CRISIS MANAGEMENT
FPLG COVID-19 RESPONSE
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
[UPDATE: September 24, 2020]
The summer has drawn to a close, but we remain in a state of confusion and uncertainty even about when or how parts of the community (including the nonprofit sector) can safely reopen. There has also been a devastating delay in the next round of much-needed government financial help.
Experts advise continuing to use the tools of “scenario planning” to navigate through the next weeks and months when so much remains up in the air.
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[UPDATE: June 24, 2020]
“Nonprofit leaders need to keep reminding themselves,” advises expert Alan Cantor, “that this is an unprecedented time.” And “more than one person has joked,” he explains, about “returning to a time … that’s precedented.”
The pre-COVID-19 body of crisis-management literature continues to grow during these strange and unsettling times. But it seems that there are more and more questions, and few satisfying or definitive answers.
Just as we had begun to acknowledge the stark reality that our new “normal” of quarantine and lock-down could last many months, there was an abrupt shift in May. Suddenly – and against the advice of health experts – all 50 states moved into multi-stage “reopenings.”
There were warnings that premature action might spur new infection hot spots resulting in the need to rollback reopening permissions. We’re already seeing the validity of these predictions with disturbing disease trends and statistics in many states and some key turnabouts by political leaders in those jurisdictions.
These fluid and unfamiliar circumstances present even more of a challenge for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021 than would have been the case under a steady, albeit grim, reality of a long-term, shut-down nation.
While there’s been an extraordinary financial response from the government, it’s not nearly enough to meet the needs of the nonprofit community and of its constituents and beneficiaries in the near term. Bureaucratic obstacles and challenges have marred the delivery of this important aid and lawmakers continue to fight over the contours of additional assistance packages.
Nevertheless, in this enormous global crisis, there are already success stories and lessons learned that can be shared.
This section includes more detail in sub-parts: Directors’ Duties Now; Crisis Communications; Crisis Planning; and (the newly added) Reopenings.
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[March 31, 2020]
From time to time, individual nonprofits – or all of them in a particular locale – face challenges from natural or man-made disasters, economic turmoil or political instability. And some organizations face emergencies that may have been prevented through proper planning.
There is a body of information known as “crisis management” that collects and analyzes how leaders – governmental, business, or nonprofit – have navigated through uncharted waters.
While the global pandemic is deeper and broader than many of these earlier crises, they provide important lessons for us. The philanthropy sector has been generous in rapidly publishing articles, blog posts, and other advice as well as scheduling free webinars. This knowledge bank can help us, collectively, make our way through the difficult days, weeks, and months ahead.
The nonprofit community anxiously awaits the time it can return to “normal.” But many philanthropy thought leaders increasingly urge against going back to how things were before COVID-19 turned the world on its head.
— Linda J. Rosenthal, J.D. (8/4/20), FPLG Blog
‘Battered by COVID-19 restrictions, the cascading, deep economic recession, and falling contributions, many nonprofits are like flooding submarines, in the middle of the ocean and taking on water….Even seasoned administrators who’ve faced down one crisis after another are being tested to the limits by this one’….The flooding submarine metaphor is grim but offers some useful crisis-response advice that may help nonprofits avoid the worst.
— The NonProfit Times (7/22/20)
The volatility and uncertainty of the past few weeks has left many nonprofit leaders feeling like they’re in a tailspin …. Reground yourself in why your organization does what it does, and use that as your north star to help determine what you need to support that vision, both financially and in terms of organizational capacity.
— Amy Celap et al, SSIR (4/30/20)
“What’s our plan?’ Even in the best of times, the pace of change and the unpredictability of the environment in which we work makes it hard to plan. So, in the shadow of COVID-19, when it is impossible to predict what will happen tomorrow or even an hour from now, how do you plan and what do you plan for?
— Jeff Walstrom, Starboard Leadership Consulting (3/20/20)
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
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Leading and succeeding during a crisis (September 24, 2020) Brandon Black & Elizabeth Fields, Philanthropy News Digest
- Nonprofit Improvisation: How to Lead within Profound Disruption (September 14, 2020) Ruth McCambridge, The Nonprofit Quarterly
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THE BIG RESET (September 2020) Leap of Reason Initiative
- Scenario Planning: Four Models for Nonprofits (Part Three) (August 12, 2020) Linda J. Rosenthal J.D., FPLG Blog
- Scenario Planning: Four Models for Nonprofits (Part Two) (August 25, 2020) Linda J. Rosenthal J.D., FPLG Blog
- Scenario Planning: Four Models for Nonprofits (Part One) (August 6, 2020) Linda J. Rosenthal, J.D., FPLG Blog
- Philanthropy Leaders on Not Returning to “Normal” (August 4, 2020) Linda J. Rosenthal, J.D., FPLG Blog
- Nonprofit Survival Tactics (July 22, 2020) The NonProfit Times
- In the Tsunami of Reopening Guidelines, Do Any Actually Help? (June 22, 2020) Rob Meiksins, The Nonprofit Quarterly
- The Six Biggest Post-Lockdown Challenges for Organizations (June 17, 2020) Lee Seok Hwai, INSEAD Knowledge
- Nonprofit Leaders, Get Used to the Uncertainty and Focus on the Big Picture (June 15, 2020) Alan M. Cantor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
- 5 Things That Nonprofit Orgs Wish They Knew Three Months Ago (May 29, 2020) Stephanie Kanak, Donor Perfect Blog
- Are Nonprofits Ready to Reopen? What Do We Need? (May 14, 2020) Martin Levine, The Nonprofit Quarterly
- Nonprofits Produce Unusual Adaptation During the Pandemic– Do You Do This? (May 13, 2020) Ruth McCambridge, The Nonprofit Quarterly
- 15 Leadership Lessons for Nonprofits Navigating a Crisis (May 11, 2020) Forbes Nonprofit Council, Forbes
- When to “Return”: Questions Nonprofit Executives Need to Think About (May 5, 2020) Lindsay Tallman, BoardSource Blog
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