Giving Compass' Take:

• Having learned a lot about effective philanthropy from coronavirus, an article at McKinsey & Company talks about staying engaged and responsive after the pandemic.

• How can you apply the lessons you've learned from coronavirus once the chaos dies down? Why is staying engaged and responsive so essential to prevent future crises?

• We still have a long way to go before the crisis is over. Learn why you should double your giving today.

The philanthropic response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the sector at its best. From the launch of community-based rapid-response funds to the development of diagnostics and vaccines, philanthropy is showing up both to help flatten the curve in the short term and to address the inequities the crisis will exacerbate over the long term.

What’s striking is not only the scale of capital being committed by major philanthropists (at least $10.3 billion globally in May 2020, according to Candid, which is tracking major grants) but also how it is being given: at record speed, with fewer conditions, and in greater collaboration with others. According to the Council on Foundations, almost 750 foundations have signed a public pledge to streamline grant-making processes, and individual donors are partnering with their peers to make sizable grants with less paperwork.

Confronted with the global pandemic, individual and institutional philanthropy has been responsive, engaged, and nimble. The challenge—and opportunity—for the sector will be to make those features stick. The gravitational pull toward old ways of working will be strong, especially as philanthropies grapple with the impact of an economic downturn on their own endowments. But many of the practices that have emerged during this pandemic, including the five that we highlight in this article, should be expanded and formalized as the world heads into the long process of recovery.

  1. Reduce the burden for grantees
  2. Accelerate the pace and volume of giving
  3. Partner with other donors to go further faster
  4. Invest more in local communities
  5. Support the public sector

The pandemic has demonstrated that the sector can and will pivot quickly in a crisis. The challenge for leaders working in philanthropy is to expand and institutionalize the practices that emerged during the crisis for the work that lies ahead.

Read the full article about staying engaged and responsive after the pandemic by Tracy Nowski, Maisie O'Flanagan, and Lynn Taliento at McKinsey & Company.