The world has been shaken up by the curve ball thrown at us. There are mixed feelings of isolation despite the speed of connectivity. It is really difficult to make sense of any of it so far and I am hoping that with time, we will be able to make meaning of it soon. Amidst all of this, I am extremely amazed by the way so many industries have stepped up in unison to support one and another.
Focusing purely on the nonprofit sector, while the ‘ask’ and variety of giving have increased in the recent weeks, there remains a lot of uncertainty around how long will this crisis continue. And in that process, how will several of the nonprofit organizations even survive. To top it is the current state of economy with potential job losses and financial downturn that will likely negatively impact funds and donations. There have been articles after articles on various resources for philanthropy and how they should respond in this time of need. We are only at the beginning of this cycle and how it will ultimately affect the social sector is left to be determined. I spent last few weeks attending some of the virtual small-group discussions organized by Salesforce.org, Council on Foundations and Chronicle of Philanthropy. The message from all seemed unanimous – that for the sector to sustain through this unprecedented challenge, it would need to take focused actions in four key areas –
Rapid response funds are being set up by multiple foundations, Government and private entities to help support immediate needs of their mission. Such emergency responses provide short-term continuity to the organization’s work as they grapple with the situation. Chronicle of Philanthropy has a useful list of the open fund applications.
Funders are beginning to relax some of their grants restrictions have been relaxed and I find this pledge quite a positive initiative in the direction of foundations providing the much-needed relief for the sector.
GivingTuesdayNow! “We each have the power to make an impact with acts of generosity, no matter how small and to ensure the sustainability of organizations and services that are crucial to the care and support of our communities”, CEO of GivingTuesday Asha Curran said as they announce the global day of generosity as an emergency response to COVID19. I am a fan of such ‘giving days’ especially at a global level that can attract funds towards general supporting costs / unrestricted donations. GivingTuesday has also put together this resourceful Toolkit for organizations to get started.
Large funders including the government entities like USAID, DFID, etc. will HAVE to restructure their grant guidelines, directives and contractual obligations, of course without losing sight of accountability. They will have to UP their own systems and processes before passing them down to their grantees.
While the road ahead is not clear, one thing is certain – that for nonprofits to come out strong, it will require them to be pushed into finding new ways to operate – for both, the funders and the grantees.
Virtual connectivity will no longer remain an option.
Funds will be based on relationship building rather than financial transactions.
And the future will no longer be about maintaining in perpetuity.