non-profit; Photo illustration AI
The nonprofit world is facing a storm of disruption: volatile global trends, shrinking donor pools, and the rapid rise of technologies like artificial intelligence.
For many organizations, it feels like the ground is constantly shifting, yet the mission must endure.
During a live webinar held on June 17, 2025, hosted by Safeguard Global, three sector leaders came together to explore how NGOs can build the capacity to thrive amid uncertainty.
The panel featured Trista Harris, philanthropic futurist and president of Future Good; Wafa Abboud, VP of HR at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA); and was moderated by Lisa Farrar, Chief Marketing Officer at Safeguard Global.
Together, they explored what it means to be “future-ready”—and why many nonprofits may be clinging to outdated assumptions about stability, impact, and leadership.
Beyond Survival Mode
For much of the nonprofit sector, responding to crisis has become the default operating model.
But the speakers warned that this short-termism is no longer sustainable in a world of compounded, overlapping disruptions.
“If our purpose in the social sector is not just to make things five percent less terrible,” said Farrar, “but to truly reimagine systems, then we have to start thinking very differently about our role.”
This reframing set the tone for the hour-long conversation, which challenged nonprofits to let go of reactive cycles and start building with intentionality.
Harris emphasized that future-readiness isn’t about forecasting every twist and turn. Rather, it’s about choosing a destination and then designing systems that can bend and evolve to reach it.
“The future isn’t something that just happens to us,” she said. “It’s something we create. And that requires us to ask: what kind of future do we want?”
Responsible AI and the Role of Human Judgment
One of the most pressing shifts confronting NGOs is the explosion of artificial intelligence.
From grant writing to data analysis, AI tools are becoming integrated into daily nonprofit workflows.
But Harris and Abboud both urged caution, not fear, but thoughtful engagement.
“AI can unlock value we didn’t think was possible,” said Harris.
“But we need to ask: are we using it to reinforce existing biases, or to build something more equitable?”
The environmental implications of AI also surfaced.
Harris referenced a growing concern: the energy and water usage behind common digital tools.
“It takes about a glass of water to process a single ChatGPT prompt,” she noted.
“It’s part of a closed cooling system, but it’s a reminder that every digital action has a cost.”
Yet despite the challenges, Harris argued that this is the least efficient AI will ever be. Algorithms are evolving rapidly, and efficiency gains will follow.
Abboud, meanwhile, brought the discussion back to intentional use. Technology, she noted, is only as responsible as the people using it.
“We have to ask ourselves, are we going to AI because it adds value? Or are we avoiding critical thinking altogether? There’s a difference between using tools and outsourcing our responsibility.”
Rethinking Impact in a World of Complexity
For many in the sector, success has long been measured in metrics: how many people served, how much funding disbursed, how many programs delivered.
But the speakers questioned whether these indicators truly reflect impact or whether they’ve become a proxy for movement without change.
“We often confuse meaning well with doing well,” Abboud pointed out.
“Meaning well is about intention. But doing well is about outcomes, systemic, lasting outcomes.”
She urged organizations to distinguish between activity and transformation.
Are we just responding to symptoms, or fundamentally reshaping systems? And just as critically: who gets to decide what counts as success?
“We need to stop treating change as a deliverable,” she said. “Change is a mindset. It’s about stepping back, asking different questions, and being willing to do things differently even when it’s messy.”
Making Space to Think
A key barrier to future-oriented work, the panelists agreed, is the sheer pace of nonprofit life.
Constant deadlines, urgent crises, and funding cycles leave little room for reflection. But that lack of space can be deeply costly.
“When we’re on the go, we tend to put philosophy aside,” said Abboud.
“But if we take just five or ten minutes to ground ourselves, it shifts everything. It helps us reconnect with what matters.”
Farrar echoed this tension between urgency and importance, referencing the classic Eisenhower Matrix.
The most transformative work, she noted, often falls into the “important but not urgent” quadrant—making it the easiest to delay and the most essential to prioritize.
As Harris put it, “When volatility hits, vision is what allows you to respond, not react. If you’ve already imagined where you want to go, disruption can speed your path, not derail it.”
Leadership, Power, and the Role of Communities
Technology and planning tools aside, building resilient organizations requires deeper structural change, especially around decision-making.
Abboud emphasized that meaningful change starts with rethinking who holds power.
“Are we building systems with communities or for them?” she asked. “Are we listening to grassroots leaders? Are they at the table when decisions are made—or just afterthoughts?”
Future-ready nonprofits, she argued, are those that restructure themselves around feedback, equity, and distributed leadership.
This means shifting away from one-time grants and toward multi-year, unrestricted funding. It means moving beyond top-down planning and embracing continuous learning.
“We need to build systems that aren’t just reactive, but regenerative,” she said. “And that can’t happen unless we center the voices of those closest to the work.”
A Shared Responsibility
While much of the conversation focused on nonprofit operations, the speakers were clear: preparing for the future is not a job for NGOs alone.
Philanthropists, tech developers, and the public sector all have roles to play in shaping more equitable and sustainable systems.
“There’s a responsibility on both sides—creators and users,” said Abboud. “If we’re going to use AI all the time, then we need to be intentional about when and why we use it.”
Harris agreed, adding that sectors must resist the temptation to look away. “This is the worst AI will ever be,” she said. “It’s going to get more efficient, more powerful, and more embedded in our lives. The question is: will we shape that future, or let it shape us?”
Conclusion: Building Toward a Better Normal
The underlying message from the June 17 webinar was that nonprofits cannot afford to wait for clarity or consensus before acting.
The world will not slow down to give them time to think. But within that pressure lies opportunity.
“Sometimes,” Abboud said, “the most radical thing you can do is pause. Ask better questions. Create space to imagine.”
Because in an era where disruption is the norm, the most future-ready organizations are not the ones that adapt fastest, but the ones that build with purpose.
