3 Ways COVID-19 Permanently Changed the Nonprofit Sector
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard These are unprecedented times or This is the new normal, I’d probably have enough cash to run a parallel UBI or my own nationwide small business relief program. It has been a trying year for almost everyone and there isn’t much left to be said about how COVID-19 has altered the personal and professional lives around the world.
Every day there are new reports on the impacts on small and large businesses, corporate restructuring, and e-commerce behemoths like Shopify and Amazon riding the upward slope of this K-shaped recovery.
While this could be due to my own curated social/news consumption, I haven’t seen much chatter about how the Canadian nonprofit sector has warped and wrenched itself to fit current economic constraints. Maybe this is because nonprofit leaders have grown accustomed to shifting conditions, fluctuating funds, and constantly refreshing themselves to keep pace with modern times. Their risk-averse governance style — while occasionally stymying rapid innovation — allows nonprofits to operate within changing means quite effectively.
Over the past year, I’ve noticed an (ok, I see the irony here) unprecedented sense of urgency in the nonprofit sector which has forged some significant and permanent changes.
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1. Online Programming is Essential
Over the past three years, I’ve helped both large and small organizations leverage technology in their programs, so I figured it was a matter of time before online programming became less of an elective and more of a prerequisite. This isn’t new to the nonprofit sector, and many organizations were already engaging their clients with remote services prior to the pandemic.
The adoption of online programming became a survival tactic for many, but with new consumer expectations around convenience and comfort, online programming has been widely adopted and will continue to be a crucial delivery channel. Early adopters have seen widespread success. The emerging use cases for tech in nonprofits (data collection, targeted content, progress tracking, etc.) will enable industry innovation for decades.
2. Agile and Customizable Service Offerings
Many nonprofits traditionally offered one or two services to their clients. Over the past year, however, the needs of many Canadians have evolved, so they expanded their services to match the changing circumstances. While standardized programming is still useful, customized programs which meet the client’s specific needs allow for more meaningful engagements. Provisioning services in an agile fashion where individual needs are assessed and catered to has allowed organizations to not only amplify their impacts, but also expand their services to incorporate many peripheral, but not core, programs. Engaging with clients on a deeper level has been beneficial for all parties involved and unlocked additional funding for some organizations. It’s hard to imagine reverting back to the way things used to be.
3. Creative and Flexible budgeting
Financial uncertainty permeated Canadian households and institutions, and the nation’s nonprofits were no exception. The usual budgetary approvals and forward-looking plans approved for 2020 quickly became obsolete after widespread lockdowns. Organizations that were counting on certain project-based funds scrambled to reorganize so they could unlock funding.
By leveraging creative delivery channels and shuffling money between departments, organizations pivoted effectively and remained financially solvent. Trimming certain programs while modifying and revamping others on-the-fly allowed nonprofits across Canada to continue delivering vital programs for people who needed them most. Flexible budgeting will likely become a mainstay for many organizations who have already seen the value of increasing their miscellaneous project and emergency allocations.
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Charities and nonprofits accounted for 8.5% of Canada’s GDP, according to a 2019 Imagine Canada report. For perspective, $169.2 billion was added to Canada’s economic activity, roughly a 1% over the last decade. That number is expected to grow by another 0.4% by 2022, a portent of significantly increased demand for nonprofit services while Canada’s economy recovers.
Canada’s nonprofit sector has proven resilient, vital, and adaptable over the course of 2020. As the impacts of COVID-19 continue to unveil, Canadians will rely on nonprofit services for support and growth at increasingly higher rates. The new changes to the sector will ensure their longevity in an ever-changing landscape dominated by fast tech and changing needs.
