How to Pivot Quickly When the World Is on Fire

(Lessons from my time as the director of the Iowa Nonprofit Alliance)

If you work at a nonprofit right now, this is your reality:

You’re juggling programs, donors, and day-to-day operations when—bam—an executive order drops, a court ruling hits, or a policy change threatens everything you’ve built.

Right?

One of the most common questions I get from nonprofit leaders is:How do we pivot quickly when everything is coming at us at once?

I get it. When I was the founding director of the Iowa Nonprofit Alliance, our first couple of years were focused on the usual nonprofit start-up work—building membership, planning events, getting systems in place, and figuring out who we were as an organization.

But in January 2025, that all changed.

Practically overnight, the new administration began issuing executive orders and policy changes that sent shockwaves through the nonprofit sector. 

Suddenly, we weren’t just focused on conferences and core member benefits anymore—we were navigating a rapidly shifting political landscape that directly affected the organizations we served.

It was chaotic, high-stakes, and nonstop.

But honestly? That’s what I was built for.

And I know many of you are built for it too.

So I wanted to share a few of these lessons – how to stay grounded, act fast, and lead with clarity when the world is on fire. 

1. Have a Rapid Response Plan Before You Need One

If you wait until the crisis hits to figure out who’s doing what, you’re already behind.

A Rapid Response Plan is your roadmap for how to make fast, informed decisions when things start moving fast. It should clearly lay out:

• Who’s involved in decision-making

• Who you need to communicate with

• The order in which decisions get made

My process looked like this:

1. Take in the information.

2. Draft a response plan.

3. Send it to the board for quick review (and approval, if needed).

4. Implement.

Simple, clear, repeatable.

I created this step-by-step Rapid Response Plan template to help your organization respond quickly and strategically.

2. Know What Can Wait

When emergencies hit, not everything can be priority #1.

Too often, nonprofits try to keep doing all their regular work and respond to the crisis.

Spoiler: that doesn’t work.

During high-stakes moments, some of your ongoing programs or projects will have to shift to the back burner. That’s not failure—it’s focus. You’re reallocating your capacity and energy to where it matters most.

The key is to make those decisions intentionally, not reactively.

3. Communicate Early, Often, and With Everyone Who Matters

In moments of uncertainty, silence is the worst option.

I built out what I call my “circles of engagement”—the audiences who needed to hear from me regularly:

1. Board of Directors – for alignment and oversight

2. Close stakeholders and partners – for coordination

3. Members – for updates and direction

4. The broader community – for trust and visibility

I was in near-constant communication with those groups during early 2025, even when we didn’t have all the answers yet.

Because here’s the truth: nonprofits are the most trusted institutions in the country. People look to you to help them make sense of what’s happening. Staying silent doesn’t make you look neutral—it makes you look absent.

So, if you’re wondering whether to say something, the answer is probably yes. I’d rather see an organization over-communicate than go dark when their community needs them most.

4. Leadership Is About Action, Not Perfection

You won’t always get it right. You’ll miss something, say something imperfectly, or wish you’d moved faster. That’s okay.

The goal isn’t flawless execution—it’s courageous responsiveness. Your people are looking for steady, values-driven leadership in uncertain times. Be the calm in the storm, but also be the one steering the ship forward.

In nonprofits these days, chaos isn’t the exception anymore—it’s the environment.

So build your systems, train your team, and get comfortable with quick pivots. Because the next crisis is already forming—and the world needs nonprofits that know how to rise, respond, and lead.

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How Snyder Strategies Can Help

If your organization is struggling to figure out when and how to pivot—or you just need a plan for when the next crisis hits—this is exactly the kind of work I do with clients.

Snyder Strategies helps nonprofits build advocacy roadmaps, rapid response plans, and communications strategies that actually work in the real world (not just on paper).

Whether you need a plan, a partner, or just someone to help you untangle the mess, let’s talk.

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