Nonprofit Post Covid Life

Nonprofits Post-Covid: How to Thrive in this New Environment

This past weekend, the Chronicle of Philanthropy ran an article that reported on a new study from accounting and advisory firm Forvis that found that half of nonprofits reported a decrease in net income last year. They attribute this decrease in part to the end of COVID-era emergency funding that provided the financial boost that many nonprofits needed. For some, this money kept them solvent, even without the COVID challenges.

When we add to that the uncertain economy that has caused many individuals and companies to plan their spending more carefully and increasing costs from inflation, we get a perfect storm that has many nonprofits struggling to find a sustainable path forward. That storm gets magnified for nonprofits who rely on audiences, as many people continue to stay home instead of attending performances, events, or other public gatherings.

So, what’s a nonprofit to do? How can you prepare your nonprofit for success in this post-COVID world?

1.       Make sure you have a current strategic plan. The world – and likely your nonprofit – has changed significantly in the last three years; if you created your strategic plan before 2020, you should probably revisit it or create a new one to take all these changes into consideration.

2.       Make sure you have a strategic plan, not an operational plan. A strategic plan takes the external and internal environments into consideration, looking at these various pressures and how they could positively or negatively impact YOUR nonprofit. It does not just look at how to get done the things you did last year but asks how you should achieve your mission and goals which may mean doing things markedly different or doing different things.

3.       Create a strategic fund development plan. Too many nonprofits go through the year without a plan of how they will raise the revenue that they need to keep their organization solvent. “It’s February, so we plan our gala. It’s June, so we send out a direct mail piece.” When you create a strategic fund development plan, you look at who gives to your nonprofit, how they give, why they give, who does not give, and your external environment as it relates to fund development. For example, your plan will look very different if a large employer plans to move out of your community than if a new large employer plans to move in. With these data in hand, you create a plan that maximizes your success given those conditions. For example, if people in your community no longer will attend large gatherings, maybe you need to rethink your gala or spend that time raising money another way.

4.       Reach out to your most loyal and supportive donors. Just as you should have shared your organizational struggles and challenges during the early years of COVID to keep them informed and giving, continue to engage your donors in the challenges you face today. Only through concerted stewardship and engagement of them will you raise the funds you need to fund your mission.

5.       Engage your staff, volunteers and board members in your struggles and needs. The CEO or Executive Director does not need to have all the answers to these challenges. In fact, research suggests that when you engage your team in identifying the problems that your organization faces and in developing and implementing solutions, they become more engaged and you get better solutions. Sharing the burden can also prevent or minimize the chances of burnout because no one person shoulders the entire challenge.

6.       Invest in professional and personal development to better equip you and your team to think strategically about ways to overcome these challenges and plan for a healthier future. When you create an organization and leadership team who continually learns – about their work, the work of others, and trends in both – they can start to see possibilities beyond what they currently do and create creative solutions that will help move the organization forward.

We live in unprecedented times. Not during my lifetime have I seen so many challenges and moving parts in the broader environment that will likely have such a monumental impact on our organizations. Only by facing these challenges head on and gathering a team of people committed to your mission and working through these problems will our organization emerge stronger on the other side. Those who do not, may find themselves out of business or perpetually struggling.

Where do you want to find your nonprofit?