The new year creates an opportunity to reflect on what was and envision what will be.
Our team has a tradition of writing nonprofit sector resolutions (revisit them here: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), and we continue with hope for 2026.
Let me first offer some interesting insights as I re-read the past columns:
- On January 2, 2020, I ended the column with a wish for a “happy and healthy 2020.” Little did we know the public health tidal wave that was about to hit us just a few weeks and months after I wrote those words. I still don’t know if we fully understand the toll that year took on lives, livelihoods, and well-being.
- On January 7, 2021, I reflected on the power of gratitude, which is still central to my practice today, and asked, “What can you and your nonprofit do to repair harm?” as part of a resolution on DEI. What a 180-degree shift to that question today.
- From January 6, 2022, the sentence “Government agencies have extraordinary resources because of federal spending” jumped off the page to me because who could have ever seen what we lived through in 2025 with the shifts in federal funding and policy.
- From January 5, 2023, the resolution about human recovery and organizational resilience still rings true. “The fatigue across the sector is real. We cannot minimize the challenges of the last three years, but we can focus on what is needed for recovery and resilience.” Re-write this as the challenge of the last six years.
- From January 11, 2024, I re-iterate this sentence, “I hope 2024 brings new levels of understanding and awareness for boards and the importance of their chief executive relationship.” Governance is everything, and leadership matters.
- From January 17, 2025, I want to put in ALL CAPS and bold this resolution: “Build advocacy training into your board calendar.”
OK, on to the list for 2026.
1. Advocacy. Advocacy. Advocacy.
Use the BoardSource Stand For Your Mission website to guide this process. The materials provided are exceptional and will help you and your board understand what your organization can and cannot do in terms of advocacy. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the things, but please know this: you have a voice, and there are tools to support you. Create an ad-hoc committee of your board and decide what topic or issue area matters most to your mission. Focus your energy there, and make your voice heard.
2. Understand Changes in Policy and Law.
The federal policy changes are no longer theoretical; they are here. Our colleague Laura MacDonald at Benefactor Group wrote an excellent summary on the changing tax code for Forbes. The National Council of Nonprofits has a robust section on their website documenting trends and policy issues. The Urban Institute studied the impact on ACA premium increases, and Stanford Social Innovation Review has a series on “Philanthropy’s Response to the Radical New Reality.” And, you can go directly to the source as the IRS has a summary of the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions.” Build these and other sources into your board and senior staff agendas to ensure everyone in leadership understands the implications on your work.
3. Co-Create Learning.
We often share book titles during a “getting to know you” activity at board retreats, but we were inspired by a panel at a nonprofit event this fall where the featured guests shared a book recommendation on board governance and why it was insightful to their work. We invite you to share a book, article, blog post, or podcast about board governance and nonprofit work that is meaningful to you. Click here to add your submission. We will curate the list and publish it quarterly to help inform and inspire one another.
4. Build Your Board.
Investing in board education and thinking strategically about board composition, culture, and operations will have a profound impact on your organization’s health and effectiveness. Explore with your governance committee one new idea this year that could improve how your board functions. Maybe it’s eliminating your executive committee or changing how the financials are presented, or creating a new format for the dashboard or scorecard that is shared. Find one area to improve and focus your efforts there. And, of course, we invite you to use our Board Building program for support.
5. Be Kind and Incorporate Self-Care.
It’s an understatement to say that 2025 was hard. Look at your holiday schedule and PTO policies and consider how to add more days off or increase the flexibility offered. Consider an opportunity for extended leave, such as a sabbatical for rest and renewal after a certain tenure of service. This blog post from the Center for Nonprofit Advancement is an excellent place to start as you consider what a sabbatical offering could look like at your organization. We also offer this article from Social Work Today as you explore what your employees may need and how to include self-care options.
We reached our 200th unique client in 2025, and for that, we are grateful. Thank you for your partnership over the years. We offer our deep gratitude for the connections and learnings of the past year and for what is yet to come in 2026. Happy New Year.
