NFAS began in response to a specific crisis: students wanted a universal pass grading policy for the spring semester of 2020 as a result of the then-nascent pandemic. Then, as student need became apparent, the group did a round of mutual aid fundraising before the fall 2020 semester, followed by another before spring 2021. Last semester, some organizers were unsure if NFAS would continue to exist past their graduation last spring.
