Resilience amid Uncertainty: The on-going impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nonprofits in Washington State

This report represents the second phase of on-going research to understand how nonprofits in Washington State have responded to the twin public health crises of systemic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. The first report focused on the initial phases of the pandemic from March to July 2020 and revealed that many nonprofits faced precarious financial and operational conditions precipitated by an increased demand for services and dwindling revenue sources. Our second phase sought to understand how nonprofits fared in the subsequent period, specifically to investigate (a) how nonprofits, especially organizations led by and serving communities of color, which bore the greatest burden of the twin pandemics, have been able to navigate, (b) the types of support that organizations have been able to access, what that support has allowed them to do (i.e. the needs it covered), the sufficiency of that support to meet organizational needs, and any challenges experienced in receiving support, and (c) the financial and operational outlook for the future of nonprofits in Washington State.We interviewed 37 nonprofit leaders located across Washington State from March to August 2021. Our sample included many of our 2020 survey respondents as well as nonprofits serving communities of color and rural communities. Our interviews revealed that nonprofits responded to the twin pandemics with resilience, compassion, and initiative.

Resilience amid uncertainty: The on-going impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nonprofits in Washington State

This report represents the second phase of on-going research to understand how nonprofits in Washington State have responded to the twin public health crises of systemic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic, the types of support that nonprofits have been able access, and the financial and operational outlooks going forward. We find that nonprofits, which constitute a significant portion of the social safety net, took extraordinary measures to remain open and serve their communities amid intersecting health, social, and economic crises. The rapid adaptation often increased costs and put physical and psychological strain on nonprofit staff. Further, while funding deficits were not nearly as large as nonprofits expected in mid-2020 due to an abundance of emergency funding, financial outlooks remain uncertain as emergency funding pools have begun to abate. Institutional funders and policy-makers can help nonprofits weather an uncertain future by providing multi-year, unrestricted funding; funding nonprofit capacity and innovation; adopting trust-based philanthropic practices; and keeping online venues for participation public processes open

Local Impacts of a Global Crisis: How Washington state nonprofits are responding to COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis has caused deep and widespread strain across sectors and individuals since taking hold in early 2020. Despite this adversity, nonprofits—especially those comprising the modern social safety net—have continued to serve their communities during this tumultuous time (Kulish, 2020). This report seeks to understand (a) the major challenges facing nonprofits in Washington state as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (b) the strategies that nonprofits are using to mitigate the effects of the crisis, (c) how nonprofits are experiencing changes in funder relationships as a result of the crisis, (d) the degree to which nonprofits in the state have accessed assistance under the CARES Act, and (e) the most pressing needs nonprofits have as they face the ongoing uncertainty and hardship presented by COVID-19