Sequoia Capital, one of the most well-respected venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, recently organized a meeting for the CEOs of its portfolio companies. The tagline?  “R.I.P.: Good Times”.   You can check out this write-up on  the GigaOM blog.  Here’s an excerpt:

They want the companies to cut costs, to figure out way to survive and emerge at the other end of this downturn, which could last years. The speakers went through each functional area of the business and told the companies how to cut costs. By holding this special meeting, Sequoia is telling its companies to put survival strategies in place and figure out ways to outlast the broader market troubles.

Ron Conway, a well-known angel investor who has backed the likes of Google, is pushing companies to “lower your “burn rate” to raise at least 3-6 months or more of funding via cost reductions, even if it means staff reductions and reduced marketing and G&A expenses.  This is the equivalent to “raising an internal round” through cost reductions to buy you more time until you need to raise money again; hopefully when fund raising is more feasible.”

While no one wishes this kind of impact in any sector, one can imagine that non-profits are going to feel the same fundraising crunch and will also have to make some tough decisions.