Phoenix (STN) – Election results can reshape funding and policy, seemingly overnight. But Nathan Smith, CEO of Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), says that is no reason for nonprofit leaders to panic. His approach, which he calls his superpower, is neutrality.
“We have to be prepared to work on either side of the aisle, no matter who takes power,” Smith explained. He clarified what that means. “Neutrality doesn’t mean that I’m neutral when it comes to outcomes. I’m neutral when it comes to whatever political party is holding the power at that moment, and I want to work with them to create the kinds of outcomes that we need in our community and for the people we serve.”
Smith says that disposition keeps doors open. It also does not mean going it alone. He needs colleagues who are not as neutral as he is, because their passion “is often a superpower that my superpower can leverage, and that’s what real collaboration looks like.”
He offered an example from his testimony before the state legislature’s substance use disorder committee. Instead of pitching CASS’s funding needs, Smith described what was happening in the system. He shared how long it takes for nonprofit providers to become licensed, credentialed, and contracted with health plans, and how people leaving higher levels of behavioral health care often return to CASS because discharge planning is not in place. He suggested lawmakers streamline the process and enforce discharge planning rules in the Arizona Administrative Code.
He called the response remarkable. Smith says he has since been invited to help write bills for a couple of legislators. “For all the things they could be focused on, they needed to hear what was really happening so that they could figure out how their power and resources could be most effective.”
According to Smith, CASS, which operates a 600-bed emergency shelter in downtown Phoenix, needs two things: money and partners. A $700,000 budget increase would fund behavioral health technicians and case managers there, or a partner could provide those services through a memorandum of understanding. “I need very targeted collaboration, and I need some money,” he said.
Looking ahead to 2027, Smith’s advice is to think bigger. “Find the goal that’s way bigger than anything you could ever achieve alone, and then figure out who and how you’re going to do it.”
