Nonprofits are increasingly being forced to reduce staff and cut crucial programs.
Nonprofits are treading water in the United States. Climbing inflation, economic uncertainty, and the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced previously unimaginable concessions from organizations which millions of our most vulnerable people rely on for food, shelter, healthcare, education, and community.
One study found that 58 percent of nonprofits are being forced to cut crucial programs from lack of funding. Nearly one-third have had to cut staff wages, hours, or benefits, or even administer furloughs and layoffs. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofits have simultaneously seen a 50 percent rise in demand for their services and a 57 percent drop in revenue.
Here’s how companies and individuals can help nonprofits right now:
EXPLORE PARTNERING WITH A NONPROFIT WHOSE MISSION ALIGNS WITH YOURS
The most important thing for companies to do this National Nonprofit Day is explore internally the possibility of partnering with a nonprofit.
Currently, 90 percent of companies say partnering with reputable nonprofits strengthens their brand. National Nonprofit Day isn’t like other days of awareness; today is a unique opportunity to collaborate with your stakeholders and reflect on how your business can support an important cause and benefit in turn.
These can be difficult conversations. Whether you need a thought partner for how to align purpose with business, a concrete roadmap for how to set up a giving or volunteering program at your company, or advice about securing buy-in, we want to support you.
LAUNCH A RELIEF FUNDRAISER
If you are an executive or department head, an employee resource group (ERG) leader, or on your company’s social impact team, your people are looking for your help to do more good.
Right now, 63 percent of employees want their employer to provide more opportunities for purpose in their day-to-day work. The overwhelming majority—some 93 percent—think that, since the pandemic, it’s more important than ever before for companies to lead with purpose.
By taking the first step of inviting your employees to join you in supporting a cause your workplace cares about, they will feel encouraged to launch fun and impactful giving and volunteering initiatives of their own.
SIGN UP TO DONATE TO OR VOLUNTEER WITH A NONPROFIT YOU CARE ABOUT RIGHT NOW
Ahead of Hunger Action Month, we want to share the latest “Nonprofits to Watch,” our monthly spotlight on nonprofits offering opportunities for September, all of which address food insecurity. Hunger demands more of our attention than usual this year:
Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment and food insecurity have only increased since the start of the decade. In 2021, 53 million Americans turned to food banks and community programs for help putting food on the table. According to the U.N., it is estimated that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020. Around 660 million people may still face hunger in 2030, in part due to residual effects of the pandemic on global food security.
(Check out our “Nonprofits to Watch” for September, Hunger Action Month.)
In conducting due diligence, we are impressed by these nonprofits' respective impact, as well as the strength of their programmatic and financial models. We are confident in these organizations, and would encourage all to volunteer or donate with the organizations below:
While the economic and public health scenario casts National Nonprofit Day in a different light than in years past, it is also a time for gratitude. In times of unprecedented hardship, nonprofits provided services to millions, in large part because of support from donors and volunteers.
By uniting in common cause, nonprofits and industry can ensure long-term stability and success this National Nonprofit Day.