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Powering Nonprofit Success Through Participatory Processes:

Did you know that organizations prioritizing participatory processes and deliberately decreasing barriers see a significant increase in program effectiveness? This Fall, I’m excited to delve into how this framework powers real-world success through our three-part webinar series, Insights for Impact!

On September 18th, Dr. Inderjit Vicky Basra, President and CEO of the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, and Jessica Raymond, former Chief of Staff of the YWCA, joined Sharity Global Expert Anne Miskey to offer real-world examples of ways participatory processes elevated their organizations’ mission and impact. Dr. Basra emphasized the importance of including direct and indirect experts in decision-making conversations. She noted, “…layered communication makes the change.” When those in the community who experience the challenges your organization strives to address work alongside those with academic or professional experience in key areas, your organization can begin to affect systemic change. Jessica added, “When we talk about advocating for people and engaging their voices…here is the mic! You sit at this table, you tell me what you need from us, you make the decision…”

Key takeaways from the conversation included:

  • Write equity into your policies and procedures.
  • Avoid “tokenizing” the community you serve. Ensure that if you ask something of your community members, such as asking them to share their stories, you are developing and strengthening a mutually beneficial relationship with them.
  • Identify ways your organization may connect direct experts, those with lived experience, with donors, elected officials, and other community leaders and influencers.
  • Engaging all voices allows you to review and evaluate the impact of your programming with an open mind and heart.
  • Give credit to all the experts helping you execute your mission. Whenever possible, compensate and recognize direct experts, those with lived experiences, for their work on behalf of your organization, just as you would an indirect expert with academic or professional experience. 

Dr. Basra summed up the importance of engaging all voices when she described the success her organization has had with connecting survivor mentors with the recently rescued. “[Survivor’s] concepts around hope look very different because they’re sitting across from somebody, that at some point, was in the same space that they are in…Their survivor-mentor becomes a beacon of hope!” Anne added, “The little ways you can connect your donors in real ways to people” will bring about transformation.

Watch The Full Video Now

By: Carol Wick
Page 96
May-June 2020
We have weathered unimaginable storms before in Central Florida. Hurricanes that wiped out entire communities. Terrorist acts that we thought would never reach our neighborhoods. A common denominator through each of these events has been the ability of nonprofit organizations to endure and even emerge stronger than before, as they help serve and heal our communities.

NONPROFITS HELP FORM THE BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITIES.

They help ensure that no child gets left behind, no senior is alone and hungry, no animal is left abandoned and abused. They bring joy and fill our senses with love, compassion, art, music and laughter. For the past month, we have been dealing with a new enemy. Many nonprofits have been working around the clock to fight different aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. Just through speaking to my nonprofit clients alone, I have heard from:

• Courageous social workers, who have gone to check on homeless men and women to ensure they get the healthcare they need.
• Senior centers ensuring their residents receive a hot meal and regular check-ins.
• Blood donation centers successfully pushing the FDA to change its rules so centers can make up for the dramatic reduction in donations, and actively collecting plasma from people recovered from COVID-19 in hopes of aiding others.

While we may not yet know the full extent of the repercussions of this pandemic on the economy, what’s clear is that we need our nonprofits more than ever to rebuild America’s safety net. The sad reality, however, is that without enough funds many nonprofits will be forced to close their doors when they are needed the most. Many nonprofits are struggling to retain staff, and pay rent, as they drained what little they had in reserves to make up for the cancellation of in-person events and spring galas, which they rely on for a significant portion of their annual revenue. Unfortunately, once nonprofits permanently shut down, they cannot easily be replaced or restarted and works that have been going on for decades or longer
may vanish.

Fortunately, there is still time left for you to help out those organizations that are so vital to our community — and you can do so in a variety of ways.

Donate
Consider giving to your favorite nonprofits the amount that you would have spent on that gala ticket or silent auction item. Many nonprofits are posting items that they need online in order to do their job. Keep in mind that nonprofits that normally would not have needed masks and hand sanitizers are now asking for those items. If you are going to donate items, I suggest you call or email first to see what they most urgently need at this time, as it might be very different from what they usually ask for.

Collaborate
Our community and our state face enormous confusion, stress and anxiety at every turn. As unemployment continues to skyrocket, nonprofits are suddenly being asked to do dramatically more with less. It’s time to think outside the box and lean on each other for ideas and resources that might be available.

No One is Immune to a Pandemic
These are historically trying times. Everyone’s lives have forever changed as a result of this pandemic. From the heroic doctors and nurses on the frontlines to those infected with COVID-19 or lost loved ones, to the hundreds of thousands that have found themselves unemployed.

The ripple effect of this pandemic has created an emergency, unlike anything I’ve ever seen in 30 years of working for nonprofits. As businesses continue to close, more families are coping with financial hardship. Less income means less individual donations and fewer volunteers. Unless our nonprofits receive immediate funding, the consequences to those they serve — the developmentally disabled, the elderly, the homeless, foster children — could be catastrophic.

But if there’s any silver lining, COVID19 has reminded us that we are all in this together and that we literally depend on each other for a healthy community. Everyone’s fate is connected.

If we are to bounce back and thrive as a region and state, we need to support our nonprofits that specialize in caring for the health and well-being of everyone in our community. Let’s show how we care for our own and let’s invest in our own future!

Carol Wick, president, and CEO of Sharity, which was founded with the goal to empower nonprofits to take control of their future and their fundraising, has worked in the nonprofit field her entire career.

Article Source: https://www.orangeappeal.com/issue/may-june-2020/