The Nonprofit Cake Is Missing Its Eggs

The old recipe isn’t working anymore. It’s time to bake a new one together.

April 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Imagine we had a bunch of people pitching their money together to pay for a cake
but everyone has restrictions on what the money can be used for…

Mine buys the eggs
Mine pays for butter if another matches the same amount for butter,
No one pays for electricity…

Truth is, government funding is tied to foreign policy and politics of the time,
and over-reliance on these grants, can land nonprofits in big trouble when priorities shift!

We're seeing this with the current shift in the US AID international development policy.

We are not just missing ingredients.
We are being challenged to rethink the whole cake.
Now is the time for nonprofits, funders, and communities to co-create a new recipe…
One that survives the waves of unpredictable funding!

School feeding programs have been used as a school attendance
incentive in Kenya since the 80s in areas facing food insecurity.
I've personally attended school where the only meal available was aid maize…
and I can tell you for sure, that most of us came because that food
eased the feeding burden at home.

Now African governments are finding themselves in hot soup!
The funding gap is exposing areas that were almost entirely outsourced to aid.
This withdrawal is a threat to the stability of some regions…
not just because of hunger… but school abandonment, insecurity
and a string of human rights violations, especially on children.

You've heard of children being married off due to famines,
or people fighting over watering holes
and rangelands that turned into battlefields.

Aid has played a huge role in silencing those barrels for some time now.

Better rangelands management = more grass = better-fed cows
= better market prices = more financial muscle = better education…
and this leads to less insecurity and communities
that can feed themselves better.

Communities often don't know where NGO money comes from!
Some implementing frontline organisations often don't know too!
Funding, to them, comes from the organisations that they interact with.
The subgranting organisations.
And those organisations are now running on reserves!

And it is the same across the African continent.

Most people just resort to mop the floor instead of fixing the roof!
This is the world of restricted funding.
For example, service disruptions in sexual and reproductive health programs,
have indirectly affected other child protection efforts.
For instance, if some organisations Ending FGM have lost it all,
and some organisations working to end child marriage still have some reserves,
those with reserves will carry a bigger burden if more girls are cut in readiness for marriage.

But their hands are tied. They can do little on FGM.
It's restricted funding!

It's no doubt that something big is happening in the nonprofit world.
Just like during COVID, the rules are shifting:

  • Some funders are re-thinking their funding models!

  • Networks are accommodating other sectors!

  • Some groups are doing more with less.

  • and activists are speaking out louder!

And it is not easy for frontline organisations now!

  • First, convincing the community that you are not "eating" their money,

  • then convincing your members of staff that better times are coming,

  • then speaking to your local partners about downscaling your contribution…

  • and then offering sacrifices to the heavens of your donors to release something.

But most don't have much to give amid the recent shakeup.

Boardroom chaos is ricocheting across the sector…
Reserves are running low really fast, forcing some to halt,
"or take programming slow"
Requests to convert project support to general operating support are with us,

Directors and officers are reviewing their insurance policies to protect themselves!
"Diversification of funding sources" becomes more than a buzzword…
Whatsapp groups shriek like cicadas in silence,
Emails go unanswered, and zoom calls have turned into motivational halls.
While some are stuck and others are starting afresh,
the movement is curving out a path for itself.

And as nonprofits struggle to survive,
the communities we are serving are asking,
"where did you go? Why did you leave us at the time of need?"
because, to all the nonprofits they go to, the answer is the same:

  • Feeding program - no money

  • Youth fund - no money!

  • ARV program - no money

But you might wonder,
how can one major funder pull out and all this is happening?
Let me tell you!

Some programs in our countries are almost solely dependent on aid.
And this aid is so important that other donors find themselves completely supplementing government.

This video of Kenya’s former president, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta,"
has been going around a lot lately…
and he is reiterating his message over and over again!

"No one is coming to save you!"

Paste link to new tab if it doesn't open on email: https://youtu.be/SLiGZKqcp5I

This is the reality!

Not just for Kenyans, but also the nonprofit sector!
Heads of states are scrambling to raise alternative funding,
but the alternative models, say China, operate on different policies…
Loans, infrastructure!

So who will fill the gaps?

National governments? - Maybe in the cities where public outcry will be seen on TV!
Those in the villages will be on their own… again!
European countries? They've already said the burden is too heavy to lift alone!

We have to restructure and find a way to fill the gaps… and fix the leaks!
Big question is… WHAT CAKE ARE WE MAKING?

And are we ready to pool resources to provide all ingredients?

Let's find alternative sources of funding…
for instance, according to Good United,

69% of all charitable giving in the U.S came from individuals,

while foundation and government grants combined accounted for a much smaller slice.

In other words, everyday people—your supporters—are driving philanthropy, not big institutions.

Shall we try that front?

It is time to fund long term.

I just read an article from Bill Gates that said:

“We’re closer than ever to eradicating malaria for good.

By continuing to fund life-saving tools, we'll get there.

But if the world backs down now, the gains we’ve made will disappear fast.” ​

This applies to all of us.

Maybe it's time to borrow from COVID times,
where the impossibilities of approving grants fast became a inevitable!

We know that small organisations spend more efficiently and get work done faster!

  • How can we streamline our funding approval processes to accommodate them?

  • How can we respond to emergencies better during these uncertain times?

  • How can we listen more, and better, so grant calls can be written tailored to frontline needs?

  • Can we build sustainable frontline organisations?

  • Is it possible to Normalise larger and longer program grants?

  • Is it time to reduce paperwork and leverage on AI, plus trust
    to make things easier for everyone?

Covid taught us that flexibility works,
but we are gravitating back to the old ways…
Maybe we should have less strict budgets,
and cultivate more personal relationships.
Maybe we should welcome more grantees
to contribute in the fund design.
Maybe we should reflect on our silent power,
and switch who sits in these decision-making panels.

This is a call to both funders and frontline campaigners

Let's embrace flexibility, diversification, technology, reserves and transparency.
If the old models are breaking, don’t patch them.

Rebuild differently.

Let’s move from charity to solidarity,
from project-based control to relationship-based partnerships.
Because when funding flows with faith, the frontline moves with fire.

As we build movements,
as we resuscitate partnerships and fund the frontline,
let's try build together… and remember:
Top-down problems can only be solved top-down!
It's time to act NOW!

— Kipainoi.


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