Franklin Forum Roundup: Tips to Help Organizations Tread Water in Rough Seas

Wellenbach also recommended the following tips and best practices:

• Consider the board as your partner in getting through this.
• Determine what your organization's competitive advantage is, think strategically, and be crisp in how you articulate it.
• If something you're doing isn't working, don't keep doing it. "Sunset it respectfully," Wellenbach said. This requires taking a step back and deciding what is mission critical and what isn't.
• Be candid about your financial picture. You have to understand it if you're going to fix it.
• Come up with financial and programmatic contingency plans. As an exercise, ask those in charge of each program within your organization to define their purpose so that you can look at the big picture and determine where purposes overlap. That way your programs will have more impact, and you'll be working smarter and leaner.
• Come to the table with solutions to problems.
• Ramp up fundraising. There is no better time, Wellenbach said. Keep funders in the loop, reach out to past donors and engage new friends. While many may not give, they might become future donors, board members, volunteers, etc.
• See if the board can tighten its belt. Take a look at the compensation structure of the board. "It's not 'how do we cut expenses,' but 'how do we balance our budget,'" Wellenbach said.
• Be a mission guardian. This involves really understanding the "why." Why do you exist? Should you continue to exist? If not, why not? Should you think about a merger?

Organizations that are being bold and asking these questions will be the ones that not only survive, but thrive during this time, attracting the support of leaders who want to be a part of their missions, as well as donors, Wellenbach said.