How Will the Pandemic Transform Your Nonprofit Long-Term?

Depending on where you’re sitting when you read this, you might be feeling the same kind of hope and optimism as I’ve begun allowing myself to feel lately. Part of my positive outlook is seasonal….I’m always happier when spring arrives. But with the expanding availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the recent dramatic reduction in case numbers, I’m slowly allowing myself to start seeing the light at the end of the long COVID tunnel as hope instead of a train. I hope you’re feeling it too.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, friends. It’s not over quite yet. But, it will be soon.

In the meantime, I’ve started the process of planning what a return to “normalcy” will look like for the nonprofit that I run. And I’ve been reading a lot and talking to friends in the business and nonprofit worlds about the same thing. The thoughts and ideas I’ve encountered so far are mixed, but there is an overarching theme that runs through all I’ve read and discussed so far:

“Normal” post-pandemic will NOT be the same as it was pre-COVID.

Have you started thinking about what your organization’s return to normalcy will look like? If you haven’t, friends, I encourage you to start planning now. There is a lot to consider, including everything from how your board of directors meets to the way you deliver your services and manage your team.

COVID took us all by surprise last year, and unfortunately many businesses, both for-profit and nonprofit, were absolutely not prepared. In my region’s nonprofit arena, I witnessed a lot of denial and confusion at first, quickly followed by a pretty even split between those who could easily pivot and those who were forced to scramble to figure things out. Nonprofits that were technologically ill-equipped and those who were dependent on special events as their primary fundraising tactic struggled the most, but in the early months of the pandemic everyone was challenged to some degree. Thankfully, the feds and local municipalities, corporate partners and major philanthropic foundations stepped up as best they could, offering emergency funding and easing restrictions on existing grants to allow organizations more flexibility. Slowly, everyone eased in to the “new normal” of zoom meetings, virtual events, and major precautions for any in-person activities.

Now that the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to look like sunshine, we should all be thinking about which pandemic-induced organizational changes will become permanent. One example for the nonprofit I’m responsible for will be the permanent addition of virtual attendance as an option for board meetings. Because, why not, right? It just makes sense, and we have the technology to make it so.

Another thing that I’m keeping is our virtual fundraising events…at least for the immediate term. Turns out, our pivot to virtual fundraising events last year resulted in much more cost-effective and successful outcomes than the in-person gala type events that preceded them. Who knew we would raise more money with a virtual event than in person? We didn’t know until we tried it. And then we analyzed the data, and we saw that it was true. Why, then, would we go back to our prior model?

This is not to say that we won’t still have in-person events. We’ll definitely still gather with our donors and community friends from time to time…but our annual fundraising events are permanently changed. I actually appreciate COVID for opening my eyes to this and other new ways of doing things.

So, friends, what COVID-induced organizational changes will you keep?

Will you continue meeting with your boards virtually, or at least offer the option of virtual attendance?

Have you analyzed your virtual fundraising in comparison to your in-person fundraising to see what makes sense for your nonprofit?

Will you continue allowing at least some level of remote work for your staff?

Are you planning to continue writing grants even after you can resume other forms of fundraising?

You get my point, friends. If you haven’t already started thinking and planning for what your return to normalcy will look like, I implore you to start today. Analyze your data; talk to your board members; talk to some of your donors; and definitely talk to your staff. Because as challenging as the last 12 months has been for many of us, there were some positive consequences of being forced to think outside the box. And I strongly believe that there are lessons and new ways of doing things that can and should persist as we move forward to normal again.