Giving Compass' Take:

• Donita Volkwijn offers advice for the philanthropic sector on how to stay connected and foster community in this time of isolation during COVID-19. 

• How is your philanthropy helping communities or strengthening them? 

• Learn how philanthropy can help address coronavirus. 

As COVID-19 forces those of us in the philanthropic and global community to reassess what normal is, it’s important to be mindful not only of the challenges facing the communities we serve, but our internal communities as well.  The last month has turned a global concern into a very local concern in the United States, which has, in turn, become an individual concern for many of us.

It’s been heartening to watch foundations marshal resources to find ways to ease burdens on grantees and step in as other sectors find their footing, but we cannot ignore the toll it takes on all of us.  We’ve all received communications from the sector, sharing ideas and strategies for centering underserved populations and it is incredibly important that we continue to build on those communications.  While we do so, however, we need also find and share strategies for ensuring that our internal communities are supported.

Through all of it, we need to center community and ensure that we remain healthy so that we can help those around us who are faltering.  Never has this tenet been more important than in a world facing a crisis that most of us have not seen in our lifetimes.

As more of us start to work from home for what could be an extended period, we need to re-define how we work together and adjust to unsettling circumstances.   As a colleague recently mentioned, “Diseases of despair can take a deeper hold when we’re in isolation”.  Even if we have family members or roommates around, navigating this new landscape takes us out of the familiar and forces us to acknowledge that our world is shifting.  Finding a bit of normalcy amidst the chaos can ease anxiety and provide ways for us to cope and possibly even thrive.

Read the full article about philanthropy maintaining community by Donita Volkwijn at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.