You’re Not the Bachelorette? You Still Should Be Prepared for your Crisis
April 2026
Your Crisis Is Coming, Ready or Not
Credit: @bachelornation on Instagram
Taylor Frankie Paul of The Bachelorette
We may not like to admit it, but most of us have an appetite for a bit of schadenfreude — that feeling of delight we get when someone really steps in it. For purely professional reasons, of course, here at Momentum we pay attention to those moments, because they inform our practice of nonprofit crisis communications. The thing about crises is that they can come for anyone at any time. Preparation for potential crises can make all the difference between a stumble and a fall.
A shocking lack of preparation was obvious at ABC last month when it hurriedly canceled an already-filmed season of “The Bachelorette”
after video emerged of star Taylor Frankie Paul hitting and heaving bar stools at her then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. The network had been aware of domestic violence allegations against Paul, but seemed to have no plan when video evidence emerged.
Sometimes a crisis response may be planned, but fails because preparation overlooks some basics, even when the crisis is more serious than reality television. After the Air Canada crash at LaGuardia Airport in New York killed the plane’s two pilots, airline CEO Michael Rousseau gave a heartfelt statement of condolence — but only in English, in a country where everything is bilingual by law. Considering the flight originated from French-speaking Montreal and one of the pilots was from Quebec, Rousseau’s inability to speak French added an extra layer of hurt to the crash.
Air Canada addressed the issue days later by announcing Rousseau’s retirement and pledged that his replacement will have “the ability to communicate in French.”
You can’t schedule your crisis, but you can be ready for it.
Be Prepared Before the Crisis
Credit: Vlada Karpovich
The nature of a crisis is that it’s unexpected and seemingly comes out of nowhere. In nonprofit crisis communications, that makes it imperative to be prepared for when the unexpected comes to town.
Nonprofits can see some crises coming. It should have been no secret that the current administration would cause chaos for nonprofits — after all, it said it would do that. But other crises can’t be foreseen, and it’s crucial to have a nonprofit crisis communications plan in place. The kind of plans that Momentum Communications Group creates help nonprofits navigate crises with confidence and speed — and both are necessary to weather these storms.
For obvious reasons, we’re not going to cite specific examples of how clients have handled crises using our plans. In some cases, those steps have helped keep crises from getting too much attention (although our clients were prepared with what to say and how to say it if necessary). In other cases, the response strategy resulted in organizations relying on Momentum-crafted talking points when issuing statements or responding to inquiries. And we serve as a nonprofit crisis sentinel, looking both for signs of potential crises and keeping track of the narrative when one unfolds.
Either way, the organizations we work with don’t fly blind. We help them have a plan in place for when they need it. And given the state of the country and the world, they may need it.
What happens when your nonprofit finds itself in rough waters? A plan is your organization’s life jacket, says Account Supervisor Stephanie Gentile. She writes:
“When controversy erupts, nonprofit leaders don’t have the luxury of time. Donors may have questions, staff may want guidance and journalists may start calling. Organizations with strong crisis communications plans are already prepared.
A typical plan includes:
- Risk scenarios: identifying issues that could damage reputation
- Internal notification frameworks: who must be informed and when to involve the board and legal
- External communication criteria: deciding whether to respond publicly and how
- Prepared messaging: talking points leaders can use immediately
- Escalation stages: determining when an issue becomes a full crisis
These guardrails allow organizations to respond deliberately rather than in a panic.”
Read more from Stephanie, Momentum’s “Crisis Handler,” in her blog.
