Ask almost any nonprofit CEO what keeps them up at night, and eventually the conversation gets to money.
Will that government contract be renewed? Will the foundation that has supported the organization for years change its priorities? Can we replace a major grant if it disappears? How do we keep up with rising costs without cutting services? How do we pay talented people what they are worth while continuing to meet growing community needs?
And perhaps the biggest question of all:
Where’s the money?
It is not an unreasonable question.
The funding environment has become increasingly difficult for many nonprofit organizations. The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s State of Nonprofits 2026 found that 57% of nonprofit CEOs reported that securing foundation grants had become harder since January 2025. Forty-eight percent said the same about federal government funding, and 43% reported greater difficulty obtaining state government funding.
At the same time, the larger philanthropic picture tells a more complicated story. Giving USA estimates that Americans contributed $617.2 billion to charitable causes in 2025, an increase of 5.7% in current dollars over the prior year. And Candid’s 2026 Foundation Giving Forecast Survey found that 44.3% of surveyed foundations expected to increase their giving in 2026, while another 46.9% expected giving to remain about the same.
So, there is money.
The more important question for nonprofit leaders is whether we know where it is moving — and whether our organizations are positioned to access it.
The Money Is Moving
One of the biggest mistakes nonprofit leaders can make in an uncertain economy is assuming that a difficult funding environment means there is no funding available.
Money moves.
Government priorities change. Foundations revise their strategies. Corporations reconsider where their community investments can have the greatest impact. Banks respond to changing community needs and opportunities. Individual donors change how and where they give. New public investments emerge while others disappear.
The nonprofit CEO’s job, therefore, cannot simply be to ask:
What grants are open?
We have to ask better questions.
Where is the money moving?
What problems are funders trying to solve?
What communities are receiving increased attention?
Who is making those investments?
Who is funding organizations similar to ours?
And where does our mission intersect with those priorities?
Those are fundamentally different questions from searching a database for the next application deadline.
They require nonprofit leaders to understand the funding environment around them.
Stop Looking Only for Grants
For many nonprofits, the word funding immediately becomes synonymous with grants.
That can severely limit the conversation.
The resources necessary to advance a nonprofit mission can potentially come from foundations, government, corporations, financial institutions, individual donors, contracts, sponsorships, earned revenue, strategic partnerships and, when appropriate, financing.
That does not mean every nonprofit should pursue every source of funding.
Quite the opposite.
The goal is not to chase more money.
The goal is to identify the right money for the right purpose.
Before asking who might fund something, leaders should be able to answer a much more basic question:
What exactly are we trying to fund?
“We need more money” is not a funding strategy.
“We need $500,000 over the next two years to expand a proven program into three additional neighborhoods and serve 400 more families” begins to sound like one.
Once the need is clear, the universe of potential funding becomes much easier to evaluate.
Follow the Problem
There is another question nonprofit leaders should consider when looking for funding:
Who has an interest in seeing this problem solved?
That question can dramatically expand how an organization thinks about potential partners.
Consider a nonprofit addressing substance use disorder.
The obvious funding prospects may be foundations interested in behavioral health or addiction services. But the consequences of substance use disorder extend much further.
Hospitals experience the cost.
Emergency medical systems experience the cost.
Local governments experience the cost.
Employers experience the cost.
Health insurers experience the cost.
Public safety systems experience the cost.
Families and neighborhoods experience the cost.
Suddenly, the question is no longer simply, “Who funds substance abuse programs?”
It becomes:
Who has a financial, social, governmental or community interest in changing this outcome?
That is a much more powerful funding question.
Sometimes finding new resources requires looking beyond the organizations that traditionally fund your type of nonprofit and identifying the institutions that have a stake in the problem you are solving.
Relationships Are Part of the Funding Strategy
Of course, knowing where the money is does not automatically give you access to it.
Relationships matter.
And this is where the role of the nonprofit CEO becomes especially important.
One of the lessons I learned as an Executive Director was how easy it is to get pulled into the weeds of running an organization.
There is always something urgent.
A staffing issue. A program problem. A report. A budget question. A grant deadline. A board matter. An email that needs an immediate response.
If you allow it, operations will consume every available hour.
But while the CEO is inside the organization managing today’s problems, an important question can go unanswered:
Who is building the relationships that will fund tomorrow’s mission?
Nonprofit CEOs cannot delegate all of the organization’s external positioning.
Someone has to develop relationships with foundation leaders, corporate executives, bankers, elected officials, government agencies, major donors, community leaders and potential strategic partners.
Someone has to tell the organization’s story when there isn’t an application on the table.
Someone has to make sure the right people know the organization before the organization needs something from them.
That is CEO work.
It does not mean ignoring operations. It means recognizing that leadership also requires looking beyond the walls of the organization.
Sometimes one of the most revealing things a nonprofit CEO can do is look at their own calendar.
Does your calendar reflect the future you say you are trying to build?
Finding the Money Isn’t Enough
There is one more uncomfortable reality.
You can find the money and still not be positioned to get it.
A foundation can have millions available for exactly the issue your organization addresses and still decide not to fund you.
A government agency can release the perfect opportunity and your organization may not be ready to compete.
You can finally get the meeting with the corporate executive you’ve been trying to reach and discover that your organization cannot clearly articulate its outcomes, financial position or strategy.
Before significant resources move into an organization, someone is ultimately making a judgment.
Can this organization deliver?
Is its leadership credible?
Are its finances sound?
Does its board provide appropriate oversight?
Can it demonstrate results?
Does it have the capacity to manage the investment?
Is there a clear strategy?
Can we trust this organization with our money?
At CEO 360, we describe an organization’s ability to attract, secure, manage and effectively deploy resources as capital readiness.
The terminology may be unfamiliar.
The concept shouldn’t be.
It is the difference between finding an opportunity and being positioned to take advantage of it.
The CEO’s Question Has Changed
For years, nonprofit organizations have been encouraged to become better grant seekers.
In today’s environment, that is not enough.
Nonprofit CEOs must become better funding strategists.
We need to understand what we are trying to finance. We need to know where resources are moving. We need to recognize emerging opportunities. We need to build relationships before we need them. We need to diversify where appropriate. And we need organizations capable of successfully managing the resources we pursue.
None of that makes the current environment easy.
But it does mean nonprofit leaders are not powerless.
There is still money moving through philanthropy, government, corporations, financial institutions, individuals and other sources. The organizations that thrive will not necessarily be the ones that submit the most applications.
They will be the organizations paying attention.
The organizations building relationships.
The organizations demonstrating results.
The organizations preparing themselves before the opportunity arrives.
So perhaps the question nonprofit CEOs should be asking isn’t simply:
Where’s the money?
There is a second question that matters just as much:
When we find it, will we be ready to get it?
For nonprofit leaders wrestling with these questions, Joy Johnson will continue the conversation on October 13 at MidTown Tech Hive in Cleveland during “Where Is the Money?!?” — a CEO-level discussion focused on finding capital, positioning for it, and preparing organizations to receive it. Learn more and register here: https://links.myceo360.org/events/beyond-the-grind-2026-10-13
With more than two decades of experience in community development, real estate strategy, and organizational leadership, Joy Johnson brings a seasoned, solutions-focused voice to the field. She is committed to helping communities and institutions avoid systemic pitfalls and build models that truly work. To reach Joy, call (216) 238-2415.