As NDSA continues to evolve, the Coordinating Committee and broader leadership team would like to close the year by sharing updates on the current state of the organization and where NDSA is heading in 2026. What follows is an edited version of the presentation given by NDSA Chair Shira Peltzman during the Digital Preservation 2025 session “The State of the NDSA.”

NDSA’s Organizational Transition

Moving to a New Host
Recognizing the urgent need for a long-term sustainability plan, the NDSA Coordinating Committee began actively exploring new hosting options that could place the organization on more stable footing while supporting a transition toward a sustainable self-funding model. After a careful process of assessment, we identified the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) as our preferred partner.

NISO’s mission is to build knowledge, foster discussion, and advance authoritative standards development through collaboration among the cultural, scholarly, scientific, and professional communities—a mission which is well aligned with NDSA’s core activities of conducting longitudinal research and producing and publishing best practices in digital preservation.

In the proposed mutually beneficial partnership, NDSA would maintain its organizational independence while establishing a multi-year management arrangement with NISO that includes agreed upon development, investment, and funding-support metrics, and fosters NDSA’s programmatic growth. Over the past year and a half, NDSA leadership has worked closely with NISO to develop a strategy for creating a durable financial foundation for this partnership. In October, the NISO Board approved NDSA working towards a formal agreement and partnership.

Funding Challenges and Community Support
Early this year, we developed and submitted a two-year proposal to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support NDSA’s transition to a self-sustaining model. The grant would have provided bridge funding to hire a program manager, conduct deep member engagement, and develop a long-term business plan for our organization. Just a week and a half after submission, however, we learned that the proposal would no longer be viable due to federal staffing and budget reductions at IMLS. While disappointing, this setback helped clarify the need for a more independent, diversified approach to sustainability.

This led us to refocus our efforts on launching a one-time member-driven fundraising drive. Launched in May 2025, the campaign sought to raise $60,000 in seed funding to sustain operations and build momentum during our transition to a new host. Thanks to the generosity and hard work of our members and partners, the drive ultimately raised nearly $30,000 – a remarkable achievement given the current funding landscape.

Strategic Planning for the Future
Alongside these initiatives, NDSA leadership has worked closely with NISO in preparation for the proposal that was presented to NISO’s board for a formal hosting arrangement. Toward this end, we’ve developed two key documents that together form the foundation of our shared vision for NDSA that will position us for a more stable and secure future.

The Strategic Plan we created lays out a clear, five-year roadmap for NDSA’s programmatic and organizational growth. It translates our community’s goals into practical, achievable steps – beginning with the exploration and development of a membership fee model, and the hiring of a part-time Program Manager to guide implementation. It outlines how we will:

  • expand and diversify our revenue base
  • grow our annual Digital Preservation conference
  • increase community engagement through new year-round education and training initiatives, and
  • enhance our research and advocacy efforts

The accompanying Business Case builds on this plan by laying out a practical financial and operational model to make it work. It details how NDSA can balance our revenue streams against the necessary costs of staffing, programming, and shared services under NISO’s support framework. Importantly, it demonstrates how NDSA can retain its independent, volunteer-driven identity while gaining the administrative stability and infrastructure support needed to grow.

NDSA’s Next Steps

In short, during the first six months of 2026 we will take the necessary steps toward a contract that will define the relationship between NISO and NDSA and outline our respective responsibilities. Once the agreement is finalized, it will go back to NISO’s Board for formal approval.

As we move toward a formal partnership with NISO, one important next step is for NDSA to either incorporate as an official legal entity or explore alternative solutions that will provide us with formal legal status. This is a significant but practical step that strengthens our position and supports long-term stability as we formalize our relationship with NISO. It’s also necessary to ensure that both organizations are protected and that our partnership is built on a solid legal foundation. Incorporation will give NDSA the ability to enter into agreements, manage funds, and make decisions independently, and is in line with the journey taken by other community organizations we’ve looked at.

Another major step will be to pursue 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. This designation will formalize NDSA’s role as a public-serving organization and position us to manage and expand our revenue streams responsibly. This is a complex, multi-step process that we expect to initiate in January. Now that we’ve begun to cultivate and plan for new sources of income, it’s important that we have the right legal and fiscal structures in place. Achieving nonprofit status will not only enhance our credibility and transparency, but also open doors to other kinds of funding and charitable contributions, ensuring that every dollar we raise directly supports our mission and community.

In tandem with these legal and fiduciary steps, a critical part of this next phase will be finalizing the terms of the formal contract between NISO and NDSA. This will take the shape of a longer-term, legally binding agreement – ideally a two- to five-year contract – that clearly defines the scope, responsibilities, and expectations of both organizations. To develop this agreement, we’ll need to translate our strategic plan into concrete action, understanding how the plan connects to our daily operations and establishing the structures and roles that will guide our collaboration going forward. A key component of this work will be defining clear boundaries and establishing shared decision-making criteria – determining where work should be carried out by NISO, when it should be contracted out, and what remains within NDSA’s purview. We’ll also build in regular checkpoints and evaluation to ensure ongoing alignment, transparency, and accountability.

NDSA leaders met biweekly with NISO to work through the logistical and operational details of our partnership. As of December 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding has been drafted and signed. This acts as an interim agreement that outlines roles, responsibilities, and expectations for both organizations to cover the transition period until the longer-term contract is finalized.

At the same time, the process of offboarding from CLIR is well underway, initiating the handover process and documenting everything needed to ensure that knowledge, infrastructure, and operations transition cleanly to our new structure. For instance, the current NDSA-ALL listserv will be migrated to a new platform in the coming weeks, and the email address to post to the list will be changing. We plan to migrate existing subscribers to the new listserv and will provide email announcements on both the current and new NDSA-ALL platforms with additional details on posting and accessing listserv messages.

Leadership Updates

The close of 2025 sees three members of the Coordinating Committee conclude their terms: Shira Peltzman, Deon Schutte, and Bethany Scott. Their contributions to the success of NDSA have been innumerable, and they step away with the sincere gratitude of the organization for their dedication, time, and effort. To replace these vacancies, the election for the open Coordinating Committee seats wrapped up in October, with three new members elected: John Dewees, Rebecca Frank, and Danielle Taylor.

One additional vacancy occurred effective December 1; Kari May has chosen to resign from her role as Vice Chair, as well as her seat on the Coordinating Committee. As Kari will not be able to take on the role of Chair in 2026, a Leadership Transition Committee has been convened to take on the responsibilities of the NDSA Chair in a shared capacity, and in the process determine a path forward for the next Vice Chair and Chair, update the bylaws, and broadly continue the work of preparing NDSA for incorporation as a formal and legal entity as well as continue to transition from CLIR to NISO.

As the work of this committee will be extensive, volunteers were solicited from all areas of leadership, including the Coordinating Committee and the chairs of Working Groups and Interest Groups. The members of this Leadership Transition Committee include: Matthew McEniry (co-chair), Stacey Jones (co-chair), Danielle Taylor (secretary), Bethany Scott, Ann Hanlon, Carol Kussmann, Dan Noonan, John Dewees, and Grete Graf.

The Leadership Transition Committee will communicate regularly about the work they are engaged in, logistical changes as they are accomplished, and larger strategic work that is being completed. Please look for announcements via email and the NDSA website, where these updates will be distributed.

In Conclusion

As we look ahead, I want to acknowledge that change can bring questions and uncertainty, especially when it comes to how we sustain NDSA financially. I want to assure you that we are approaching this next phase with the same thoughtfulness and care that have guided us so far.
Developing a membership fee model will require careful analysis and broad consultation. We still have a lot of work to do to fully understand the current economic landscape, and I want to assure you all that no decisions will be taken lightly. We know our community is incredibly varied – representing institutions of different sizes, budgets, and capacities – and we will be deeply mindful of that as we move forward.

Our goal is not simply to introduce a fee that serves to gate-keep, but to design a model that is fair, inclusive, and reflective of the diversity of our membership.

This transition marks an important turning point – one that positions us for greater stability and opens up new opportunities for growth, partnership, and impact. It reflects the strength and maturity of this community and our shared commitment to ensuring that NDSA continues to thrive for many years to come. We invite members to stay engaged, ask questions, and participate in shaping this next chapter of NDSA.