rely on to help make sense of what is changing and what it means for their daily lives.

Choosing not to engage can feel like a way to avoid risk. I understand that instinct. But I’ve also seen how quickly disengagement turns into vulnerability.

It’s been said, “If you’re not at the table, you may be on the menu.” We have reached an inflection point where stepping back often leaves organizations vulnerable — reacting to decisions after they are made.

I have also seen what happens when leaders take informed, nonpartisan steps forward.

The leaders who moved ahead did so because they recognized that policy decisions were shaping their clients’ lives every day. Once that connection was acknowledged, disengagement no longer felt neutral.

In a time of ongoing policy shifts and community disruption, the answer is already known. Our missions will not be sustained if we sit on the sidelines.

Practical Steps Nonprofits Can Take

Know the Rules and Stay Nonpartisan

Make sure staff and board members understand what 501(c)(3) nonprofits can legally do, including nonpartisan voter registration and sharing basic election information.

Include trainings for frontline staff carrying out the work, so they know the rules, too.
 

Work Civic Engagement into Existing Programs and Communications

Include a QR code to your state’s online voter registration portal on flyers around a community resource center or offer voter registration during client intake.

Add election reminders, registration deadlines, or voting information to newsletters.

Think creatively. It works best when it is part of everyday interactions.

Collaborate with Peer Organizations

Partnerships can make the work more effective — and easier.

In Pennsylvania, nonprofits worked together to host candidate forums, addressing a multitude of issues, and sharing important election information with their communities.

Advocacy work also benefits from broader coalitions. Find the coalitions in your state working to advance housing, hunger, education, or critical funding policies that impact your work.

Think strategically and find your group’s value-add to that shared work.

Start Small and Build From There

Even simple steps like sharing election reminders or posting registration information can help communities participate. Or you could sign up to host a National Voter Registration Day event.

Starting small allows you to foster a culture of civic engagement within your nonprofit, its staff, and the communities you serve.

You just have to start somewhere.

 

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