coronavirus (Covid-19) resources for Nonprofit Leadership

Nonprofits across the world are facing the hard-hitting effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Determining your next steps in the ever-shifting climate can be daunting. Now more than ever for nonprofit leaders, it’s absolutely essential to keep calm, stay informed, and understand the changing scenarios and what it means for the survival of your organization so you can continue to serve your communities in need.

We’ve gathered resources from top nonprofit leaders to help you assess your risks and areas of vulnerability to prepare public communications to your team and stakeholders, as well as prioritize the health and well-being of your employees so you can maintain your organization’s culture and morale.

1: resources for nonprofit leadership

You may find yourself holding a mind-numbing number of virtual meetings as you organize your team. And as you embark on the responsibility of communicating both internally and publicly, it is imperative to stay accurately informed on new developments to be vigilant and remain sensitive to the vastly different ways a pandemic can affect your teams and communities.

Be a leader in taking a stand to help marginalized communities by speaking out against acts of discrimination in response to the evolving pandemic. Racial Equity Tools gathered this impressive list of COVID-19 Racial Equity & Social Justice Resources. Forbes shares 5 Things To Know About Coronavirus And People With Disabilities.

Here are some resources for understanding your situation and determining your resiliency plan.

• Nonprofit Finance Fund shares What Nonprofits Should Do Right Now.
• 20 Degrees shares step-by-step Coronavirus Advice for Nonprofit Leaders.
• Laura Varga shares a chapter on Virtual Leadership: Leading in the Distributed Workplace.
• Here are a few things for nonprofits and foundations to consider in light of the Coronavirus.
• TechSoup shares an overview on How to Manage a Scattered Nonprofit Team.
• For board members, BoardSource breaks down What Nonprofit Board Members Should Be Doing Right Now to address the COVID-19 situation.

Here is a video from TechSoup on managing the impact of COVID-19 for nonprofits:

2: resources for crisis communication

How are you communicating with your teams, supporters, and grantees? Here is a crowdsourced resource that addresses just that with resources, examples, and best practices: COVID Crisis Communications Triage Kit.

The following are more resources on how to prepare communication strategies to reaffirm your mission and remind stakeholders of your organization’s impact so you can retain funding revenue streams.

• Prosper Strategies created an outline of how to assess your risks, how to prepare communications strategies- Coronavirus Crisis Communication Best Practices for Nonprofits.
• Ben Delaney is sharing a free chapter on Crisis Communications Management in the Time of COVID-19 from the Nonprofit Marketing Handbook.
• Sendgrid is sharing tips and examples for email communication during COVID-19.

3: resources for supporting your employees

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law on March 19th. There are new job protections for workers as well as generous reimbursement schemes for nonprofit employers. The law provides two weeks of paid sick leave, a subsequent ten weeks of partially paid family leave for childcare, and potential refundable tax credits for employers to cover some of the costs of the mandates. The Council of Nonprofits breaks down what the new act means for nonprofits here.

And if you’re a nonprofit with less than 500 employees, you could be eligible for a loan of up to $10 million under the new CARES Act to cover payroll and operations expenses– which will be forgiven in whole or part– as long as you keep your staff.*

• Here’s a summary of CARES Act Benefits and Leave of Absence Provisions.
• We have rounded up an A-Z list by state of Resources & Grants for Nonprofits.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy shares How to Adapt Your Nonprofit’s Sick-Leave Policy During COVID-19.
• Here’s a massively thorough, crowdsourced HR and Communications Resources Guide.
• Modern Health, a digital mental health platform, is providing free Community Support Resources for HR Teams during COVID-19.
• Lightful is coordinating this spreadsheet of free nonprofit webinars and trainings.

*Editor’s note: This post was originally published 4/9/20. Here is an update on 4/22/20:

On April 21st, the Senate approved a second funding deal of $484 billion in additional federal funding for coronavirus relief. Congress is set to add $320 billion more for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $60 billion of which would be set aside for small lenders. The PPP passed on March 27th ran out of the initial $349 billion the federal government earmarked for it in just under two weeks, so don’t wait to apply.

4: resources for practicing self-care

Last but certainly not least, remember to practice self-care.  Mindfulness and practicing self-compassion can go a long way. As global stress and uncertainty floods our news feeds, you may want to beef up your self-care practices over the duration of the crisis. Your organization needs you to take care of yourself to be able to continue to do the important work your organization sets out to do over the long term.

• American Psychiatric Association offers tips for maintaining health and wellness during the crisis and what managers and HR can do to help employees – Working Remotely During COVID-19: Your Mental Health & Well-Being.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy goes over Staying Healthy While Doing Good: Managing Stress in a Nonprofit Job.
• From the CDC – Managing Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19.
• Here are some tips on Managing Anxiety During Coronavirus.
• National Association of Social Workers shares free self-care activities and resources.
• Enrichment Activities is sharing ideas for activities to keep children engaged so parents can focus on work and catch downtime.

There are many considerations for navigating this challenging time, and you may just be surprised at how primed you already are with swift chops for adapting flexibly when faced with uncertainty.

Information flows abundantly as we all figure out effective ways to continue our struggle and strive. And it’s that same passion and drive for leading social change that makes the critical work you do on the daily, nothing short of visionary.

#PwD are stepping up to the plate. People with disabilities employed through our member nonprofit agency @TradeWindsNWI are manufacturing #PPE in response to #COVID19: https://t.co/BsKKSW7WZW #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/rqEfhJ5x3k

— SourceAmerica (@SourceAmericaUS) April 7, 2020

• ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR NONPROFITS DURING CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Financial Relief For Nonprofits: Loans & Grants – We’re breaking down what the massive federal emergency funding means for nonprofits and sharing resources for grant opportunities.
  • Remote Working Toolkit For Nonprofits During Coronavirus (COVID-19) – We’re sharing our roundup of tools, tips, and considerations.
  • What Nonprofits Should Do Right Now – the Nonprofit Finance Fund shares insights, templates, and tools as well as SBA resources.
  • Principles for Fundraising: The Coronavirus and Philanthropy  – In light of the current and rapidly evolving circumstances, CCS offers general principles and specific guidelines around fundraising efforts.
  • Responding to the Coronavirus Outbreak: Resources to Help Nonprofits – The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
  • NTEN shares a roundup of tools for how to work from home effectively.

Disclaimer: Please note that this is our best understanding of the new resources available and is not legal or financial advice.