St. Joseph Community Partnership Fund

• Nonprofits have responded with a positive spirit of innovation, reconfiguring services and events to remote delivery when possible, or instituting social distancing and safety measures for in-person services. 75% of organizations are now offering services online, and 48% reported increasing the amount of services they provide. • While remote services are not perfect, there is optimism among the sector that now that nonprofits have learned how to deliver them, and community members are realizing they can use them, these may represent a net improvement in access in the long run. • Smaller nonprofit organizations had fewer resources, reserves, and options to begin with, were less likely to get substantive relief from government, and are at greater risk of facing closure. • Each sub-sector has its own unique circumstances on how they have been affected by, and respond to the pandemic. For example, food banks and health clinics saw more dramatic increases in demand, while cultural organizations are more likely to face major loss of revenue due to tempo- rary closures. • There are growing concerns that some nonprofits have pulled all their levers to remain functional, and with philanthropic and government aid slowing, there will be a wave of layoffs or closures coming in the next 6 months. The philanthropic community has responded to the first wave of COVID quickly and strongly, with several other initiatives marshalling more than $10M in direct emergency support to nonprofits and individuals. Philanthropy is now looking for other ways to support organizations, such as technical assistance, building collaborative capacity, and exploring models for change. While there are some positive signs of slowing of the spread, COVID will likely be present for quite some time, and its after- effects will be felt for years. To mitigate its damage in the near and long term, philanthropy should: • Recognize the universal impact of COVID-19, but prioritize those communities that have fewer resources to respond. • Identify and buttress critical smaller organizations that are in danger of massive cuts or closure • Ensure safety net organizations and mental health providers have the resources to address continued increases in demand • Address the important role schools, youth programming, and early childhood education have in child development and allowing parents to work and the economy to function • Encourage specialized funding opportunities to focus on important subsectors such as arts and culture • Focus on collaboration between organizations to avoid duplication of services and realize operational efficiencies, which are now more important than ever. The work of nonprofits and philanthropy has done so much to mitigate the disaster of the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next six months are just as critical, and a continued response that focuses on relief, recovery, and long-term resilience will help our residents and nonprofits. Working together through the fatigue and financial challenges to craft a continued response will show the path to stronger, more resilient communities and institutions. Recommendations and Next Steps

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