On Our Minds
When New York Attorney General Letitia James convened a session to help nonprofits prepare to face an increasingly hostile political climate, I attended not just as a recruiter, but also as someone committed to the sustainability of this sector and the leaders who drive it.
Here are three takeaways I’m carrying forward for our clients and the broader community.
1. If your governance and financial systems aren’t airtight, now’s the time to fix them.
When you’re focused on meeting urgent, real-time needs, updates to governance and financial infrastructure can understandably take a backseat to more immediate concerns. But in today’s climate, those foundational systems demand consistent attention.
To stay protected, organizations should regularly assess the alignment of their governance and financial materials—including bylaws, board policies, public filings, and grant documentation—to ensure they reflect current operations and risks. This includes reviewing fiscal sponsorship structures, especially when there may be differences in values or public positioning between sponsor and program.
Overlooking this work can introduce risk and complicate your ability to respond to this moment of significant pressure. Keeping your infrastructure current is a practical way forward. And for organizations monitoring federal shifts, the AG’s office even shared a helpful tool for tracking Executive Orders.
2. Leadership needs are shifting in response to regulatory risk.
The AG’s office laid out a clear picture: nonprofits are operating in an environment where older IRS interpretations and dormant federal laws could be enforced in new and aggressive ways. That includes expanded scrutiny of political activity, foreign expenditures, and even staff classification.
Navigating this terrain requires leaders who are fluent in risk. We expect to see growing demand for CFOs, in-house legal counsel, and compliance professionals—particularly in advocacy-oriented organizations or those receiving federal funding.
The role of executive leadership is shifting, too. Now more than ever, leaders must translate complexity into clarity, and fear into focus. It’s a moment that calls for operational strength and empathetic communication, and talent strategies must rise to meet it.
3. Coordination is a strategic imperative and government and nonprofit leaders are already mobilizing.
The AG’s briefing underscored just how much activity is already happening—across state agencies, in nonprofit coalitions, and through sector-wide efforts to push back against harmful policy shifts. From multi-state litigation to shared resources on Executive Orders, there’s momentum nonprofit leaders can tap into and build from.
The session reinforced the importance of understanding your vulnerabilities, sharing information, and maintaining strong communication within and across organizations. Nonprofits are encouraged to designate board-level oversight for legal and policy changes and to proactively train staff on rights, protocols, and risk mitigation.
And if you’re a funder, board member, or institutional partner, this is the moment to listen closely to the leaders closest to the work and align your support accordingly.
The takeaway
The current threats are real and urgent, and they affect us all. We’re being called to show up with shared purpose and collective strength. We survive together.
The social sector has never been a monolith. We hold a range of lived experiences, strategies, and values, all of which lead to different ideas about the “right” way forward. And we're used to working through that complexity in a context that allows us time, trust, and stability to do it meaningfully. If we want to keep doing that work well, we have to lean into the places we align and defend the space that makes our work possible.
So, to the leaders continuing to weather this storm: remember that your strength is felt far beyond your own organization. Take a breath. Stay connected to your peers, your values, and your community.
Your work matters. Your leadership matters. And you are not alone.
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On-Ramps is a search and consulting firm that serves mission-driven organizations in the social sector. We are deeply committed to helping create diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. Together with our clients, we thoughtfully consider and address these topics throughout every step in our process.
Want to dig deeper into the guidance shared at the AG’s briefing or talk about what it means for your organization? We’re here to help. To talk about your hiring needs—or to request the full presentation deck—reach out to Michelle Kedem at info@on-ramps.com or 212-924-3434.
