Giving Compass' Take:

• Tamela Spicer's article for Johnson Center offers advice for leaders to strive towards nonprofit resilience throughout the chaos of coronavirus.

• Why is it important for us to refuse to give in to pessimism during the pandemic? How can you build resilience in your giving as COVID-19 persists in your community?

• Learn more about funding nonprofits and developing coronavirus resilience.

Many nonprofit leaders are discovering their own resilience, both on a personal level as they’ve led teams through this crisis, and on an organizational level as they’ve managed teams through program changes, staffing challenges, and financial uncertainty. While the impact of COVID-19 has been experienced in vastly different ways throughout the sector, no one has been immune to the impact of this VUCA environment.

Coined by the military in the 1990s, VUCA describes the chaos created when the world is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.

Navigating this VUCA reality will require us to think and act differently as we find our own resilience in this volatile time of continued uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It will require organizations to rethink priorities, try new things, and even let go of some of those things we’ve been doing for a long time. Moving our organizations through this crisis will require vulnerability, risk, and innovation.

The instinct for organizational preservation may cause some to retreat during a crisis. It’s natural to turn our focus inward as we seek balance, certainty, and a sense of control. Yet resilience in a time of VUCA requires that organizations press into relationships, practice transparency, and leverage the power of partnerships by making use of the social capital that has been built throughout the organization’s history.

Developing this mindset requires strategic thought and intentionality. As we navigate our way through the COVID-19 crisis, resilience requires us to pay attention to what we’re learning and to think about how these lessons will move us forward — and how we will carry them forward — into the new normal.

Read the full article about nonprofit resilience by Tamela Spicer at Johnson Center.