PLC Newsletter: Thriving Through Change: What Nonprofits Need Most Right Now

The nonprofit sector is carrying a lot. If you are in it, you already know. Rising demand. Shrinking resources. Fatigue showing up everywhere. During our 1st session of the “Thriving Through Change: Building Healthy, Ready & Resilient Nonprofits”” webinar series, I had the pleasure of talking with two powerhouse leaders who are living this reality every day: Julayne Virgil, CEO of Girls Inc. of Alameda County, and Olabayo Allen-Taylor, Director of Investments at Orchid Capital. Their wisdom and candor created an important throughline. Healthy organizations are not built on grit alone. They are built on systems that help people adapt, renew and lead through complexity.

If you know PLC, this will not surprise you. Organizational health and business readiness must work in tandem. You cannot sacrifice people to advance the mission. At least not sustainably. That is a losing game every time.

If you prefer watching video, here you go! Otherwise, key insights from the conversation are below!

What is keeping nonprofit leaders up at night

The conversation started with a grounding question. What is the real challenge right now? Julayne spoke about the tension between rising community needs and shrinking resources. She reminded us that when change accelerates and funding shifts, clients feel the impact first. Ola lifted up another truth. Nonprofits were not designed to live in a permanent crisis. Yet many have been forced into a cycle where fundraising is the primary engine for survival instead of mission alignment. That constant pressure is draining leaders, eroding morale and pushing organizations off purpose.

This is the moment for honesty. The old ways of operating are not holding up. Pretending they are is costing people their health and costing organizations their effectiveness.

Organizational resilience is more than bouncing back

I often say that resilience is not about getting knocked down. It is about getting back up and moving forward again with clarity and intention. Julayne and Ola offered language that aligns strongly with PLC’s R.E.I.G.nTM theory of change and what we see in our client work.

When asked about the definition of resilience, Ola said,

“Resilience is about adapting forward. You should never be surprised by challenges you already know are coming.”

 That requires regular scenario planning, candid conversations about risk and the courage to ask, “If this happens, then what.” It also requires having the right people in the room. Not just executives. Not just funders. Anyone whose perspective helps create a full picture.

Julayne named three essential components. People. A growth mindset. Flexible strategic planning. She stated,

“Turning away from a problem does not prevent it. It only keeps you from being ready for it.”

When teams feel safe enough to speak up about vulnerabilities, organizations strengthen their capacity to navigate disruption. Without that psychological safety, the warning signs stay underground until it is too late.

You already know where this is headed. Resilience is cultural. It is structural. It is strategic. It is not vibes.

A powerful reminder. Sometimes change IS the strategy.

One of the most compelling examples came from Julayne. Girls Inc. of Alameda County made the difficult decision to transfer its decades-old mental health counseling arm to a partner organization. This program was important. It was legacy. It served real needs. But it had grown misaligned with their core mission and had become operationally unsustainable. Rather than continue to carry something that no longer fit, they chose a values-aligned transition that protected clients, honored staff and freed the organization to focus on its strengths. Three years. Cross-sector collaboration. Legal guidance. Deep planning. The result was a win for everyone involved.

This is what thriving through change looks like in practice. Clarity. Courage. Community partnership.

What leaders can do right now without overhauling everything

People are stretched thin. Leaders are trying to do the impossible. That is why I asked both panelists to share the small but meaningful shifts that create traction. Here were some of the actionable recommendations.

Slow down to speed up. Make time for forward-looking conversation rather than living exclusively in the day to day. This is not extra work. It is the work.

Trim the fat. Ola encouraged leaders to stop wasting time on processes, meetings and legacy tasks that no longer serve a purpose. She was very clear about what this is not. This is not code for trimming people. This is about removing the noise that drains energy and distracts from mission-driven work.

Empower middle managers. Both leaders emphasized that middle managers are often closest to the pain points and the solutions. Their insight is critical. Their level of psychological safety is predictive of whether the truth rises or stays buried.

Create space to question what you continue to carry. Whether it is a program, process or ritual, ask the start–stop–continue questions. Small shifts compound.

A message for external partners and consultants

Yes, this included PLC too. The feedback was clear. Partners must build internal capacity so organizations can continue the work when the engagement ends. They must also bring context. When an organization believes it is the only one struggling with a challenge, outside perspective is grounding.

This is what real partnership looks like. Strengthening the system, not creating dependency.

What gives them (and me) hope

Despite the strain, both leaders named reasons to be optimistic. Ola spoke to a rise in truth telling about the real financial and emotional cost of doing this work and a shift toward funding models rooted in transparency.

Julayne highlighted the innovation she sees across the sector. People are rising to meet the moment with creativity that does not always make headlines but absolutely moves communities forward.

And I will add this. What gives me hope is that leaders are hungry for healthier ways of operating. They want environments that support meaningful work, psychological safety and renewal. The same ingredients that keep people engaged at PLC, as I wrote about in my “Have Your Own Shandar” article, are the same ingredients that make organizations resilient.

Final thought

The future of the nonprofit sector will not be defined by who works the hardest. It will be defined by who builds the healthiest cultures. The ones that take care of their people while they take care of the mission. The ones that invest in readiness, not just reaction. The ones that adapt forward with intention.

We co-create what leadership looks like in this sector. Let’s create something healthy, grounded and resilient together. If you want to explore what organizational readiness can look like within your context, PLC is here as a thought partner.