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Key Findings at a Glance
- 78% of nonprofits report increased demand for services
- More than 40% say their financial health has worsened compared to last year
- Nearly 40% have already faced challenges receiving promised federal funding
- 73% report spending significant staff time responding to federal policy changes
- Most nonprofits report no philanthropic funding replacing lost federal dollars
These findings reflect a nonprofit community adapting to growing pressures while continuing to meet rising community needs.
What Nonprofits Say Is Needed
Nonprofit leaders identify several priorities for policymakers, funders, and community partners:
- Flexible, multi-year operating funding to stabilize nonprofit organizations
- Faster and more consistent government contracting and reimbursement processes
- Greater inclusion of nonprofit and community voice in policy decisions
- Stronger protections for vulnerable communities
- Coordinated philanthropic investment in nonprofit infrastructure and collaboration
- Long-term investment in nonprofit and community power-building
Download the Nonprofit Pulse Report: Federal Impacts and Beyond to explore the data, insights, and recommendations shaping the nonprofit landscape across San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
A Wake-Up Call from the Nonprofit Community
Across San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, nonprofit organizations form the backbone of the region’s social safety net. They feed families, provide health care and mental health support, house those who are unhoused, protect immigrants and older adults, nurture the arts, and strengthen the civic fabric of our communities.
Today, that infrastructure is under growing strain.
This week, Thrive Alliance and Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits are releasing the 2026 Nonprofit Pulse Report: Federal Impacts and Beyond, based on a survey of more than 160 nonprofit leaders across our two counties. The report captures something many in the sector have been feeling but struggling to quantify: a mounting convergence of pressures that is reshaping the operating environment for nonprofits and the communities they serve.
The findings show that organizations are navigating rising demand for services, weakening financial conditions, workforce strain, and increasing operational complexity—all while responding to rapidly shifting federal policies and funding streams. These pressures extend far beyond organizations that receive federal dollars directly. Policy changes are affecting how communities access services, how nonprofits plan programs, and how staff allocate their time and energy.
At the same time, nonprofits continue to show remarkable resilience. Across the region, organizations are collaborating more deeply, adapting programs, strengthening advocacy efforts, and working tirelessly to ensure that communities continue to receive the support they need.
But resilience alone cannot carry the weight of systemic disruption.
This report represents the first step in a broader effort to document and understand the evolving impacts of federal policy and funding shifts on the nonprofit sector in our region. It captures a point-in-time snapshot based on the experiences of nonprofit leaders on the ground.
In the coming months, SVCN and Thrive Alliance will release a second report analyzing federal funding flows into the nonprofit sector, mapping where federal resources currently support community services and what may be at risk as national policy decisions—including HR1 and other federal actions—take shape. Together, these reports will establish a baseline for tracking future impacts, helping policymakers, funders, and community partners understand how federal decisions reverberate through local communities.
The message from nonprofit leaders is clear: the sector is adapting, but the margin for absorbing continued shocks is narrowing.
The nonprofit community is trusted infrastructure for our region. When that infrastructure weakens, communities feel the consequences first and most deeply.
We hope this report helps illuminate both the challenges ahead and the opportunity before us—to stabilize the nonprofit ecosystem, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that the organizations closest to our communities have the resources and support they need to continue their vital work.
In community,
Georgia D. Farooq
Chief Executive Officer
Thrive Alliance
Kyra Kazantzis
Chief Executive Officer
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
