A new report from the Humboldt Area Foundation highlights the regional nonprofit sector’s strength and ability to adapt following a year of uncertainty.
The Humboldt Area Foundation surveyed 101 nonprofits in Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity and Curry counties to compile the “State of the Sector: 2020 Regional Nonprofit Report.” The purpose of the report was to gain an understanding of how nonprofit operations — in relation to funding, advocacy, collaboration, building capacity, operational adaptation and advancing racial equity — were affected amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This report aims to influence funders, government, and capacity builders’ understanding of the state of the sector, needs and opportunities, resource investments, response and resilience strategies, and policy decisions. It also serves as an opportunity for nonprofits to see how the broader sector they’re operating in is doing through this time,” the report states.
Of the 101 participants, 84 were located in Humboldt County, 13 were located in Del Norte County, two were located in Curry County, and one was located in Trinity County. The survey was conducted from Nov. 30 through Dec. 14, 2020.
Overall, the report found nonprofits were tasked with an increase in demand for their services with fewer staff and volunteers.
“A common theme among survey responses was a noticeable increase in nonprofits’ service demands in all sectors, including food and housing security, youth and family services, organizations serving Black, Indigenous and communities of color, and nonprofits supporting survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence,” the report states. “While 45% of respondents said their services were more in demand, nonprofit organizations are struggling with an average 20% reduction in staff and volunteers.”
Humboldt Area Foundation spokesperson Jarad Petroske said the main takeaway from the survey was the stunning adaptability of local nonprofits.
“Nonprofits are meeting critical safety net needs during the pandemic in new and creative ways, often with greater demands for their services, fewer staff and volunteers, less flexible funding, commitment to supporting public health guidelines, and a greater reliance on partnerships,” Petroske said.
The majority of survey respondents were in the art sector. Though all of the sectors were impacted in one way or another, Petroske said arts organizations had an especially difficult time since they rely upon in-person and group experiences to bring in revenue.
“All sectors were impacted, but in different ways. Organizations serving youth and families, doing disaster response, providing health care, or social services generally saw a significant increase in demand for services and had to radically transform their business models to meet community needs in COVID-safe ways,” Petroske said. “Organizations that rely heavily on volunteers to provide in-person services were significantly impacted as people felt less comfortable volunteering in those ways during the pandemic.”
Over 62% of organizations surveyed said they were confident in their ability to serve their organizational mission through 2021 and years to come while approximately 34% were “somewhat confident” of “confident in 2021” but not years to come. Only 3% of those surveyed were not confident in their future.
The report noted 76% of its respondents began using a racial equity lens when making key decisions during the pandemic and related disaster, with 27% adding that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color “are a significant part of their work.”
“However 68% of survey respondents reported that fewer than 10% of their staff and board leadership are BIPOC and 66% reported that BIPOC communities are either not part of their work or are somewhat part of their work,” the report stated. “… If nonprofits are going to fully meet our missions and also effectively serve BIPOC communities during crisis, it’s important that we have BIPOC on staff and in leadership positions, grow our practice of racial equity in decision-making, and spend time focusing on how to serve, support and collaborate with BIPOC communities.”
One respondent said their organization is “studying, meeting and preparing to become an anti-racist organization” while other said they are applying the racial equity lens by “supporting leadership development on several levels” and partnering with other organizations and schools, according to the report.
The Humboldt Area Foundation highlights the need for strengthened communication between nonprofits and government officials.
“Especially when government is a key partner in the work organizations do, when communication and collaboration is strained, barriers are created when it comes to serving some of the most vulnerable or targeted in our communities,” the report states.
The full report can be found at https://bit.ly/3ch88Zd.
Isabella Vanderheiden can be reached at 707-441-0504.
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