If the first two months of 2025 have a common thread, it’s uncertainty and upheaval. Each day brings a new set of executive orders, policies, and directives that will have immediate and cascading impacts on systems, communities, and individuals. While no doubt challenging, this upheaval can also be seen as a predictable “snap back” in response towards recent efforts aimed at building a more fair, just, and equitable society. Recognizing this tension, our partners have been asking: how do we respond to the immediate needs of the current moment while pursuing systems change and staying committed to our long-term mission?

We believe that responding to immediate needs and maintaining long-term impact are not mutually exclusive. In fact, effectively adapting to current circumstances is essential for philanthropies to achieve their long-term missions. And while there is a lot we can learn from how philanthropy responded in past times of turbulence, including the early months of COVID-19 and the 2008 recession, it is important to recognize the significant differences in the current context. The most effective approaches will lean on lessons from past moments of uncertainty and advances in philanthropic practice, while also recognizing and responding to what is uniquely challenging about this particular moment.

Here are three common questions that we have been hearing from our philanthropic partners, along with compiled recommendations across the FSG community to help guide funders in this moment.

1. How can we move forward responsibly in a moment of uncertainty?

For funders, overanalyzing or waiting for perfect clarity can limit action at a time when the opposite is needed. Rather, philanthropic actors can adopt an agile, responsive stance, rooted in learning and enabled by collaboration.

Listen to grantees and impacted communities: In a time of uncertainty and upheaval, funders can be intentional and proactive about how they listen and learn directly from grantees and impacted communities, as Melinda Tuan, Managing Director of the Fund for Shared Insight, describes in a recent episode of the Collective Impact Forum podcast. Ongoing listening can support immediate individual needs and inform other roles the foundation can play, such as research, advocacy, and impact investing.

Communicate with grantees: A recent CEP survey found that an overwhelming number of nonprofits are negatively impacted by the current political climate. Part of what is contributing to that negative impact is a lack of communication from their funders.

Read the full article about leading through uncertainty at FSG.