When public health budgets tighten, communities feel the impact first. Historically, risks include worsening health disparities, weakening infrastructure, and harming vulnerable populations. The University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Systems recently launched its Public Health Fiscal Austerity Webinar Series to help leaders protect essential services during lean times. 

At the January 28, 2026 webinar, we heard lessons from public health leaders who have experienced previous economic and funding downturns, such as the 2007-2009 recession and post-COVID-19 environment. 

Key Takeaways

Strengthen Your Organization Before Cuts Hit

• “Identify your “minimum viable capacity.” Know the smallest your programs can be while still delivering meaningful results.
• Plan ahead for staff transitions.  Track likely retirements or turnover so you can right-size roles through attrition rather than crisis-driven layoffs.
• Scenario plan annually. Build simple best, middle, and worst case budget scenarios to avoid reactive decision-making.
• Activate community voices in advocacy. Build a strong coalition – the most persuasive messengers are service beneficiaries, program participants, and allies outside of your organization who can speak to impact of your work.

When Funding Drops, Don’t Go It Alone

• Partner to share or transfer work. Collaborate with peer organizations to cod-liver services or consolidate overlapping efforts.
• Join or form multi-organization alliances.  Nonprofits can pool administrative functions, expand reach, and reduce duplication by banding together with other services providers.
• Decide what to keep, partner, or sunset. Protect mission critical programs while letting go of work that others can do better or more efficiently.

Support Your Team and Yourself 

• Acknowledge the emotional load of financial cuts.  Leaders and staff both feel the strain – create space for processing stress, grief, and burnout.
• Lead layoffs with compassion.  Sometimes, layoffs are unavoidable. Leaders can soften the blow by providing professional references, connections, and genuine appreciation.

Ensure Cuts Don’t Deepen Inequities 

• Use structured prioritization tools. Frameworks like NACCHO’s community health assessment and community impact prioritization tools help ensure communities remain centered.
• Leverage bridge funding.  Work with philanthropy or community funders (e.g., United Way) to temporarily fill critical gaps.
• Strengthen your capacity now. Smaller grassroots groups can seek out technical assistance so you are prepared to receive and manage funds when opportunities arise.

Think Creatively About Funding & Efficiency 

• Focus on impact, not ownership. Seek out partnerships and collaboration to sustain your impact, rather than fighting to protect “your” program.
• Improve processes before seeking new dollars.  Small efficiencies can free up your capacity when budgets are tight. Those same operational improvements also help you scale up quickly when you receive new funding.
• Explore diverse funding streams carefully. Consider mission-aligned corporate sponsors, fee-for-service models, or creative revenue-generation opportunities to supplement public or philanthropic dollars. Evaluate each opportunity based on whether it supports, rather than shifts, your organization’s purpose.

This webinar is available as non-credit on-demand course on the Region V Public Health Training Center website.

The next sessions in the University of Minnesota’s Fiscal Austerity webinar series will focus on Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Austerity and Protecting the Core: Prioritizing Foundational Public Health Services Under Fiscal Constraint.  A full schedule with registration links is available on their Fiscal Austerity page.

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