Turn on Your Headlights: How Funders Can Cut Through the Chaos Right Now

The speed and intensity of the unprecedented attacks on the nonprofit and public sectors unleashed in the first month of President Trump’s second administration has been staggering. While many of us anticipated disruption, the consequences for communities in the U.S. and globally have been even more severe than expected. 

Uncertainty around the future of critical federal funding, the foreign aid freeze and dismantling of USAID, threats to the future of the Department of Education, and the administration’s open assaults on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have left nonprofits, foundations, and civil servants scrambling. Thousands of public sector workers are suddenly unemployed, and millions of people are left wondering if programs they rely on will survive.

At the same time, philanthropy itself is under attack. Vice President J.D. Vance has called our country’s largest philanthropic institutions “cancers on American society” and President Trump’s January 20 executive order (EO 14173) directed the attorney general to work with federal agency heads to identify targets for civil compliance investigations to “deter DEI programs or principles.” Among the groups targeted for investigation are foundations with assets of $500 million or more. This isn’t a distant threat — it’s a direct assault.

Foundations around the country considering how to respond to the present moment risk two opposite but equally undesirable outcomes: adapting slowly or not at all, worried that if they move too quickly they’ll be caught off guard by the next shoe to drop; or moving so quickly that they risk making hasty decisions, misaligning resources, and missing critical needs. What we do in the next 30 days matters, as does how we consider our response over the next six months, four years, and beyond.

Funders must act quickly to stand by their grantees and the communities they support without falling into paralysis or reactive shifts, grounding decisions in feedback and input from the communities they serve. In moments of crisis, many of us have an understandable instinct to prioritize direct aid over seemingly more complex actions like listening to the community, but skipping this critical step can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities.

Listening as Headlights

If you are in a rush to drive a loved one to the hospital late at night, the most important thing is getting in the car, slamming on the accelerator, and getting to your destination as quickly as possible. But if you don’t take a few seconds to turn on your headlights, you’re driving blind — likely to run off the road or crash, delaying your arrival further or even indefinitely.

For responsive and effective philanthropy, listening to the communities at the heart of our work is turning on our headlights. Listening ensures we act with precision, helps us point our strategy in the right direction, and allows us to move faster and more directly by identifying what is actually important to the communities we aim to serve rather than making decisions based on assumptions. It lets us see the road rather than guess where we think it is.

Skipping out on listening isn’t just a missed opportunity, it’s a costly mistake. Failing to listen wastes time, money, and goodwill on efforts misaligned with a community’s real needs and priorities. Ultimately, high-quality listening efforts strengthen relationships with communities and grantees, building the legitimacy and trust necessary to ensure long-term resilience and impact beyond the current crisis.

What’s more, at a time when philanthropy itself is under increased scrutiny, and trust in institutions of all kinds is at or near all-time lows, we need to tangibly demonstrate our accountability to community. A key tool in winning back society’s trust will involve engaging in high-quality listening, then clearly articulating how our strategies and funding are directly tied to community needs and priorities.

Practical Steps Funders Can Take Right Now

Even if you’ve already pulled the car out the driveway because the people you love need help, it’s not too late to turn on your headlights. It’s possible to create rapid feedback loops through quick surveys, grantee check-ins, and listening sessions. Last week, for example, Accountability Lab surveyed organizations affected by the foreign aid freeze, which provided real-time insights on how funding changes were affecting communities, helping funders make informed decisions about where support is most needed.

Collecting feedback is an empty exercise unless it leads to action. The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed widespread changes to grantmaking because funders acted on what grantees and communities said they needed. Funder actions in response to feedback and community input are transforming math education, health, and entire neighborhoods. Each of us can find opportunities to listen and act within our individual grantmaking roles, and as institutions we can commit to shifting our funding and strategies based on what we hear. As one foundation leader shared with CEP, “When the will to make changes exists, we found we were able to make changes very quickly.”

Funders also don’t have to go it alone. Tap into existing resources, partner with nonprofits to listen, and leverage peer networks to share insights and coordinate responses. The National Council for Nonprofits, for example, is doing excellent work keeping the sector informed as well as filing a lawsuit to limit the damage.

A Call to Action, But First a Call to Listen

For some funders, now might seem like the perfect time to keep your head down: removing controversial programs and terminology from your websites, sticking with your long-term partners, and trying not to attract attention. But we must remember that whatever anxiety we are feeling about the present moment, nonprofits and the communities they serve are feeling it ten-fold. If philanthropy wants to retain its position as society’s risk capital, then it’s time to recognize that in times like these the role of funders is most vital — it’s time to lean in, listen deeply, engage meaningfully, and speak-out with confidence and clarity.

In times of crisis, feedback and listening aren’t distractions — they are the most powerful tools funders have to cut through the chaos. Publicly commit to acting on what you hear — then prove it by reporting back on what you heard and shifting funding, policy, and practices accordingly. Those who listen deeply now won’t just navigate this current crisis better, they’ll also build stronger, more resilient communities and institutions for the future.

Britt Lake is CEO of Feedback Labs. Find her on LinkedIn. Melinda Tuan is managing director of Fund for Shared Insight. Find her on LinkedIn.