When enforcement escalates or state violence hits close to home, nonprofit leaders can get caught between fear, urgency, and uncertainty.

You don’t need the perfect response. You do need to reduce harm, protect choice, and communicate care quickly.

Moments like this are heavy. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to begin,  starting with a few clear next steps can help you find footing and move forward with care.

Here are practical ways to support your staff when your community is under attack, drawn from what we’ve seen actually help in moments like these.

1. Make Safety and Flexibility Available Without Requiring Explanation

• Offer remote work and flexible schedules immediately
• Say clearly that safety comes first
• Do not ask for details or justification

Why this matters: Requiring explanation shifts the burden back onto staff who may already be at risk.

2. Say Out Loud That Participation Is a Choice and You’re Not Tracking It

• Name that protest or civic participation is optional
• Say explicitly that it will not affect employment
• Mean it

This is one of the most powerful harm-reduction moves you can make.

3. Lower Expectations

• Push non-urgent deadlines by at least 48 hours
• Cancel or postpone nonessential meetings
• Coach managers not to “check in” in ways that require emotional labor

Especially in arts and cultural spaces, this may mean letting go of the expectation that people can hold grief and creativity on demand, even when creativity is how many of us imagine something better.

This may also include flexibility around caregiving, recognizing that enforcement actions can disrupt childcare, transportation, and family routines without warning.

4. Share One Resource Without Surveillance

• Legal hotline
• Know-your-rights info
• Crisis or mental health support

Do not track access or follow up asking who used it.

If you have capacity, some organizations choose to set up a small rapid response fund for staff to help with unexpected legal, transportation, or safety-related costs. Keep it simple and easy to access.

5. Don’t Turn Care Into Performance

Avoid:

• Mandatory processing spaces
• Public statements before internal communication
• Asking impacted staff to explain what’s happening

Care is quiet. Performance is loud.

6. Put One Policy in Writing (Even If It’s Temporary)

Examples:

• Paid civic leave, offered without disclosure for rest, volunteering, protest, or recovery
• Same-day flexibility during crisis
• Explicit non-retaliation language

Written policy reduces fear and guesswork.

7. Commit to Reflection Later

• Save audits and long-term fixes for after stabilization
• Name that you’ll return to this
• Then actually do

Need support at different levels? Start where you are:

• Crisis Cheat Sheet [PDF] – when something is happening right now
• Implementation Toolkit  [PDF] – when you’re ready to clarify policies and practices
• Equity Audit [PDF] – for later reflection and real change

And as always:

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY DOING THE WORK AND HAVE BEEN DOING IT A LONG TIME. They know the on-the-ground realities, the history, and the context. If you’re newer to this, your job is primarily to find them, be of service (move the chairs and pick up the coffee if you’re able!) and certainly not to be one of the people in the spotlight.