Government-nonprofit partnerships, adaptable leadership, and proactive planning played a crucial role in nonprofit organizations’ adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic, a report from Independent Sector finds.

Based on three national surveys conducted between April 2020 and April 2023, the white paper, A Shock to the Status Quo: Characteristics of Nonprofits That Make Strategic Decisions During a Crisis (38 pages, PDF), examined the changes nonprofits made in response to COVID-19 and considers the characteristics of adaptive nonprofits. The report found that while many negative impacts—such as event cancellations and lower staff retention—have lessened over the past three years, organizations have benefited from some changes made during the pandemic, including a shift toward online program delivery; 42 percent of nonprofits were still offering online programs as of April 2023. Additional significant long-term changes nonprofits have incorporated included engaging in a strategic planning process (60 percent), increasing advocacy efforts (42 percent), introducing new programs delivered either entirely in person or through hybrid models (36 percent), and creating new donor recruitment programs (42 percent).

The report also found that while overall funding reductions decreased in 2023, the percentage of organizations facing challenges with corporate sponsors (13 percent in April 2020, 27 percent in December 2020, and 24 percent in April 2023) and major donors (9 percent, 24 percent, and 16 percent, respectively), as well as drops in donations (33 percent, 50 percent, and 36 percent), remained relatively high. Meanwhile, the share of respondents indicating increased demand for services grew, from 22 percent in 2020 to 36 percent in 2020 to 46 percent in 2023.

In addition, the 54 percent of surveyed nonprofits that saw changes in government funding—including those that experienced funding cuts—were more likely to implement new programming than those that saw no change, indicating that while changes create disruption, they could also incentivize nonprofits to adapt and diversify approaches. “Organizations that experienced an uptick in government funding appeared to have capitalized on this support by introducing additional programs and innovative work methodologies, including hybrid programs,” the report states. “Conversely, entities that faced reduced funding also transformed, indicating an adaptive effort to survive during the crisis.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Sinenkiy)