The New Nonprofit Normal
HOW NONPROFITS IN NYC ARE ADAPTING TO A COVID-19 WORLD
The pandemic has forced nonprofits to innovate, and those innovations may change the future of the sector. As a lesson for all nonprofits, here’s what’s happening in New York City:
The Department of Education implemented online schooling for 1 million students on short notice.
Can this network be built up so every child in every school gets the same quality of education? Could this be a watershed moment for failing schools?
Community Board 7 held a virtual meeting using Zoom. Attendance was so much higher than live meetings that the chairman commented they may keep doing it. Online attendees included people with a disability or childcare issues who had never participated in local government.
Will virtual opportunities be added to other government or nonprofit meetings in order to increase public awareness and participation? How will that diversify democracy or affect the outcomes?
People are using the NextDoor app to offer help to those who are self-isolating and to learn the shopping hours for seniors and which stores still have masks.
Can these networks of people and of information be used by local nonprofits to identify needs, deliver services, or attract volunteers while funding is low?
Instead of its lecture series, CUNY is offering free videos to the public, and Symphony Space is offering online entertainment for adults and children. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is producing online exhibits and access to its collection.
Is this a model for making cultural events more accessible to people who can’t afford or can’t get to these venues? Will this help close the culture gap in this country?
Doctors at NYU Langone Hospital who never tried telemedicine before are now using it.
Will this give more people access to good healthcare, no matter where they live? Will this jumpstart foundations to fund a new model of telehealth delivery to reach underserved rural America?
Elected officials and residential buildings are compiling lists of vulnerable people in order to offer help. And they are keeping those lists for the next crisis.
If this information is disseminated to all local service providers, will it result in better service to vulnerable people?
Planning for the Post-Pandemic World
With greatly reduced income and increased need, nonprofits may have to prioritize services and find new ways to deliver outcomes — whether evolving existing programs, eliminating them, or creating new ones.
Thinking beyond current parameters is crucial. Nonprofits may have to build new partnerships with other nonprofits and with the businesses that have survived. Online options will have to be explored.
Amidst the rush to plug the holes, it’s also time to step back and explore the big picture.
Here’s a list of free or discounted tools for working remotely.
