This Is Not a Drill: 6 Moves Disability Services Leaders Need to Make Now
Substack subscribers: Today I’m cross-posting another piece from my LinkedIn newsletter, Progressive Strategy Now.
*** You’ve all told me you like bullet lists, digestible takeaway points, skimmable content. Let me know how this new format works for you!***
1. Assume No One Is Coming to Save You—What’s Your Plan?
⚠️ Don’t count on: federal laws, state protections, or funders to shield you—they’re already being dismantled.
✅ What will keep you standing? A strategy that prepares for funding cuts, legal threats, and political pressure before they hit.
👉 Do this now:
List the one funding stream that would be a disaster to lose.
Identify the one service you cannot afford to cut.
Name three people outside your org who would have your back if you came under fire.
👉 Make your board answer these questions:
If a funder demands we drop “equity” from our mission, do we do it?
If we’re forced to stop serving trans autistic youth, do we comply?
If we lose a major contract overnight, what’s our backup?
The law won’t save you. Assume that now.
2. If You’re Not Tracking It, It Didn’t Happen
⚠️ The data infrastructure that protects disability rights is being erased—disability research cut, public health tracking gutted, and funding streams quietly shut down.
👉 Don’t assume someone else is keeping records. If your team isn’t tracking these shifts, who is?
👉 Start a simple log:
How many new appeals for help are you getting each week?
How many service requests are being denied?
Where are families turning when they’re cut off?
👉 Take it further: Connect the dots.
Talk to hospitals. Are more disabled people showing up in ERs?
Check with schools. Are expulsions or behavioral issues spiking?
Ask food banks. Are disabled families suddenly showing up for help?
No data = no proof of harm. And no proof means no fight.
3. Get Ready for Political Retaliation—Because It’s Coming
⚠️ If your nonprofit works on disability rights, DEIA, or gender-affirming care, assume bad-faith scrutiny is coming.
👉 Don’t wait for the attack—prepare now.
Could an executive order wipe out a key funding source?
Are your DEIA programs legally airtight?
If a right-wing media hit piece dropped tomorrow, do you know how you’d respond?
If extremists publicly target your DEIA staff, do you have a plan? How will you protect them, defend your work, and counter the attack?
👉 Your financials need to be bulletproof.
Bad-faith audits and investigations are a weapon. The best defense? Impeccable records, airtight compliance, and a response plan that shuts down false narratives before they spread.
This isn’t paranoia. It’s knowing their playbook.
4. If You Wait Until the Crisis Hits to Find Allies, It’s Too Late
⚠️ No one survives these attacks alone. The organizations that build broad coalitions now will be the ones still standing later.
✅ Build cross-issue, cross-sector relationships now—before you need them. Disability services don’t operate in isolation—hospitals, schools, and businesses will all feel the impact. Will they stand with you when it counts?
👉 Who else will take a hit if disability funding gets gutted?
Hospitals → Medicaid cuts mean more uncompensated ER visits.
Schools → Special ed rollbacks increase behavioral crises.
Businesses → If disabled workers lose job supports, they lose employees.
👉 Start these conversations now:
If we’re attacked, will you speak up for us?
If you’re attacked, do you need us to have your back?
If they come for disability funding, will you make noise or stay quiet?
One service cut is never just one service cut. The more organizations tracking ripple effects together, the harder they are to ignore.
5. Decide Now Where You’ll Draw the Line
⚠️ Tough choices are inevitable. The leaders who define their red lines now won’t waver when the pressure is on.
✅ Decide today what you will—and won’t—compromise.
👉 Have this conversation with your board now:
If a funder demands we erase "equity" from our mission, do we comply? Do we remove “equity” even if no one asks us to?
If serving trans clients puts a contract at risk, do we accept the loss?
If political attacks target us, do we fight or lay low?
If you don’t answer these questions now, you’ll answer them under pressure later. And you won’t like how that goes.
6. Control the Narrative—Or Someone Else Will
⚠️ If you don’t define your value now, your opponents will—and they won’t tell the truth.
✅ Frame your work now—before someone else does it for you.
👉 What does your website, mission statement, and media presence actually say?
Does it make clear why your work is essential to the economy, public health, and community stability?
Do you communicate how your work contributes to a stronger overall community or better world?
Would a neutral observer see you as indispensable—or just another nonprofit?
👉 Who will stand up for you if your organization comes under fire? If you don’t already know, now is the time to find out.
If you’re labeled “radical,” will local business owners, hospital CEOs, or school officials step up for you?
Or will you be left defending yourself alone?
What Will You Be Proud of in 2030?
✅ The leaders who acted early and built broad coalitions will still be standing.
✅ The ones who waited for someone else to protect them or tried to be invisible won’t be.
✅ Start now. What’s the first move?
Let’s Talk
📞 Need a strategic plan that protects your mission—and your funding? I work with disability leaders to navigate these threats and build stronger, future-proof organizations. Let’s talk.
📩 Message me or visit www.ptshattuck.com to start the conversation.
▶️ Make sure disability leaders see this. Share, repost, and subscribe to stay ahead of what’s coming.
From Progressive Strategy Now, a publication of Paul T Shattuck LLC.
***The views expressed here reflect my personal analysis as a researcher and consultant, and do not represent the positions of any employer, clients, or affiliated organizations.