Philanthropy is in a period of deep transition. The needs of communities remain constant, but the systems designed to meet them are changing. Established funding patterns have been disrupted, traditional roles are blurring, and both funders and nonprofits are adapting to new expectations and realities.
In this moment, resilience is what sustains impact. It’s not just about perseverance, but about how resources flow, how support is structured, and how funding systems adapt to sustain progress even as conditions shift.
At Panorama Strategy, we see resilience every day in the organizations and funders we partner with. It shows up in flexible funding models that center trust, in cross-sector collaborations that amplify reach, and in leaders who keep showing up even when systems move around them.
Across our work, we’ve seen three clear patterns among those navigating change successfully. Each shift below highlights practical ways for funders and nonprofits to strengthen connection, share responsibility, and build the kind of resilience that lasts.
Rethink the Role of Fundraising & Philanthropy
Nonprofits: Treat fundraising as movement-building, not just money-raising
Fundraising is more than a function—it’s a way to connect your mission to people’s deepest values. When purpose and story align, fundraising becomes an act of movement-building: inviting others to share ownership of change.
To strengthen capacity for grantees of The T1D Community Fund, we engaged Oluwagbemibori Olaoye to deliver a training on fundraising and financial strategies for 30 civil society organizations across 27 countries. Her message resonated deeply: “Fundraising is not a desperate chase for money. Rather, it’s about helping people connect their resources with their deepest values, aspirations, and impact on the world.”
Especially in times of change, this approach reframes fundraising as movement-building—aligning mission, values, and action so that communities see themselves as part of the solution.
Funders: Trust leaders — relationships fuel results
Many of the most effective solutions come from leaders rooted in the communities and issue areas they serve, especially those working in under-resourced spaces. These leaders may not have full-time development staff or polished grant writers, but they bring deep expertise, lived experience, and innovative approaches. Too often, traditional funding processes filter them out—not because of the quality of their work, but because of the way resources are accessed.
Applying trust-based philanthropy principles helps ensure these leaders can bring their solutions forward. Funders can:
- Simplify your process: replace lengthy proposals with short applications, open calls, or conversation-based assessments that invite in a wider range of voices.
- Build relationships early: connect with organizations before a formal grant cycle begins, showing that insights and honesty are valued as much as deliverables and outcomes.
- Fund flexibly: provide multi-year, unrestricted support to give leaders room to adapt as realities shift.
At Panorama, we’ve supported funders in aligning strategy, governance, and giving practices with values like transparency, collaboration, and humility—drawing on our Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®(CAP®) and 21/64 training. These trust-based principles work across giving styles, from institutional foundations to individual philanthropists, and help ensure resources flow to those best positioned to create change.
Strengthen the Foundation for Long-Term Impact
Nonprofits: Build a funding strategy that reflects your values and vision
The goal isn’t just securing more funding—it’s finding the kind that fits your values, your capacity, and your long-term vision. When your funding approach reflects your creativity and community, it becomes a source of strength, not just survival.
In the Fundraising Guide for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention that Panorama Strategy prepared for To Zero, we highlighted organizations designing funding approaches true to who they are. Thorn expanded its reach through partnerships with high-net-worth donors and collaborative initiatives like The Audacious Project, showing how innovation can attract new allies. The Internet Watch Foundation built corporate partnerships that turned awareness into shared purpose, while the Moore Center leveraged advocacy to expand public-sector support, securing new federal funding for prevention research.
Each of these organizations designed their funding models for adaptability—balancing mission, opportunity, and stability. That adaptability is financial resilience.
Funders: Support operations, not just programs
Funders play a critical role in creating the conditions for that adaptability. Short-term, restricted grants keep organizations stuck in a cycle of urgency. By contrast, flexible funding allows them to plan, invest in talent, and respond to evolving needs. In periods of uncertainty, that flexibility is the difference between survival and long-term impact.
In 2024, Panorama Strategy committed $500,000 of its profits (2024-2027) to launch the Maternal Health Equity Initiative (MHEI) under The Panorama Fund, supporting grassroots organizations working to improve maternal health outcomes in underserved U.S. communities. We made the deliberate choice to offer unrestricted support, putting the power in leaders closest to the work to decide how best to use the funds.
“Trust-based funding means leading from our values,” said Leseliey Welch, co-founder and CEO of Birth Center Equity, a MHEI grantee. “With flexible support, we are able to invest in our network birth centers as well as in capacity building and technical assistance to support them — pivoting with the needs and opportunities facing our communities without asking permission from funders. Trust-based funding believes in us as much as it believes in impact.”
Supporting operations isn’t a loss of control; it’s an investment in resilience. It signals confidence in leaders and recognizes that lasting change comes from organizational strength, not just program output.
Fuel Systems Change Through Collaboration
Nonprofits: Frame your work across systems, not just sectors
The most urgent challenges don’t exist in silos. Nonprofits that show how their work lives at the intersection of multiple issues can attract a more diverse set of funders, partners, and champions.
Take our partner Sharing Excess, which began as a food-recovery effort and wasn’t widely recognized for its role in climate action and resilience. By highlighting how food security connects to environmental and economic systems, the organization was able to build new corporate partnerships and gain recognition from climate- and systems-focused funders—without losing its grassroots core.
Positioning your mission within the systems it influences—rather than as an isolated issue—makes your work relevant to a wider circle of funders, advocates, and peers.
Funders: Fund intersectionally — partnerships let you stay focused and go further
Complex challenges rarely live within one category. When funders look for where their priorities overlap with others—across issues, regions, or movements—they uncover opportunities to deepen impact and attract new collaborators.
Tools like Bridging the Climate-Gender-Health Nexus: A Funder's Starter Guide offer practical ways for funders to partner across silos—whether through pooled funds, shared learning spaces, or coordinated campaigns. An intersectional approach allows funders to deepen their relevance while attracting co-investment from peers who share complementary goals. When funders frame their portfolios around these connections, they expand both their impact and the ecosystem of support around it.
Want to learn more?
At Panorama Strategy, we work alongside funders and nonprofits to help unlock support for under-resourced issues—through strategic communications, philanthropic advising, and capacity building. Contact us to start a conversation. We’d love to learn more about your work and explore how we can support your goals.
