NORFOLK, Va. — From food banks to after-school programs, Hampton Roads nonprofits keep the region running. But many say they’re now running out of resources and are struggling to keep up with growing community needs.

With federal funding priorities shifting and staff burnout on the rise, nonprofit leaders warn they’re reaching a breaking point. 

That growing pressure is the focus of Tidewater Community College’s 2025 Funders’ Forum, happening this week in Downtown Norfolk. The event, hosted by TCC’s Academy for Nonprofit Excellence, will bring funders and nonprofit leaders face-to-face to talk about how to keep essential community programs alive. 

Sarah Linden-Brooks, Program Director of the Academy, said the forum comes at a critical time for the social sector.

“The community’s needs have not lessened in the past 10 months. The nonprofit worker’s load has not decreased in the past 10 months,” she said. “And yet, things that we relied on are gone.”

She said nonprofits are still feeling the aftershocks of the pandemic: staff burnout, high turnover, and rising demand. Now, with fewer reliable funding sources, many organizations are being forced to do more with less.

“We’re seeing increased burnout, which translates into poor work performance or more turnover,” Linden-Brooks said. “And those are all things that have a negative impact on the nonprofit organizations and the constituents they serve.”

The forum’s theme, “Strengthening the Future of Nonprofit Leadership,” highlights what organizers call an “inflection point” for the sector.

The event will feature keynote speaker Rusty Stahl, founder and CEO of nonprofit Fund the People, who will share strategies for investing in the nonprofit workforce itself as a strategy for long-term sustainability.

A panel discussion will follow, led by Keith Curtis of The Curtis Group and featuring leaders from TowneBank, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, and the YWCA of South Hampton Roads. 

Linden-Brooks said the goal is to create honest dialogue between funders and leaders who often face the same challenges but rarely share the same table.

“Sometimes, there’s a dynamic between funding agencies and nonprofits where they don’t talk as equals,” Linden-Brooks said. “And in this room, it’s an opportunity for them to come together, both learn together and ask questions together.”

She noted that many people benefit from nonprofits without realizing it, from food drives and shelters to community events and scholarship programs.

“This community, Hampton Roads, does not work if our nonprofits are not strong,” Linden-Brooks said.

And she added that when nonprofits close, the effects are immediate: lost services, fewer resources, and greater strain on families and local governments. 

“You’re going to realize that you no longer have access to the library or the community events that you’ve … come to depend on,” Linden-Brooks said, “or the childhood activities, or even the daycares where your kids are receiving … their education while you can go and work.”

The Funders’ Forum runs from Wednesday, October 8 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Slover Library in Norfolk. Organizers say tickets are now sold out, but nonprofit professionals can still register for a hands-on workshop on Thursday, October 9, at TCC’s Norfolk campus. Led by keynote speaker Rusty Stahl, the workshop will focus on practical ways to reduce staff burnout and strengthen nonprofit teams.

For more information or to register for the workshop, click here.