remote working toolkit for nonprofits During Coronavirus (COVID-19)

As shelter-in-place orders sweep through the nation, you may have found yourself among the thousands of nonprofits suddenly transitioning to working from home. As you shift your organization to working remotely, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the tools available. Empower yourself with the right tools to effectively streamline your remote workflow.

Surprising challenges may arise as you pivot your organization’s strategy. You may be wondering what the best ways are to stay connected with your team, host virtual fundraisers, keep your information secure, manage projects digitally, and even juggle remote working if you have kids that are now home from school.

Thankfully, there is an abundance of community ready to help, and many companies are stepping up by sharing free access and deep discounts in hopes of aiding nonprofits. We’re sharing our roundup of tools, tips, and considerations below.

Does your nonprofit have an emergency plan for working remotely?

And as you’re transitioning your staff to working remotely, here are some remote working and telecommuting practices to consider.

• Training for Change is providing training workshops for facilitating online communication across contexts and experience levels.
• TechSoup has rounded up nonprofit resources for remote work during the COVID-19 outbreak, which covers communications solutions for staff working remotely, document management tools conducive to collaboration, and more. 

1: tools for staying connected

• TechSoup always has special prices for nonprofits on loads of software, including Microsoft and Zoom. They’re breaking down key tips for working remotely, understanding video-conferencing tools available to your nonprofit, and thinking outside the inbox about communication and collaboration tools.
• Nonprofit Learning Lab offers a wealth of information and free webinars on essentials like online fundraising and volunteer management.
• If your conference was canceled, ICTworks is sharing advice on organizing a virtual conference.
• Google’s premium video conferencing features (meetings of up to 250 people, the ability to record) are free to G Suite customers through July 1, 2020. Google is also offering ad grants and free tools for nonprofits through the Google for Nonprofits program.
• Microsoft’s Teams virtual meetings are free for six months and existing user limits on the free version have been lifted.
• Facebook’s business resource hub including tips on customer service and how to run online events.
• Freehand by InVision is a creative, free virtual whiteboard for designing presentations and drawing feedback.
• SurveyMonkey is offering survey tools and templates for checking in with your employees at scale. Nonprofits are eligible for a 25% discount.
• Dropbox Premium is offering nonprofits three months free for their filesharing services.
• Canva is a graphic design platform that provides high-impact social media graphics, marketing, and design materials. Their premium version is free for nonprofits.

2: tools for communicating with your team

• You can dramatically cut down on internal email and stay connected to your team with messaging programs like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Flock.
• Zoom is sharing training resources for effective remote working, educating, hosting virtual events, and telehealth. Zoom’s free plan gives you 40 minute video sessions with 100 participants.
• Loom is free screencasting software that allows you to record your camera and screen with audio. You can download your video, embed it on your website, or share it via social media or email.
• Screencastify is a simple screen-casting tool with a free version.
• Snagit is another screen-recording tool that is offering a discount to nonprofits.
• GoToMeetings is offering a free three-month remote work tools package for video meetings.

3: tools for Hosting virtual events

Rather than canceling your important events, you can go virtual. We recently shared our Nonprofit Fundraising Event Coronavirus Survival Guide,  with resources on how to postpone or go virtual with your fundraising events as well as talk tracks for navigating refund conversations.

• Here is a comprehensive guide – Online Meeting Resources Toolkit for Facilitators During Coronavirus Pandemic.
• The folks at Higher Logic are providing their tools for virtual event communities free for the remainder of this year.
• Convene shares about what gear you need for getting ready for hosting livestreams – Hosting Hybrid Events During Global Travel Disruptions.
• Higher Logic is offering free virtual conference/event tools.

4: tools for upping your cybersecurity

As we rely on our devices and the internet to connect to the outside world, it’s crucial to protect our organizations’ privacy by utilizing digital tools to mitigate the risks involved. Up your cybersecurity by making online safety a priority for your nonprofit to protect both your work-related information and the personal information of your supporters.  Read more about how to take steps toward keeping your valuable information protected.

• Use strong passwords, use two-factor authentication, and avoid using public wifi whenever possible.
• As you start to create and accrue dozens of accounts and passwords to manage, you can consider implementing a password manager for your nonprofit. Keeper, Dashline, and Roboform are a few top-ranking options.
• LastPass, 1Password Teams, and TeamPassword are password security options centered around ease of use for team password sharing.
• Jitsi offers easy-to-use video web conferencing that is encrypted, flexible, and free. Although, it is worth noting that it is ideal for groups of 5 or less

And if you want to dive in more deeply, the Council of Nonprofits shares more resources cybersecurity for nonprofits here.

5: tools for managing projects

Effective use of a project management tool can improve efficiency, productivity, and accountability for teams working through projects together. There are plenty of low-cost or free web-based tools available for nonprofits.

• Trello is a highly visual productivity platform for collaborative working. Nonprofits can receive a 75% discount.
• Airtable Pro is free for humanitarian groups working on COVID-19 relief efforts. Airtable is also compiling all the COVID-19 related resources and projects that are being built on their platform to give visibility to the important and inspiring work being done.
• Asana is a platform that makes it easy to organizing and track projects and workflows. Nonprofits can receive a 50% discount and they’re also offering a free 1-year subscription to nonprofits that are working directly in COVID-19 cure research or providing aid to COVID-19 patients.
  
• Basecamp is a project management + internal communication tool for remote work from home teams. And they offer a discount for nonprofits.
• Cureo is a collaboration software for nonprofit project teams, boards, and committees. It gives users the ability to share files as well as manage tasks, meetings, and events.

6: tools for working at home with kids

• Enrichment Activities is sharing ideas for activities to keep children engaged while parents are working from home.
• Here is a crowdsourced Giant List of Ideas for Being Home with Kids.
• Here is another crowdsourced document with tips on Working from Home with Kids not in School or Childcare broken down by age groups.

We know that an organization’s first time transitioning to working fully remotely during a global pandemic can prove to be epically challenging. Thankfully, you have options, and you have the knowledge and support of a vibrant community behind you.

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.
• We have rounded up an A-Z list by state of Resources & Grants for Nonprofits.
• 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.