Nonprofit COVID-19 Resource List

Newly updated information is underlined and bolded.

Apart from the ongoing health crisis worldwide (and the continued organizational challenges of living, working and parenting at home), many individuals and NGOs find themselves faced with a constantly-evolving, complicated economic situation. These are unprecedented and unnerving times, to say the least, which is why we’ve compiled this list of resources to share with our community.

Keeping your charity, church, or CSO afloat right now may be difficult and taxing, especially as the work of so many NPOs is focused on helping others, and our abilities to do so have been greatly constrained by COVID-19. We know, too, that the most vulnerable sectors of any society are always the first and worst-hit in any crisis—be it economic, health, or climactic in nature. For those of us that still have work we can do at home (and a paycheck), we recognize we are among the fortunate.

We have compiled a list of funding sources, learning resources, and inspiring ideas that we hope are helpful for nonprofits during the Coronavirus pandemic. It is a living document, so if you have more links to share with us and your colleagues, please do. We all need as much support from one another as we can get right now. 

Events and Activities Management During COVID-19

• If you need to cancel an event, offer the option to donate the cost of the ticket to the organization. Ask ticket buyers if, given the current crisis, they would consider giving that amount monthly to help provide stability for your organization during the uncertain year ahead.

• Qgiv has a great roundup of fundraising ideas for animal shelters as well as fundraising best practices for food banks during COVID-19. If you need help implementing any of the above-mentioned best practices for a WordPress website, reach out to our team.

• We love these two examples of creative ways nonprofits are taking their activities, and their revenue streams, online. Zoos (and museums!) can offer guided online tours to help parents and teachers occupy school-age kids, and include the option to give a small donation at the activity’s end. 
  
  

• Soapbox Engage has created an extensive list for sharing virtual fundraising ideas that can be used during COVID-19.

• We include several examples from COVID-19 in our recent round-up of organizations exemplifying best nonprofit marketing practices. A special shout-out to GirlUp, which didn’t make our original list, but which is doing an incredible job of communicating how their mission connects with the current crisis as this social media video demonstrates:

• Could an online bar be your next fundraiser? A creative agency in St. Petersburg created an online bar so that people could go out without leaving their homes. The idea has grown to include 14 other bars for a “street of digital bar-hopping” where each bar is hosted with Whereby video conferencing software, so you can talk to people in individual chatrooms just like on Zoom or Skype.

• Need a way to connect with supporters who aren’t online? Try hosting a long-distance tea party! Send a note and a tea bag to your community through the mail. Thank them for supporting you, and ask them to join you for a long-distance tea party on a given date. You might provide a phone number for joining a conference call, arrange for supporters to call each other, or send a follow-up letter for supporters to open on the given day while drinking their tea. It’s a great opportunity for shared reflection and expressing gratitude.
  

• Funraise.org has a great list that shares examples of successful nonprofit fundraising campaigns during the COVID-19 crisis.

Financial Support and Grants for Coronavirus Relief

• Operational and miscellaneous costs can be the hardest to fund. This mini-grant for operating costs can help. Deadline May 31st, 2021!

• Don’t wait for federal bailout: join community forces to create an emergency fund that supports the work of nonprofits locally, as is being done in cities around the country from New York City to Greater Milwaukee. Check out this extensive list of more local and state resources, which also includes templates to help you create a mutual aid program for your region.

• Top 5 changes for nonprofits from the COVID legislation: In light of the economic impact of the coronavirus, the U.S. Senate just passed a $2 trillion relief act. Here are the 5 provisions in the CARES Act that affect nonprofits. View a detailed presentation for nonprofits, or find information for individuals and small businesses, on this extensive resource page. 

• Elevation is continuing applications for our matching funds as well as increasing the number of opportunities that will be available later this year.

• Candid has published a list of funds for Coronavirus relief. 

• The Council of Foundations is lifting or loosening grant restrictions and working to make new grants available. 

Connecting with Your Nonprofit Community Online

• Be in the virtual mix. Chances are your supporters are meeting online to dance, pray, work and workout. Think about how you can be present and engage in virtual spaces too, with options like Zoom’s breakout rooms for splitting up into small groups at large meetings.

• Join forces with others who are already hosting online events. Is there a way for your organization to be the beneficiary of a church collection, company fundraising drive, or class-by-donation? For example, there might be a local yoga studio giving online classes that would be willing to donate a percent of their proceeds to your nonprofit—if so, don’t forget to invite everyone from your community on social media!

• Bring your community together in a virtual support group like Surviving Breast Cancer did:

FUNDRAISING HELP FOR CHARITIES DURING THE CRISIS 

The world’s operational landscape has changed, but this might be the time when you especially need to fundraise to survive the effects of the pandemic. Don’t halt your efforts: below are many tips from experts on how to adapt your fundraising strategies to the new global situation.

• Steven Screen’s video tutorial: How to write an emergency appeal if your organization is being affected by the Coronavirus

• The New Normal: Fundraising in the wake of a COVID-19 coronavirus market, with Cherian Koshy at The Nonprofit Academy

• Avoid the 3 Biggest Mistakes of Fundraising in a Recession, by Marc A. Pitman

Supporting Others and One Another

We need to lean on one another more than ever, and we’re learning new ways to do so virtually and while in quarantine. 

• Use pod mapping to identify support networks for the most vulnerable people in your community.

• Find support from other nonprofits on social media through groups like the Facebook COVID-19 charity support group.

• Call five of your supporters each day with this script for touching base with donors during COVID-19. In isolation, people are talking to one another more these days: getting on the phone, checking in on a video chat or having group calls with friends. 

• Get creative with ways to show support virtually. Residents across Europe and in South America have held nationwide applause in recognition of their health care workers, as people clap from their windows and honk car horns at a designated time each day.

• Make sure you have a plan to stay operational if key people in your organization get sick. View these free resources for nonprofit risk management in the face of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The New Reality of Working From Home

Staying operational remotely can be difficult, and the new realities of working from home can be organizationally and emotionally challenging, especially when juggling family needs and caring for children cooped up at home.

• If you’re new to video conferencing platforms like Zoom, check out our list of nonprofit webinar ideas.

• Enjoy some much-needed humor with Johanna Gohmann’s Eleven Tips for Working from Home Alongside Your Partner During the Global Pandemic in The New Yorker.