Still Standing: Notes From a Nonprofit Consultant Who Didn’t Quit

Let’s be clear: this is not a “look at me thriving” post.

This is a still here post.

Because 2025 had jokes. And most of them were not funny.

Being a nonprofit consultant in this current climate means waking up hopeful, checking your calendar, and then checking the news—and realizing none of those things are in conversation with each other. One minute you’re booked, busy, and building. The next minute… silence. No emails. No follow-ups. No budgets moving. Just you, your faith, and a very long pause.

The year started strong. I was speaking, facilitating, traveling, and sitting in rooms where boards were finally ready to talk honestly about governance, power, equity, and belonging. I said yes to conferences, retreats, and panels. I jumped on podcast interviews that reminded me why I love this work. Check out my grounding conversation in this podcast interview with my friends from We are For Good, https://www.weareforgood.com/episode/648.

And I launched The Board Shake-Up podcast—one of the boldest, most life-giving things I’ve done in a long time. Putting my voice out there felt necessary. Risky. Right on time. Hope you enjoy it here, Little Bit of Good Presents | Podcast on Spotify

I also said yes to something deeply personal and powerful: board readiness training for Black women who are ready to lead but tired of waiting for an invitation that may never come. Creating space for Black women to prepare for board service—on our terms, with our lived experience centered—kept me grounded when the work got shaky. Every session was a reminder that leadership doesn’t need permission. It needs preparation, confidence, and community.

Behind the scenes, my personal board of directors was doing what they do best—asking me the hard questions, telling me the truth, and reminding me that rest is not a character flaw. If you don’t have one, consider this your sign.

And then… whew.

A DEI client derailed in a way that was equal parts frustrating and heartbreaking. Work slowed. Contracts stalled. Momentum evaporated. The summer came and went. It was weird but I kept it moving!

Then came the fall. The great nonprofit slowdown.

Phones stopped ringing. Emails went unanswered. Budgets froze like they were waiting for permission to breathe. Was it federal funding cuts? Government shutdown anxiety? The war in Ukraine? Election-year panic? Mercury in retrograde? Honestly, I still don’t know. I just know things got tight.

Like “do the math again” tight.

My strength was tested. My endurance was stretched. My pride had to be humbled.

Around the same time, I had surgery on my Achilles heel—because apparently the universe wanted me to literally sit down and reflect.

There were moments when quitting would’ve made perfect sense. No drama. No scandal. Just a quiet exit. But staying—staying honest, staying open, staying rooted—turned out to be the braver move.

I shared my vulnerability. Not the curated kind. The real kind. And people showed up. Friends. Colleagues. My F3 sisters. Community. Folks who reminded me that independence is overrated and asking for help is not failure—it’s wisdom.

And yes, I called God. Repeatedly. Sometimes with full sentences. Sometimes not.

Every time, the message was the same: Hold on.

So, I did.

And here I am.

As the year closes, things are looking up. New clients are emerging. And I landed a long-term engagement with a nonprofit doing meaningful work with kids facing challenges tied to truancy. Purpose-aligned. Steady. Life-giving. The kind of work that reminds you why you said yes to this path in the first place.

So, what did 2025 teach me?

Resilience doesn’t need a megaphone.

Slow seasons are still seasons.

Lean when you need to.

Remember your power.

Remember your purpose.

I didn’t quit. I didn’t fold. I stayed.

And that, in itself, feels like a win.

Christal M. Cherry is a nonprofit consultant, facilitator, and truth-teller who believes leadership should feel human, not performative. Through her work with The Board Pro, her podcast The Board Shake-Up, and her board training for Black women, she challenges organizations to stop folding chairs and start making room. She writes, teaches, and leads from lived experience—grounded in faith, fueled by purpose, and committed to staying in the work, even when it gets hard.