If you're having trouble viewing this email, you cansee it online.
Status of the Federal Government Shutdown
The federal government has been shut down since October 1, after eight failed votes to reopen. And while things could change at any time, the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) reports that D.C. insiders expect the shutdown could continue into November. Here's what we know so far about what's to come, thanks to NCN:
Today, Thursday, October 16 - Senate to vote on the House-passed Defense spending bill. If Democrats support the bill, it could undermine their leverage in negotiations over reopening the government and extending Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits (set to expire this year).
October 17 - President Trump to announce a new recission package to increase pressure on Democrats to vote to reopen the government. Many federal courts could be forced to close if the shutdown continues.
October 20 - Senate staff (not including the Senators themselves) will miss their paychecks.
October 24 - Many federal workers will miss their paychecks.
October 31 - Military members will miss their paychecks (the Administration shifted funds so that active-duty military personnel would not miss payday this past Wednesday, October 15).
November 1 - Disruptions to WIC and SNAP are likely, despite that the Administration reports they shifted money to keep both services funded.
Take Action:
Share Your Story about how the shutdown is harming your nonprofit and the community you serve via NCN's storytelling tool
Contact Your Members of Congress using NCN's email template, urging Senators and Reps to work across the aisle to reopen the government.
PA Budget Impasse: Add Your Voice & What the Numbers Say (so far)
Pennsylvania’s General Assembly still hasn’t passed the state budget, and nonprofits across the Commonwealth are struggling, especially amid the federal shutdown.
PANO and 12 other mission-aligned networks have formed the Critical Services Coalition to respond. Together, they launched a shared survey and have been reporting real-time data to state leaders, including a joint letter to Governor Shapiro on September 22 and a press conference on October 2.
PANO has once again partnered with Building Movement Project on their Race to Lead survey, a national effort to better understand the realities of race, leadership, and power in the nonprofit sector.
And this year's survey is still open! This is a critical opportunity to share your experiences and help shape a more equitable future for nonprofit leadership. The survey is open to anyone working in the nonprofit sector, regardless of role or seniority. The more responses collected, the stronger the data will be in pushing for meaningful change. Take the survey yourself and then spread the word within your networks!
PANO Staffing Updates A Fond Farewell and Some Warm Welcomes
With deep gratitude for all she has done over the last year, PANO is bidding our Standards for Excellence Director, Ashley Suhler Tobin, a fond farewell. Since her first day as Standards Director in September 2024, Ashley has worked hard to launch Standards 3.0 here in PA. Her last day with PANO will be Friday, October 17, and we invite you to wish her well in her next adventure!
Melissa Sines, a strategist and co-founder ofColmena Consulting, will pick up where Ashley is leaving off. Melissa has been working with PANO since 2024 on our racial justice initiative (read on for more about that!) and is excited to continue her work here as Interim Standards for Excellence Director.
She brings valuable experience from her roles as Programs and Knowledge Director at PEAK Grantmaking and Director of Education & Accreditation at Maryland Nonprofits.
Melissa is known for building authentic connections, sharing knowledge, and challenging the status quo. A natural connector and strategist, she helps organizations bridge the gap between where they are and what they can become. We’re thrilled to welcome her into this role! Get to know Melissahereandsend a warm welcome her way!
If you attended the 2025 Collaborative Conference, you may have met our fall intern,Riley Endress. After four years at Starbucks, Riley is earning her BA in Education with a focus on Instructional Design from Arizona State University through the Starbucks College Achievement Program.
She joined PANO just before Labor Day and has already made a big impact, especially through her work on this year’s conference and our Standards for Excellence courses. Riley brings a passion for creating practical, engaging, and accessible content centered on learner needs. We’re so grateful to have her on the team. Get to know Rileyhereandsend her a warm welcome!
Fall 2025 Update on PANO's Racial Justice Work Towards Standards that Work for All: What We Heard from PA Nonprofit Leaders
This fall, we’re wrapping up a multi-year journey that brought together 13 cohorts and 68 conversations from 2021-2024 to explore how nonprofit best practice frameworks (e.g., Standards for Excellence) can better reflect the values and realities of today’s sector.
Participants offered honest insights into where these standards help, where they fall short, and how they can evolve. Together, they envisioned a sector where structure supports culture, culture sustains people, and people lead the way forward.
Key themes include:
Centering values, voice, and belonging
Embracing nonprofits as civic actors
Redefining leadership as shared power
Creating people-centered policies and practices
Prioritizing flexibility and relevance
As we finalize this work, we’re inviting input from cohort members, Standards partners, PANO members, and trusted advisors. Want to help shape the final version? Contact Interim Standards Director Melissa Sines to get involved.
That's a Wrap on the 2025 Collaborative Conference! Meeting the Moment - Rooted Together | September 25-26 | State College, PA
On September 25 and 26, we gathered with about 200 of our nonprofit friends, government allies, for-profit partners, and everyone in between. We learned with and from one another, challenged each other (in a good way!), laughed together, even physically rooted ourselves together - linking arms during our closing keynote with Kashonna Marrow and affirming out loud that we've all got each other's backs. Check out this short video clip for a visual of this moment.
To all who shared your time, your experiences, your knowledge, your successes, your challenges, and your whole selves, thank you. It was an honor to share space with you. We are moving forward from our time together ready to meet this moment and inspired to shape the next. Looking for some inspiration yourself? In addition to the keynote clip above, you can find here some tools, resources, and more (including a playlist!) for "meeting this moment", shared by this year's attendees.
...Graphic Designer Steph Perez for once again bringing our conference theme to life with her brilliant logo and branding work!
Last but never least, a round of applause for our attendees - you give purpose to this event every year and we are humbled to walk alongside you through this moment and so many more. You can relive the fun (or live vicariously) through some photos from the 2025 Collaborative Conference here.
October Question of the Month: Is Fiscal Sponsorship Right for Me?
Q: I’ve been hearing more about fiscal sponsorship. Should small or financially struggling nonprofits consider it instead of maintaining their own 501(c)(3)? How do we decide what’s best?
A: Great question! In today’s challenging funding environment, more organizations are exploring alternatives like fiscal sponsorship. It was even a topic at our recent Collaborative Conference. So, what's the best way forward?
Let's start with an excerpt from the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet focused on Strategic Partnerships (available free for download this month!):
“Fiscal sponsorship allows a nonprofit (the fiscal sponsor) to extend the use of its tax-exempt status to another group (the sponsored project), enabling the sponsored project to receive tax-deductible donations and grants. This arrangement helps projects without their own tax-exempt status. It involves creating a formal agreement detailing responsibilities and expectations, allowing the sponsored project to focus on its mission while the fiscal sponsor manages administrative and compliance tasks, usually in exchange for an administrative fee."
Key benefits of fiscal sponsorship:
Administrative support: the fiscal sponsor generally handles some aspects of operations, including financial management, legal compliance, and reporting, allowing the sponsored project to focus on its mission.
Resource access: sponsored projects gain access to funding and resources available to tax-exempt organizations.
Administrative fee: the fiscal sponsor typically charges the sponsored project a percentage or fee for its services.
October Café PANO: The State of Fundraising Tuesday, October 28 | 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Virtual Gathering (PANO Members) | Free for PANO Members to Attend! Learn More | Register Now
Identifying & Managing Cyber Risk Wednesday, October 29 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | FREE Member Benefit Partner Webinar (Tech Impact) Learn More | Register Now
Microsoft 365 Quarterly Office Hours - Session 4 Friday, October 31 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | FREE Virtual Office Hours (with PANO Member Benefit Partner Tech Impact) Learn More | Register Now
Legal Webinar: Fiscal Sponsorship - for the Funders, Sponsors, & the Sponsored Wednesday, November 12 | 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Webinar (Nonprofit Issues) | $45 for PANO Members; $100 for Not-Yet Members Learn More | Register Now
November Café PANO: Building Community, One Cup at a Time Tuesday, November 18 | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Virtual Gathering (PANO Members) | Free for PANO Members to Attend! Learn More | Register Now
Build Apps, Not Spreadsheets: A Live Look at Google AppSheet Wednesday, November 19 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | FREE Member Benefit Partner Webinar (Tech Impact) Learn More | Register Now
December Café PANO: Building Community, One Cup at a Time Wednesday, December 17 | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Virtual Gathering (PANO Members) | Free for PANO Members to Attend! Learn More | Register Now
The Ultimate Grant Proposal Blueprint: Your Step-by-Step Roadmap to an A+ Proposal Enroll ANY TIME! | 8-session self-paced online course (GrantsMagic U) | $147 for PANO Members, $197 for Not-Yet Members Learn More |Register Now
Let's Hear it for Our First Certificate of Completion Recipients!
PANO is pleased to recognize Indiana Free Library and the Foundation for Health Equity for being the first to earn a Standards for Excellence Certificate of Completion. Just introduced this year as part of our Standards 3.0 launch, Certificates of Completion are awarded to organizations that:
Had two representatives attend our new and improved 3-day Standards training, Leading with Purpose, in September
Returned a completed self-assessment to PANO after this training
This Certificate of Completion is one of many ways to engage with and utilize the information, tools, and resources available through the Standards for Excellence – from understanding what’s out there for everyday use to starting on the path to accreditation.
If you’re interested in learning more but missed the live training, you can catch up on the recordings here ($350 for PANO Members | $700 for Not-Yet Members) and download the self-assessment here (FREE!). The next opportunity to earn a Certificate of Completion will be in 2026.
Free Standards Ed Packet of the Month: Strategic Partnerships
We're celebrating the launch of Standards 3.0 by offering one (or more!) Educational Resource Packets free of charge each month! This month is all about #6) Strategic Partnerships. As noted in the AskPANO section, this contains some helpful info about fiscal sponsorship. It also includes:
Why and how to form strategic partnerships
Types of partnerships and key considerations
Working with nonprofits, businesses, funders, informal groups, and government
Board roles and written agreements
Sample policy, MOU template, and due diligence checklist
Legal guidance on mergers and dissolutions
And more
Download Ed Packet #6 free of charge now until November 16, 2025! After that, it will continue to be free for PANO Members or $25 for Not-Yet Members.
UPDATE: Funding for Capacity-Building Services has been Spent!
In April of this year, PANO shared that we had a small pool of funding available to support capacity-building services for PANO Members to access through our Consultant Collaborative. We are happy to report that these dollars have all been put to good use! Because of this funding, nearly 10 organizations were able to work with a consultant to take their missions to the next level.
Even though the funds have run out, our consultants have not! Our team of Consultant Collaborative Members are ready to support your organization with mission-critical work - from strategic planning to board training and everything in between. Get started by filling out this Request a Consultant Form.
Did you know you can find previously recorded webinars in our online store? The following have been added this fall, with lots more available from past years! PANO Members, make sure you are logged into your PANO Member account in order to access the discounted price.
Member Benefit Spotlights: Splashwire & Tech Impact
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month so we're shining the spotlight on two member benefits that help with just that!
Splashwire consults with nonprofits to ensure that their technology aligns with strategy goals, provides scalable solutions (like cloud services), and ensures top-notch security, including 24/7 support. PANO Members get 10% off all services and products! This includes one-time hardware and software sales, recurring agreements, and professional services.
Tech Impactoffers a comprehensive suite of technology services that includes managed IT support, data and strategy services, telecommunications, and cloud computing integration and support. In 2018, it expanded its education and outreach capabilities by merging with Idealware, an authoritative source for independent, thoroughly researched technology resources for the social sector. In addition to their many free publications, webinars, and other resources, PANO members enjoy a 20% discount on paid training courses, two expert-guided assessments (TechCheck and SecCheck), and two document-creation services (PolicyBuilder and Disaster Plan).
If your org is a 501(c)(3) with at least 10 employees, one of two unemployment programs offered by First Nonprofit (FNP) could save you money! Anyone can fill out this free evaluation application to find out how much your agency can save each year, and PANO members enjoy a 20% discount on the one-time enrollment fee. And now, FNP is also helping orgs manage tasks related to compliance, unemployment, and HR, with fnpaccess+.
My Benefit Advisor is designed to guide members of PANO through the complexity of planning, managing, and communicating a successful employee benefits program. With local experts throughout Pennsylvania, MBA is uniquely positioned to help you understand the insurance market and make the best decision for your organization through consulting, discounted insurance products, unique programs, HR support, individual and Medicare coverage options, compliance education and first-class service!
REMINDER: Want to join but not sure if membership will fit in your budget right now? Reach out to PANO's Membership & Consultant Collaborative Manager, Stephanie Chapuis, to discuss options. We'll do our best to meet you where you are, and ensure your voice is included in the PANO community.
Special Thanks to the Following PANO Ambassador:
Learn more about PANO Ambassadorship and join the ranks today!
