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Paper short abstract

This paper examines how non-profit organisations are navigating recent aid cuts by reconfiguring operations, adopting new funding models, and engaging emerging donors.

Paper long abstract

Through advocacy, service delivery, and citizenship building, non-profits have long complemented the state’s role in achieving development outcomes across both the Global South and North. Yet, their heavy reliance on aid, philanthropy, and volunteerism makes them particularly vulnerable to global financial shocks. Recent aid retrenchment by traditional donors, including the United States and the United Kingdom, has disrupted the operations, workforce stability, and sustainability of many organisations. This study explores how non-profit organisations have responded to these shifts, focusing on the effects of aid cuts on operations, employee wellbeing, and management strategies. Drawing on documentary evidence, aid data, and key informant interviews in Ghana, the United Kingdom, and Canada, the study examines emerging coping mechanisms and alternative funding arrangements, including internally generated funds, and the philanthropic sector support from non-traditional donors. The findings contribute to debates on organisational resilience, sustainability, and South-North learning within the global non-profit sector.