Sustaining Nonprofits: Strategies for Success
Panelists from top to bottom: Sarah Schrapp (Wee Folks), Staci Gilpin (Rural Pathways), Danielle Larva (Polar Cubs), Charity Anderson (Rural Pathways), and Laura Dunford (MCN).
On February 27, at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) and Propel Nonprofits’ 2025 Nonprofit Finance and Sustainability Conference, Rural Pathways led the panel "Sustaining Childcare Nonprofits: Strategies for Success," examining sustainable funding strategies and connections between childcare, housing, healthcare, and workforce sustainability.
Panelists Danielle Larva, Vice President of the Polar Cubs Childcare Center Board, and Sarah Schrapp, Education Director for Wee Folks at the Itasca County Family YMCA, provided valuable insights on strengthening childcare nonprofits. Attendees actively participated by sharing resources, making connections, and discussing real-world challenges and solutions.
A special thank you to the Northland Foundation for supporting our work with Polar Cubs and Wee Folks, whose impactful efforts were highlighted in the discussion.
Key Takeaways
Photo by Ryan Fields on Unsplash
Making Childcare a Priority – Even if childcare isn’t a nonprofit’s core mission, it directly impacts workforce sustainability, economic growth, and community well-being. Housing, healthcare, and employment-focused nonprofits can strengthen their own impact by supporting childcare initiatives.
Recognizing Sector-Wide Challenges – Nonprofits across all sectors face hiring and retaining staff, inflation, housing shortages, childcare access issues, and an ever-changing funding landscape. These challenges affect every nonprofit’s ability to operate effectively, making cross-sector collaboration essential.
Building Sustainable Funding Models – Organizations must diversify revenue streams by maximizing grants, donations, business sponsorships, and community partnerships. Nonprofits should also explore underutilized funding sources, including employer-sponsored childcare, impact investing, and public-private partnerships. Many of the strategies shared in this session can be applied to creating sustainable funding for any type of nonprofit.
Crafting Effective Messaging – Your messaging should do more than attract funders—it should educate the public and policymakers about your mission. As highlighted by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, nonprofits are a vital part of the state’s infrastructure, relied upon to deliver key services. Ensuring messaging aligns with this reality can strengthen advocacy and funding efforts.
Leveraging Strategic Partnerships – Collaborations with housing, healthcare, and workforce development organizations can increase sustainability and create shared solutions. A successful example highlighted during the panel: Four local businesses partnered with Wee Folks Child Care Center to hold childcare spots for their employees, increasing employment retention and family stability.
Framing Childcare as an Economic Issue – While the humanitarian need for childcare is well understood, decision-makers and legislators respond most to economic arguments. Childcare enables workforce participation, supports business growth, and strengthens local economies—nonprofits must highlight this in their advocacy and funding efforts.
Missed the session?
Here’s the Session Resource Guide we shared.
Want to dive deeper?
Check out the Getting Funding Ready Pilot and how it’s helping rural childcare organizations build financial sustainability.
Citation: Anderson, Charity & Gilpin, Staci. (2025). Strategies for Success. Rural Pathways News.
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