The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law in July 2025, has already begun reshaping the landscape for nonprofits across the country. With major changes to public funding structures, tax policy, and eligibility thresholds for federal aid programs, many organizations are left asking the same question: What now?
In moments of disruption, the ability to communicate clearly and purposefully is one of a nonprofit’s greatest assets. This is not the time to retreat from the public eye. It’s a moment to reinforce your value, express leadership, and inspire confidence in those who support and rely on you.
Based on Teak Media’s years of experience supporting mission-driven organizations through policy shifts, funding crises, and public scrutiny, we advise clients to use these five strategies to navigate what comes next.
1. Be transparent, but avoid alarm
Stakeholders need to hear the truth, but they also need to trust that your organization can weather the storm. Honest updates should explain what’s changing, how it might affect services, and what steps are being taken — all without resorting to panic or speculation.
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston-based Pine Street Inn issued steady, plainspoken updates about their shelter capacity, safety protocols, and community need. Their transparency helped drive record levels of donor engagement and community trust, not because the news was good, but because it was grounded, clear, and constructive.
2. Use real stories to make policy human
New laws or policies can feel abstract, especially to donors or the general public. Humanizing the impact with a personal story can quickly bridge that gap. It’s a technique politicians have used in speeches for years for reasons we explained in this blog earlier this year. These stories should be honest, specific, and mission-aligned, not just showing the need, but showing how your organization helps meet it.
In 2021, the nonprofit Free to Thrive elevated the story of Sarah, a trafficking survivor who had been coerced into illegal activity and was later arrested. Her experience navigating the legal system became a focal point for advocates pushing California’s AB‑124, a bill expanding the ability of survivors to clear their records. By putting Sarah’s story at the center of its campaign, Free to Thrive helped lawmakers see the issue not as a legal technicality, but as a personal injustice. The bill passed that fall, proving the power of a single story to drive systemic change.
3. Reaffirm your mission and values
In times of disruption, the greatest risk isn’t losing funding or public attention. It’s drifting from your mission. Policy shifts can tempt organizations to soften their message or shift priorities. But these moments call for steadfastness, not compromise.
We’re seeing this play out now. In 2025, the Trump administration froze over $2.3 billion in federal research grants and threatened to revoke accreditation from universities with DEI programs, including Harvard. Rather than back down, Harvard publicly reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive scholarship and academic freedom. President Alan Garber issued a firm statement defending the university’s values, and Harvard filed suit. A federal judge later ruled the termination of Harvard’s NIH grants “illegal and void,” restoring funding. Public opinion rallied: former President Obama praised Harvard for rejecting “an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom.” Support translated into action: donors contributed more than 4,000 online gifts totaling over $1.1 million within 48 hours of Garber’s statement. While the situation is still evolving, Harvard’s example shows that reaffirming core values can strengthen trust, mobilize supporters, and yield real results.
4. Lead with empathy and hope
Fear can motivate in the short term, but empathy and shared purpose build lasting engagement. Acknowledge uncertainty, but pair it with possibility. Let people know they’re not alone—and that they’re part of the solution.
In September 2022, roughly 50 Venezuelan migrants were flown without notice to Martha’s Vineyard as part of a political stunt. The island’s residents, without infrastructure or preparation, responded not with fear, but with compassion. Volunteers and local officials provided food, shelter, translation, and legal aid. St. Andrew’s Church opened its doors; a local teacher stepped in to interpret. The response was calm, coordinated, and deeply humane. As State Rep. Dylan Fernandes put it, the island “embodied the best of this community and the best of America”.
The impact extended far beyond that week. Many migrants pursued legal residency through U-visas tied to a criminal investigation. One year later, several had resettled, found jobs, and returned to reunite with Vineyard volunteers. While immigration policies have since grown more restrictive, the individual cases of the Vineyard migrants continue moving forward, proof that compassion under pressure can have lasting outcomes.
5. Lean on trusted partners and build coalitions
You don’t have to go it alone. Collaboration multiplies impact, broadens credibility, and helps address challenges that no one organization can solve alone. Trust in your people, and lead together.
Project Bread launched the Feed Kids Coalition and subsequent three-year campaign when pandemic waivers were set to expire, bringing together a diverse cohort of stakeholders, including school districts, social justice organizations, healthcare institutions, houses of worship and others who make up the Coalition, as well as Project Bread’s Hunger Action Team, with over 4,200 advocates who called, e-mailed, and tweeted at their elected officials to ensure School Meals for All remained a top priority in the State House. Their unified efforts built bipartisan support for permanent universal free school meals. The result? The School Meals for All bill became law in the Commonwealth, alongside expanded investments in local food systems and community health.
The coalition succeeded not just because of policy expertise, but because it reflected collective will across sectors, geographies, and ideologies. By trusting each other and working together, they proved that systemic change is not only possible, but sustainable.
The One Big Beautiful Bill has changed the context, but not the calling. Nonprofits still exist to fill gaps, champion dignity, and build stronger communities. The difference now is that the stakes—and the attention—are higher.
In moments like these, communication is not a secondary task. It is leadership.
