THE PLIGHT OF NONPROFITS DURING A VIRAL PANDEMIC
Against the pounding precariousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, local nonprofits are working to maintain the economic and mental stability of the community.
“Non-profits are critical because they provide support to individuals from hunger relief, homelessness, to mental health. Business provides many services, but the non-profits are a critical piece in expanding our community’s culture” says Rose Bell, the Community Foundation’s communications manager.
At the beginning of the pandemic-induced stay-at-home orders in March, the Community Foundation knew the fallbacks to nonprofits would be arduous to navigate. Safety net nonprofits, such as Plowshares, the Ukiah Food Bank, homeless services, domestic violence services, and child abuse support began operating with little resources and high demand. The economic plummet has since displaced millions of Americans, leaving an unemployment rate of 8%—a stark contrast from the pre-coronavirus 3.4%. Corresponding with heightening poverty rates, 29 million adults are now living with food insecurity. Moreover, global domestic violence has risen significantly. With COVID19 unrelenting, the Community Foundation and their donors have constructed multiple programs to support nonprofits as the shelter-in-place orders have reached their eighth month.
For safety net nonprofits, the foundation is working to close the gap in their funding shortfalls. The Community Enrichment Grant that has been revamped specifically for nonprofit organizations that provide safety net services for vulnerable populations. Additionally, the Nonprofit Relief Grant is open not only to safety net nonprofits, but the entire non-profit sector to mitigate the effects of lost income since the pandemic hit. To further help with the impact of COVID-19, the foundation holds community talks to glean what needs to be done to help the particular groups in need.
“The impacts of the pandemic on our nonprofits are that a lot of them have had to increase their services,” states Community Foundation CEO, Megan Allende. “Some are doubling their resources while pivoting and finding ways to redistribute food safely. It really shifts how they can do business. So many of them used to rely on fundraising that has a face to face element. While some have had a boost
of revenue because of donations, the fear is that as the pandemic stretches out the philanthropy won’t continue to see them through.”
Along with a lack of funds, nonprofits relying on volunteers are working with fewer hands. Typically the senior populations take to volunteerism after retirement; however, as the pandemic proves highly threatening to those over 65, this element of support has gone away. Many safety net nonprofits are asking for younger volunteers to continue to keep crucial support going.
Strung next to the wellbeing of the community through safety net nonprofits, Mendocino culture is made up by and with enriching nonprofits that reflect the flavor of a diverse county. The Arts Council of Mendocino, which works to promote local art, still frequently informs the public of artistic engagements and holds monthly ZOOM meetings for artists to network with each other. The Mendocino Historical Society, established in 1956 and holding 5,300 books and 21,000 photos documenting breakthroughs and hardships of Ukiah’s history, has closed its doors indefinitely as social distancing is impossible in the space ( yet is still operating by phone or email). Meanwhile, Mendocino Ballet, which has not received funds since April, is just now restarting dance classes over ZOOM. All of these nonprofits, and others, are working with few to no donations as their needs are still there, yet often passed by. Arts continue to enhance the workings of communities, as they have for countless generations. According to Jamie Bennett from ArtPlace America, “In ancient Greece, the theater was the center of the community, as well as the center of government, religion, and social life. And it goes back
further than that. Our earliest recorded human history is of communities, and their boundaries were sketched out by art.”
Further research posits that human development and understanding is developed through art. It has been shown to bridge connections, spark understandings, and induce collaborative progression. The American Journal of Public Health published a review called, “The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health” that describes the benefits of art both physically and mentally. Within this study, art mediums such as music have been shown to calm neural activity in the brain, “which may lead to a reduction in anxiety, and may help to restore effective functioning in the immune system partly via the actions of the amygdala and hypothalamus.” Dance or movement-based art has also been shown to non-verbally communicate through the movement of the body in a creative way, which again, lowers stress and anxiety. These benefits go a long way in shaping and building up a society. In a time when mental health is on the decline, these services are more sought after than before.
Yet, art is not the only way to describe and improve culture. Educ ational nonprofits work to outline ways community members can better understand and better serve
the community. The Mendocino Historical Society is an example of widening the knowledge as history compels humanity to look at its past and use that as a basis to handle contemporary times.
In a world without nonprofits, community engagement, betterment, and understanding are limited. Marginalized groups may be forgotten and left to survive without support networks.
A sense of self- discover y a nd collaboration will be lost. As put in The John Hopkin’s Economic Data Project, America’s third- largest workforce, 11.9 million people, would be unemployed. Globally, 7.4 percent of the world’s workforce would disappear.
“To those who would like to support, there are two things they can do: donate directly to the nonprofit they like or if you would like to make a countywide nonprofit donation you can donate through our website and choose to give to the COVID relief fund specifically,” says Bell. “Other means of support involves volunteerism to those that need it as it is considered essential.”
When asked of better protective measures for nonprofits in the future, Allende believes the answer lies in the community’s hands: “Consider nonprofits not just today but in the future. We need them in good times and bad.”