Resilience amid uncertainty: The on-going impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nonprofits in Washington State

Abstract

This report represents the second phase of on-going research to understand how nonprofits in Washington State have responded to the twin public health crises of systemic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic, the types of support that nonprofits have been able access, and the financial and operational outlooks going forward. We find that nonprofits, which constitute a significant portion of the social safety net, took extraordinary measures to remain open and serve their communities amid intersecting health, social, and economic crises. The rapid adaptation often increased costs and put physical and psychological strain on nonprofit staff. Further, while funding deficits were not nearly as large as nonprofits expected in mid-2020 due to an abundance of emergency funding, financial outlooks remain uncertain as emergency funding pools have begun to abate. Institutional funders and policy-makers can help nonprofits weather an uncertain future by providing multi-year, unrestricted funding; funding nonprofit capacity and innovation; adopting trust-based philanthropic practices; and keeping online venues for participation public processes open.