Giving Compass' Take:

• Philanthropy can help nonprofit organizations through the COVID-19 pandemic using trust-based principles to bring about effective collaboration.  

• How can trust-based philanthropy help strengthen nonprofits? 

• Read how funders can help nonprofits during coronavirus. 

COVID-19 is undoubtedly the largest global crisis we have faced in our generation, and we don’t yet know what the full ripple effects of this pandemic will be. While local and state leadership mandate the necessary declarations and policies to keep our communities stable and safe, philanthropic leadership too can step up in support of our nonprofit partners.

In times of crisis, trust and collaboration are essential. We urge the philanthropic community to consider how a trust-based approach can be a particularly effective way to support nonprofit partners in concrete, meaningful ways.

Here’s how each of the trust-based principles apply during this time of crisis:

  1. Give Multi-Year, Unrestricted Funding: Unrestricted funding is particularly important right now, especially as nonprofits grapple with unforeseen challenges that extend far beyond project deliverables.
  2. Do the Homework: Check your grantee partners’ websites and social media profiles to see how they’re responding to the pandemic, especially if they happen to work in direct response fields like healthcare, elderly care, workers’ rights, childcare, or food security.
  3. Simplify and Streamline Paperwork: Consider ways to alleviate stress on already-stretched staff by delaying reporting and application deadlines (Barr, Surdna, Heinz, and others are already doing this).
  4. Be Transparent and Responsive: Be proactive in informing your grantee partners how you’re responding to the crisis, and anticipating what questions they may have.
  5. Solicit & Act on Feedback: When you reach out to grantees, ask them what they need from you, what they are most concerned about, and what would be most helpful right now.
  6. Offer Support Beyond the Check: In addition to being empathetic and willing to listen.

Read the full article about trust-based philanthropy by Shaady Salehi at Trust-Based Philanthropy.