There’s something remarkable about being invited into a room not to speak, but to listen, and it’s what makes the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) Confab so special. This annual gathering draws together a small group of nonprofit leaders, advocates, and infrastructure partners from across the country.
It’s a space where tough questions are asked—and, more importantly, where meaningful answers begin to take shape. Here’s what we learned at this year’s Confab.
A Sector on Alert and in Action
NCN President and CEO Diane Yentel got right to the point in the opening session of this year’s Confab, using her keynote to detail the significant accomplishments that NCN has achieved in the first five months of 2025. There’s been no time to wait and no shortage of action.
In January, NCN filed a lawsuit against the Office of Management and Budget memo freezing federal grants to nonprofits. That suit resulted in a nationwide injunction, blocking the blanket freeze. That was followed by a second lawsuit in March, successfully challenging an order halting infrastructure and climate grant disbursements.
As confusion spread throughout the sector, NCN met the moment with clarity. National webinars on executive orders, funding strategies, and tax law changes reached nearly 40,000 people. At the same time, NCN delivered over 80 public policy presentations across the country—mobilizing nonprofits, surfacing shared challenges, and equipping leaders to speak with a collective voice.
When a House Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Public Funds, Private Agendas: NGOs Gone Wild,” Diane Yentel’s testimony served to reframe the conversation, keeping it grounded in facts, public service, and the lived experiences of nonprofit leaders.
Here’s one key win: A proposed provision in a federal tax bill that would have made it easy for the federal government to designate nonprofits as terrorist-affiliated without meaningful due process was removed after sector-wide pushback. NCN and its partners made that happen.
Local Associations Are Making a Difference
What makes NCN unique is its member network. These associations are active partners, paving the way forward.
- Nonprofit New York launched Learning Circles to provide peer-driven, expert-led workshops on funding, compliance, and digital security.
- North Carolina Center for Nonprofits hosted a three-part workshop on sustainable revenue strategies, helping nonprofits build funding plans that align with their mission.
- Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits organized direct advocacy to protect charitable giving incentives, calling attention to how tax reform proposals would affect real services.
- Center for Nonprofit Advancement in DC doubled down on nonprofit wellness, offering programs like a culinary wellness course and leadership coaching for Black women executives.
At Neon One, our work with these groups runs deep. We’ve presented at the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits’ annual gathering, joined New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON)’s finance conference, held webinars in collaboration with the Montana Nonprofit Association and the Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, and supported a wide range of state associations across the country as both customers and partners.
If you’re not already connected to your state association, now’s the time. These organizations are supporting nonprofit jobs, shaping fair policy, and showing up when it counts. They are fighting for you, whether you realize it or not. Use this map to find and support yours.
We’ll keep showing up, too, ready to listen, grow, and support the people building the future of the sector.
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