When Funding Surges: 5 Steps to Stay Grounded and Organized 

In recent years, Minnesota’s nonprofit sector has responded to extraordinary community needs—during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and through coordinated responses like Operation Metro Surge.  

In each of these moments, nonprofits shifted their work to meet urgent needs, save lives, and show up for their communities. They acted as partners both to mutual aid groups, and government agencies. Alongside this response, many organizations also saw a significant increase in funding from institutional funders, grassroots campaigns, and individual donors as Minnesota found itself on a national and sometimes international stage.

What’s at Stake 

Increased funding can make a significant difference.  It allows you to expand services, reach more people, and respond in real time. It also changes what’s required of nonprofit staff who are already at or over capacity.  

More funding brings more reporting, more complexity, and more coordination across your team. The key is not to get overwhelmed, but to get clear on what to do next. 

Remember that as your organization grows financially, expectations shift. In my work, I often see organizations get caught off guard following large windfall gifts or surges as they may move into: 

• More complex Form 990 filings 

• Audit requirements 

• Increased reporting to funders and partners  

What worked at a smaller scale won’t always hold up under increased volume and visibility. In this situation, the best thing to do is think about where you are headed as an organization.  

Here are five practical steps you can take to manage increased funding with confidence and potentially leverage new relationships with donors as service demands do not immediately decrease when a crisis ends. 

1. Start with the Basics: Understand and Track Your Funding 

When new funding comes in, one of the first steps is to clearly understand what you’ve received and what’s required. 

That includes: 

• Reading and understanding grant agreements 

• Clarifying whether funds are restricted or unrestricted 

• Identifying what funders expect in terms of reporting 

• Setting up clear tracking for how funds are used 

If you don’t establish this clarity upfront, reporting becomes much harder and riskier later.

2. Make Sure Your Systems Can Handle the Volume  

Funding increases often reveal where your systems break down. 

For smaller organizations, spreadsheets may have worked well. But as funding grows—especially with multi-donor campaigns or multiple grants—manual tracking becomes more difficult to manage and more prone to error.  

At a certain point, you need systems that can scale: 

• Accounting systems that properly track restricted funds and expenses 

• Fundraising platforms or CRMs that capture donor-level data 

• Integration between systems so information flows accurately 

Without that infrastructure, you may find yourself trying to reconstruct data after the fact—which is time-consuming and often incomplete.

3. Plan for Data Complexity Early 

As funding grows, so does the complexity of your data. 

For example, a fundraising platform may deposit funds from multiple transactions as a single transaction, but you still need to: 

• Track individual donors 

• Account for fees 

• Report accurately on gross vs. net revenue 

If your systems aren’t set up for that level of detail, it becomes easy for errors to creep in. 

Thinking about data structure early—rather than at reporting time—will save time and improve accuracy. 

4. Build Structure Now to Support Future Growth 

You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. But putting light structure in place now helps avoid much heavier lifts later. 

Focus on: 

• Documenting how funds are tracked and reported 

• Updating key financial policies and procedures 

• Strengthening internal controls 

• Establishing a regular rhythm for reviewing financial activity 

If you’re unsure whether this surge is temporary or ongoing, it’s safest to plan as if it could continue. These systems and practices will serve you either way. 

5. Align Your Team and Capacity 

Managing increased funding isn’t just a finance task, it’s cross-functional work. 

Make sure: 

• Finance, fundraising, and leadership are aligned 

• Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined 

• Information flows across teams 

As workload increases, you may also need to: 

• Reallocate staff time 

• Share responsibilities differently 

• Bring in outside support or expertise 

Strong coordination ensures that your financial data, donor information, and reporting all stay consistent. 

You Can Do This 

A surge in funding reflects confidence in your organization. It creates opportunities to expand impact and deepen your work. But it also requires stronger systems, clearer processes, and greater coordination. 

With the right steps in place, growth becomes more than a moment, it becomes a foundation for long-term sustainability. And it positions your organization not just to receive funding, but to manage it well over time.