Giving Compass' Take:

• As the role of funders becomes more critical during COVID-19, here are some strategies and practices that donors can take into consideration to best support nonprofits during this time.

• How are your charitable dollars bolstering nonprofits? 

• Read more on how philanthropy can help address coronavirus. 


Most nonprofits in India find themselves challenged on multiple fronts by the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These may include:

  • Productivity affected by schools, offices, and meeting spaces closing, and staff working from home.
  • Inadequate hardware, connectivity, or access to information to operate remotely.
  • Impact of postponed or cancelled programmes.
  • Outreach challenges and lack of access to reliable information and health services in our most vulnerable communities.
  • Economic impact of the pandemic on nonprofit staff and the communities they serve.
    Fiscal year-end pressure on both fundraising and statutory compliance.

As our understanding of best practices evolves and community-serving organisations cope as best as they can to respond to unprecedented needs, the role of funders becomes ever more critical.

  1. Have check-in conversations with your grantees to help them prioritise the health and safety of their teams, and plan for the continuity of their organisations and programmes.
  2. Be open to converting current project grants to general support funding to permit agility in partners’ responses to the needs of their staff and the communities they serve. Don’t take back grant funds that were allocated to events or activities that have had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.
  3. Be open to changing the payment schedule for your grant. Better still, proactively disburse funds that are due over the next six months.
  4. Collaborate with other donors to share learnings and best practices on how best to ensure that partners and communities make it through the situation. Share information across your networks to amplify learning and advocacy.
  5. Look beyond your grantees to the communities they serve.

Read the full article about how funders can respond to COVID-19 by Ingrid Srinath at India Development Review.