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COMPETING PRIORITIES

All of our clients in the midst of the unimaginable COVID crisis are juggling how to focus on the most vulnerable while simultaneously facing a certain drop in contributed income, due to the loss of revenue from cancelled or postponed events and the unknown about fee-for-service reimbursements.

GOOD NEWS: Many foundations and donors are now offering rapid response funding to past grantees, unrestricting program grants, not requiring reporting, postponing proposal deadlines, extending multiple-year grants, being flexible with deliverables, providing working capital and interest-free loans, covering indirect program costs, etc.Many nonprofits claim that they haven’t heard from their funders and vice versa. Institutional funders understand that you’re in crisis, but they also want to know how to help. Call or write to share how COVID is impacting your staff and clients.

Reach out to board members and major donors to let them know that their commitment is enabling your nonprofit to continue to achieve your mission.

Offer virtual office hours or town halls for supporters to call in to hear directly how you are being impacted and how you are responding.

Add your donors to your community outreach communications, explain what you are doing to adapt your programming, and explain how you are responding to community needs in these tough times.

Add a DONATE and SHARE button to all of your communications.Remember, it is okay to request that donors provide incremental support during this time of need.

In our last blog post about postponing fundraisers, we said to keep calm and keep fundraising. After you have addressed the safety of your staff and the increased demand for services, it’s essential that you focus on the disruption of services and your financial sustainability.

Growth for Good is available during this difficult time to help your nonprofit as a strategic fundraising and communications consultant to build stability and/or to proactively plan for the time when this tragic pandemic will subside.

GOOD NEWS & RESOURCES:

CANDID – Tracking New Funding
Philanthropy’s response to the novel coronavirus. Grants awarded to recipients to address issues related to COVID. Which funders are supporting the response to coronavirus and where is that funding going?

SBA to Provide Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19)
March 12, 2020
These business loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate for nonprofits is 2.75%.

NYC Employee Retention Grant Program
New York City is offering small businesses with fewer than five employees a grant to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees.

Bloomberg Philanthropies Commits $40 Million to COVID-19 Response
March 18, 2020
Launched in partnership with Vital Strategies and WHO, the Coronavirus Global Response Initiative will support immediate action in vulnerable low- and middle-income countries to prevent and slow the global spread of COVID-19….

Facebook Commits $20 Million in Matching Funds for COVID-19 Response
March 16, 2020
Facebook will match donations to the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was launched by the UN Foundation, the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, and the World Health Organization….

Nonprofit New York is providing a free sample business continuity and disaster recovery plan to help organizations outline what to do in case of disasters. The organization is also hosting a free Emergency Planning for Nonprofits training on April 8th and April 20th.

Updates and resources being updated regularly NJ Center for Nonprofits: Coronavirus, Nonprofits, and General Health
Last reviewed/updated March 18, 2020

Updates and resources being updated regularly