When Funders Listen: Real Partnerships in Uncertain Times
By Emily Mastellone-Snyder, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Marketing, and Communications
In this period of uncertainty, especially for nonprofits, there is something deeply hopeful stirring: our funders are listening. They are asking different questions, and they are paying attention. Many funders are shifting how they support hunger-relief work like ours: trusting us, empowering us, and giving us the space and flexibility to do what matters most.
What does that look like in practice? For some funders, it means offering general operating support—a lifeline. Instead of asking us to carve parts of our work into a rigid “project box,” they understand that sustaining food rescue, distribution, gleaning, and community outreach requires consistent infrastructure. That kind of support enables us to respond quickly and direct resources where they are needed most. For other funders, it means promising multi-year commitments. This helps us plan and create stability across programs.
We have also noticed a growing openness among funders to qualitative—not just quantitative—measures of success. It’s no longer just about “how many meals served” or “pounds of food distributed.” Instead, there’s space for nuance: stories of connection that demonstrate how we are strengthening community resilience. These funders are understanding the value of metrics that reflect deeper meaning, not just numbers. They are asking how our work changes lives and responds to real need.
More of our grant applications now welcome visuals, client stories, volunteer voices, and other forms of qualitative data. They encourage us to show the full breadth of what we do: not only food recovered, but also relationships built and hope renewed.
And increasingly, instead of asking for static reports, funders are opting for share-back meetings and conversations rather than paperwork. These interactive meetings give us the chance to speak openly about challenges, brainstorm solutions together, celebrate small victories, and think collectively about next steps. They turn the funder–nonprofit dynamic into a mutually responsive partnership that is grounded in trust.
Here are just a few of our funders that are making these shifts:
- State Legislation: Rachel’s Table continues to partner with our dedicated and caring Western MA delegation. We work closely with state legislators such as: Representative Brian Ashe of Longmeadow; Representative Carlos González of Springfield; State Senator Jacob Oliveira of the Hampden, Hampshire & Worcester District; State Senator Adam Gomez of the Hampden District; and many others. These leaders work closely together to find and direct us to the various funding sources available to nonprofits—no small task considering the challenges of the current funding landscape. State Senator Jacob Oliveira worked with the House to add us to a supplemental budget, putting aside funds for our work and the work of many other organizations that are strengthening our communities. Rachel’s Table’s Executive Director, Jodi Falk, was able to (along with her son) meet Senator Oliveira earlier this fall (pictured above). This is truly change-making work, done only through thoughtful collaboration and deep listening among leaders and constituents. We are deeply grateful for this support and partnership!
- Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, which meets with us in person, asks questions about what’s working and what’s hard, and cares enough to understand the day-to-day realities of hunger relief. They also fund cohorts of Western MA nonprofit leaders to attend a Transformational Leadership Retreat at Kripalu—an experience that has deeply nourished two of our staff, strengthening both our leadership practice and the collegial support network we now have through the cohort model.
- Point32 Health Foundation, which has provided operational funding at meaningful levels—without a maze of hoops or overly prescriptive constraints.
- Amelia Peabody Foundation, a brand-new funder that invests in understanding our work via site visits and hands-on engagement. Their approach is unique in that they care deeply about making sure their support is truly making a sustainable difference for the organization—they have a strong understanding of how small nonprofits need to keep their focus on their work on the ground, so they keep their reporting and recognition requirements reasonable.
- Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which has offered a Flexible Funding grant, a model that trusts our judgment and gives us the freedom to direct resources where they are needed most.
- United Way of Franklin and Hampshire Counties, which is currently providing us with a three-year food security grant to support our gleaning and farm rescue operations.
These shifts matter. They reflect a deeper understanding: that hunger relief is not a project to be managed, but rather it’s a living, evolving human rights mission rooted in community, sovereignty, and solidarity. In a time when so much is uncertain—from rising need and economic instability, to shifting policy landscapes—this kind of funding represents more than support. It represents partnership and hope that we are working together to create real, sustainable change.