From crisis to creativity, rethinking revenue in a post-federal funding era

Federal funding has always been a critical pillar for U.S. nonprofits. But in 2025, that pillar is looking increasingly unstable. Budget cuts, legislative gridlock, shifting priorities, and delayed disbursements have left many organizations wondering not just how to grow — but how to survive.

And as government support falters, another concern looms: traditional donors, especially mid-level givers, are becoming harder to reach, engage, and retain. The tried-and-tested revenue strategies simply aren't delivering the same returns.

Yet amid this turbulence, something quietly powerful is happening. A growing number of nonprofits are stepping off the old path and charting new ones, not out of luxury, but necessity. They’re launching microgiving pilots, exploring community-powered fundraising, experimenting with earned income, and identifying pockets of value within their mission that can be reimagined as resilient revenue streams. They’re moving from crisis mode to creative mode. And they’re starting to thrive.

Many organizations have long relied on a mosaic of funding streams that includes major gifts, foundation grants, federal funding, and the occasional viral campaign. But what happens when several of those collapse at once? When a key federal program is defunded or a long-standing funder changes direction with little warning?

Too often, the default response is to double down on grant writing, chase more of the same donors, or launch another emergency appeal. But those approaches carry high costs, both in staff time and opportunity. And in a digital landscape where attention is scarce and supporters are increasingly skeptical, they no longer guarantee results.

The alternative, and the opportunity, is to rethink where value exists in your organization, and how it can be offered to your audiences in ways that feel meaningful, generous, and yes, revenue-generating.

Sometimes that means creating small, paid experiences that are deeply mission-aligned, for example, a short workshop that builds on your expertise, or a set of downloadable tools that help people take action in their own communities. In other cases, it’s about reimagining your supporter journey so that micro-contributions become a natural part of interaction, not a hard sell.

This isn’t about monetising everything. It’s about recognizing that in moments of disruption, people still want to give — but they may need a new way to do it.

One of the clearest examples of what's possible comes from our work with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) during the launch of their Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. With conflict escalating and public concern mounting, the DEC needed to activate donors across multiple channels, fast. Together, we developed a real-time, cross-platform strategy that spanned Google and Microsoft Search Networks, Facebook and Instagram, and Google’s Discovery Network, all designed to adapt and optimise in-flight.

Within two weeks, 210,000 people had donated online. More than $20 million was raised through managed digital channels. The campaign went on to set a Guinness World Record for the most money raised by an online campaign in one week.

What made the difference wasn't just the speed or scale of the response. It was the fact that the organization had a foundation of digital agility. They could move quickly, test in real time, and trust that their platforms would meet the moment. It showed that even in crisis, it’s possible to raise transformative amounts of money if your infrastructure and mindset are designed for responsiveness.

There’s a misconception in the sector that new revenue models must be complex, capital-intensive, or geared toward social enterprise. Some of the most effective innovations are deceptively simple. When working with Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity, Torchbox helped optimize their digital donation journey by simplifying forms, testing different suggested donation values, and tailoring options based on device type.

Rather than overhauling the entire platform, these targeted changes made the experience clearer and more emotionally intuitive for supporters. The result: a 17% uplift in conversion and a 13% increase in average donation value.

Nonprofits could look at ways to partner with community members as co-fundraisers, not just donors. Think supporter-hosted events, skill-sharing platforms, or content collaborations where the community itself becomes part of the income engine. They are invitations to deeper participation and they often generate stronger loyalty in return.

What all of these approaches share is a willingness to experiment. That means setting aside small budgets to test ideas, designing lightweight pilots, and embracing learning even when outcomes are uncertain. It also means shifting internal narratives around what "counts" as fundraising and giving teams permission to think differently.

One of the deeper challenges in making this shift is cultural. For decades, nonprofit revenue has been framed in narrow terms: development departments pursue grants, individual giving teams manage campaigns, and finance tracks the results. But resilient organizations in 2025 are starting to see revenue as everyone’s business.

Service delivery teams are exploring ways their work can generate value beyond outputs. Communications teams are thinking about how storytelling creates trust, and trust fuels giving. Program staff are identifying assets that could be repurposed or shared with others in exchange for support. It’s not about turning everyone into fundraisers. It’s about making income generation a shared strategic concern, one that’s grounded in mission, not marketing.

Ultimately, the invitation at this moment is not just to patch holes or weather the storm. It’s to lead. Because the organizations that emerge strongest from this era won’t be the ones that clung most tightly to their old models, they’ll be the ones that chose creativity over complacency.

That doesn’t mean taking reckless risks or abandoning what works. It means creating space for new possibilities. Testing, learning, adapting. It means being bold enough to imagine revenue as more than a means to an end — and seeing it instead as a reflection of your relevance, your resonance, and your ability to move people to act.

Because when done well, the most powerful revenue models don’t distract from the mission. They bring it into sharper focus.