Severe weather warning seems to captivate us. You can be going about your day and suddenly the threat of an impending meteorological event changes your perception of the moment. When I lived near a ski resort in Idaho, the joke was that the Weather Channel’s red screen was a guarantee that the forecast of 1-2 feet of snow would equate to a micro-inch. The storm warnings were often regarded as a jinx. Yet the excitement about an impending storm was palpable in the community. For some of us, a weather alert is an opportunity. Surfers race to the ocean to catch the increasing swell on the front side of an approaching hurricane. Skiers anticipate feet of powder to blanket the slopes. Others react in fear. Approaching storms require emergency actions. Flood preparations might require sand bags to be filled. Windows are shuttered, shovels are purchased, food is horded, travel is delayed.

Much of what happened during the end of 2008 and 2009 had the impact of a tsunami. Budgets were devastated, donors appealed for more time or greater understanding in fulfilling pledge payments, the number of users sky-rocketed or plummeted depending on the program. Social service organizations were swamped. Higher education and the arts were left wondering what happened to their endowments and how to offset the lost value.

There was no Weather Channel red screen flashed in front of the nonprofit sector warning of impending chaos. A year later, many organizations have right-sized, evaluated budgets, merged, dipped into reserves, or ceased to exist. Questions that were never really taken seriously when done in the comfort of a generative approach prior to the recession now have the Board’s attention. The memory of these events will slowly drift away and the scars will be heal. I have been encouraging many nonprofits to use this unique moment in time to address issues that may not resonate for another generation.

What questions need to be answered to best position your organization to succeed and sustain itself in an uncertain future? Said differently, what one one thing does your board need to accomplish to secure the organization’s future? Who do you need to engage to succeed? Are you still uniquely positioned to be a leader in the sector or are you still the ‘best kept secret’ in your community? Are you surviving or thriving?