COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Resources for Nonprofits

Last updated June 11, 2020

Strategic Clarity

• In "Nonprofit Innovation for a Post-Crisis Future," Bridgespan Partner Nithin Iyengar and Manager Reilly Kiernan share four principles, gleaned from conversations with nonprofit leaders, for continuously generating novel solutions to challenges that are confronting communities in crisis.
• "Making Sense of Uncertainty: Nonprofit Scenario Planning in the COVID-19 Pandemic" and its accompanying tool walks readers through how to build scenario plans that can help them continue to pursue their missions.
• Ann Mei Chang, Bridgespan fellow and author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good, shares steps nonprofits can take to unleash their capacity to innovate in "Beyond Survival: Five Keys to Unlock Social Innovation Amid the COVID-19 Crisis."
• The crisis has forced leaders to make challenging decisions quickly—and more loom on the horizon. Bridgespan's "A Compass for the Crisis: Nonprofit Decision Making in the COVID-19 Pandemic" provides a set of decision-making principles that can help nonprofits navigate tough tradeoffs.
• Bridgespan’s "Eight Steps for Managing Through Tough Times" details specific steps for weathering uncertainty, including planning contingencies and protecting your core operations.
• Bain & Company’s "Protect, Recover, and Retool" brief offers guidance on how to both "act now" to protect and run your organization today and "plan now" to retool your organization for the future.
• Racial Equity Tools shares an extensive list of racial equity and social justice resources to inform COVID-19 responses.
• The NAACP offers "Ten Equity Implications of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak in the United States," a detailed resource outlining actions to take, in both the short- and long-term, to meet the immediate needs of those most vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic.
• In Washington State, which had the nation’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus, nonprofits were on the leading edge of the response. In Bridgespan's Reports from Seattle Nonprofits, four nonprofit leaders shared their first-person accounts during the first weeks of the crisis.

Strong Organizations

• TechSoup offers practical ideas for supporting the technology needs of a remote workforce, as well as a broader set of technology resources.
• Zarvana shares helpful tips for overcoming the social isolation of remote work and also offers a free "Virtual Productivity Toolkit" on how to excel while working remotely.
• NAMI, Crisis Text Line, and Mindshare Partners provide helpful insights and practical advice for supporting workplace mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Nonprofit Quarterly’s article "It’s Different This Time: Handling Nonprofit Staff Cuts under COVID-19" discusses the practical considerations of making staff cuts in the current context.
• The Society of Human Resource Management provides an overview of options organizations may be weighing in the face of significant revenue losses: furloughs, reductions in hours and pay cuts, or layoffs.

Effective Leadership

• In Bridgespan's "Be the Calm in the Storm: How to Communicate with Staff and Stakeholders During a Crisis," three Seattle nonprofit leaders describe how they've approached their communications in uncertain times: be honest, clear, and flexible.
• BoardSource shares "What Nonprofit Board Members Should Be Doing Right Now to Address the COVID-19 Situation," emphasizing the importance of steadfast leadership, adaptability, and contingency planning.
• Our colleagues at Bain & Company offer these three articles to help CEOs manage through crisis: "A CEO Plan for Coronavirus: Actions to Take Now," "How to Make Your Teams Stronger in a Crisis," and "Coronavirus: How to Be the Leader Your People Need Right Now."
• The FrameWorks Institute shares three ways to approach talking about the future in the current context, as well as broader guidance on framing COVID-19 communications.
• Bridgespan's "Executive Team Effectiveness Toolkit" provides a five-step process for increasing overall executive team effectiveness.

Financial Health

• Independent Sector’s CARES ACT resource center provides guidance on what the legislation means for you and your organization.
• The Nonprofit Finance Fund has assembled a collection of COVID-19 tools and resources for nonprofits. See in particular the downloadable cash flow projection and scenario planning tools as well as its guidance on debt options.
• FMA offers a collection of insights and tools to support nonprofits in managing their finances during this period of change and uncertainty. See in particular its Paycheck Protection Program Toolbox, cash flow template and video tutorial, and revenue scenario planning tool.
• The Council of Foundations, Open Road Alliance, and Giving Compass each share information on potential sources of philanthropic funding related to the current crisis.
• The Opportunity Finance Network offers a locator tool to search for community development financial institutions (CDFIs) by lending type and geography.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy article "Financing During a Pandemic" offers guidance on how to know whether a loan, line of credit, emergency grant, or other financial options make the most sense for your nonprofit.

General

• The World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control continue to be go-to sources for the latest developments and recommended actions.
• Independent Sector offers "Information on COVID-19," a curated list of resources and articles to help members of the charitable sector serve their communities.
• The National Council of Nonprofits provides easy links to the various state associations of nonprofits—trusted entities that are curating the rapidly evolving information on the virus and tailoring it to their state-specific context.
• India Development Review offers a crowdsourced list of guidelines and practices for organizations, funders, and foundations in India grappling with the effects of COVID-19.
• The Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community has created an evolving list of resources around leadership, nonprofit management, and more.

We also have a list of resources specific to the needs of funders that we invite you to share with your funders.

Please fill out this short form if you'd like to share resources that you've found valuable during the COVID-19 outbreak.