How Nonprofit Leaders Can Keep Their Organizations Afloat

by | Aug 20, 2020 | Leadership

A woman wearing glasses and a sleeveless top is speaking to an audience. Behind her, a colorful poster displays the words "Help," "Charity," "Volunteer," and images related to community support and hope, highlighting nonprofit organization leadership. The background features an exposed brick wall.

Keeping Your Organization Stable as a Nonprofit Leader

The world is in the state of uncertainty right from the first identification of coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The virus was soon declared a global pandemic by the WHO, and today, more than 30000 people have their lives. Beyond the risk of lives, millions of people around the world have lost their jobs as well.

In this scenario, nonprofits are expected to provide a lifeline to the sufferers to come out of this crisis. On one side, where the government is playing an essential role in addressing rising concerns of society, the nonprofits’ skills, knowledge, and services are also playing a considerable role.

Although many nonprofits are working with large missions, many others are facing a lack of resources. Stats reveal that there are almost 1.5 million such organizations in the United States. Of those organizations, 65% are running with budgets below $500,000. The volunteering staff keeps working for endless hours to deal with the food pantry, domestic violence shelter, and local free clinic needs. You will be surprised to know that many executive directors work for more than 65 hours per week and still get paid just for 20. Without any doubt, nonprofits are struggling hard to raise money to achieve their goals and pay their staff.

If you are also running an underfunded nonprofit organization, below we have listed a few tips to stay active in these crisis hours:

Anticipate:

Good leaders may try to solve problems, but great leaders anticipate them. Medical health experts reveal that people with underlying illnesses are more prone to Covid-19 as compared to healthier ones. In this scenario, nonprofit leaders need to consider all worst-case scenarios and brainstorm different actions in the community. It is essential to take appropriate measures for the health and safety of all residents.

Create:

Businesses need to establish robust management procedures and leadership skills to deal with pandemic effects. As we are heading into a new normal, it is essential to follow social distancing measures with adequate preventive procedures. The scenario maybe a little bit challenging for the people as it is not that easier to adapt to these lifestyle changes. Nonprofits need to speed up the process with some innovation, timely execution, and delivery of the right strategies to save people.

Nurture:

While serving the people in need, organizations need to keep stakeholders closer. There are so many challenges in front of nonprofits; they need to arrange nutritious food for people suffering from chronic illnesses, deal with employees, donors and handle plenty of operations to continue all the good work. But it is possible only if they nurture good practices and follow trustworthy procedures.

When we need to recover the society and sufferers from this pandemic state, it is first necessary to ensure that nonprofits survive with easy access to all essential resources. They need to continue fundraising while establishing connections with global investors who are more focused on relief and recovery in this crisis hour.