Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1545806
6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 13, 2026 Authored By: Vicky Crouse, Senior Vice President - Credit, Lending & Portfolio Management and Alyssa Mandeville, Senior Vice President - Head of Wealth Management, PeoplesBank W hen a group of Connecticut's nonprofit agencies gathered at the State House earlier this year, they were there with a unified message: we need more funding. It was a vivid illustration of the shifting landscape for these organizations: asked to do more with less, picking up services lost to federal budget cuts, and doing it as benefactors are scrutinizing their own ability to offer support. So how should nonprofits deal with these pressures? There are a number of best practices they should employ in good times and when faced with challenges. Understand all of your financial buckets, and manage them differently Nonprofits operate across multiple funding streams simultaneously: operating budgets, grant cycles, donor contributions, long-term endowments. Each has different objectives, different time horizons, and different risk profiles. One of the most common gaps we see is the absence of a formal investment policy statement (IPS) for long-term assets. Without one, investment decisions can shift with each new board member or volunteer leader, moving from strategy to opinion. A well-structured IPS creates continuity regardless of who's sitting at the table, and ensures your investment allocations stay aligned with what those assets are actually meant to accomplish over time. Build your short-term resilience before you need it The organizations feeling the most pressure today are those that were flush with COVID-era ARPA funding, scaled up programs and staffing, and are now adjusting to a new normal without that cushion. Lines of credit, tax-exempt financing for capital projects, and disciplined cash management aren't signs of financial weakness. They're the Member FDIC 877.888.1388 bankatpeoples.com infrastructure of a well-run organization. Fraud prevention and efficient online banking tools matter here, too; in a constrained environment, no nonprofit can afford to lose dollars to preventable exposure. If you're waiting until a funding gap is imminent to have those conversations with your bank, you've waited too long. Treat donor communication as a financial strategy Donors today are more discerning. They're not giving blindly. They want a clear picture of your strategic direction and evidence that their funds are being used as intended. Nonprofits that communicate transparently about how they deploy resources tend to maintain more stable funding relationships over time. That directly affects your revenue planning and your ability to forecast with confidence, not simply your reputation. Protect your leadership continuity Succession planning isn't just a corporate concern. Some of the most experienced executive directors in the sector are aging out of their roles, and smaller agencies often can't afford to run two leadership salaries simultaneously during a transition. This is a structural risk that doesn't show up on a balance sheet. Until it does. Investing in leadership development and transition planning, even modestly, pays dividends in organizational stability and donor confidence. The needs that Connecticut's nonprofits serve in housing, mental health, healthcare, and beyond are not decreasing. If anything, they're growing. As funding sources evolve and some corporate sponsors exit the region, the organizations best positioned to endure are those that treat financial planning as mission-critical, not administrative. The message to nonprofits is straightforward: your neighbors depend on your selfless approach to service. Your donors believe in you. The families you serve have nowhere else to turn. That's not a reason to operate under financial stress but it's a reason to take your financial health as seriously as you take your mission. The two aren't in tension. A well-managed nonprofit is a more powerful nonprofit, and the communities you serve are counting on you to be here for the long haul. SPONSORED CONTENT Empowering Nonprofits to Maximize Mission Impact Through Smart Financial Planning