This is the third in a series of occasional chats among some of CEP’s staff we’ll be posting on the blog, in which they discuss current challenges for philanthropy and nonprofits. In this conversation, CEP President Phil Buchanan talks with CEP Vice President of Research Elisha Smith Arrillaga about research CEP is conducting to track the experiences and responses of both foundations and nonprofits in the current context, collecting data on how nonprofits and foundations are navigating uncertainty around funding.

Phil: Last you and I did one of these little blog chats, Elisha, it was May, and we were discussing the state of nonprofits in the U.S. as we understood it based on a survey we conducted in February. There was a lot of concern expressed from nonprofit leaders, to say the least. I’d argue that, as the year has progressed, the environment has in some ways only become that much more challenging for nonprofits.

Many have experienced cuts in federal funding, many others are worried that such cuts are coming, and others — including human services and environmental organizations — are figuring out how to work in a totally different policy context, in which programs seen as key have been eliminated or scaled back. Can you say a little about the data we’re trying to gather on the nonprofit experience?

Elisha: Absolutely. We are now collecting data to try to understand how nonprofits have been experiencing the current and ever-changing context: in terms of their finances; the safety and well-being of their staff; risks they might be experiencing; and, crucially, the creative and innovative solutions or new partnerships they have been exploring in this time.

Phil: I know we don’t have the data yet. But you mentioned to me recently some of the feedback we have received from nonprofits just about the fact that we’re asking and collecting data on how nonprofits are navigating uncertainty. Can you tell me about that and what you make of it?

Elisha: Yes, so when we first sent out the initial email letting the nonprofits on our representative Nonprofit Voice Panel know we would be conducting the survey, we received a large number of responses from nonprofits just expressing appreciation for the opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives. We saw something similar in February and both times it surprised me, because I have been a researcher a long time and it’s unusual to get profuse thank yous for surveys! It tells me something about the urgency of the moment, and how much nonprofit leaders want to be heard — and heard by funders in particular. Then, when we sent the survey itself collecting data on how nonprofits are navigating challenges, we had one of the highest first-day responses we have ever seen, even though it was late August!

Read the full article about tracking how nonprofits navigate challenges by Elisha Smith Arrillaga and Phil Buchanan at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.