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Perspectives on COVID-19: One Year Later

April 7, 2021 by admin

It’s hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since the pandemic caused the shutdown in March of last year. So much has changed, and humanity as a whole still has some healing to do. However, we here at Danosky & Associates have reflected on the lessons we have learned in the past year, and how we have grown since the world has changed. Here’s what our team has to say: 

Matthew: For me, as it did for many people, the pandemic magnified the lesson that we’re all connected and dependent on one another. Its been especially hard for that lesson to come at a time when we couldn’t be together in person, but I’m looking forward to reconnecting with all the people I haven’t seen in the near future!

Sharon: I was petrified when we went into quarantine on March 13th. I literally watched business disappear. I felt a powerful sense of foreboding and isolation. I react to crisis by taking action – always have – it’s my adrenaline response. I remember the next 8-10 weeks were crazy as I pivoted, developed webinars, and tried to curate information that was coming in and get it out to our sector via newsletters. For several months, it was a blur. Now, as I look back – I realize how profound a change this has brought about. I have shifted my business model, recruited new members to our team, found more balance in my life, and have enjoyed my home in a way that I had not done previously. Family ties strengthened, friendships deepened, and new ones came about. And I have become far more aware of my own white advantage and the need to look at my work and relationships from a more inclusive perspective. As difficult as this was – and I never wish to go through anything like this again – I am nevertheless so grateful for all I have experienced and learned.  

Jaclyn: It’s hard to believe a year has passed since COVID took over our country. One thing I have learned is just how valuable our family, friends, and loved ones are. Not being able to come together for holidays, birthdays, and special occasions has been difficult. Hugs have been replaced by phone calls and zoom sessions. Things that used to be simple, like going to the grocery store or out to eat, no longer are. While we stop and look at the world around us, I cannot help but realize what I used to take for granted. Once this is all over, we will pick ourselves back up and all appreciate each other more than ever before.

Sue: I was never one to take life for granted but the pandemic certainly gave me a whole new perspective on the subject. Life and relationships became much more precious. As our country became divided this past year, even over how to deal with the pandemic, I was gravely concerned but still saw hope. I learned we can get through anything if we put our minds to it. I also learned that being able to pivot quickly during a crisis can really make a huge difference.

Juanita: I remember sitting at work one day arranging the final logistics for the upcoming projects and workshops that were on Danosky & Associates’ calendar when Sharon came through the door and announced, “We need to invest in Zoom.” My only thought was, “Zoom? What’s Zoom?” Sharon was thinking far beyond that day. Her thoughts were months, even years ahead of what would soon be known as the “new normal.” That’s when my whirlwind began. I quickly learned just about all there was to know about this thing called…”Zoom,” and after spending countless hours together, Zoom and I became close friends. Thanks to Sharon’s long term vision, Danosky & Associates pivoted to a complete virtual and remote platform in a matter of weeks. There was no stopping me after that. I scheduled standing meetings with family and friends each Saturday and Sunday, which have lasted the entire year. One thing this new normal has taught me is to cherish family and friends and to spend as much time enjoying them as possible. And I also learned that I can pivot with the best of them.

Casey: Reality as we knew it changed in March of last year, and life changed with it. I am so grateful to have been able to experience studying abroad, a college graduation, moving to a new place, spending time with friends and family, celebrating holidays, and going through the seemingly “normal” motions of life before COVID. A year later, it took some personal growth and acceptance, but I don’t take any of the little things in life for granted. I have spent a lot of much-needed time discovering a new path in my career, spending time with my newly vaccinated grandmothers, leaving time for hobbies, and living this new life to the fullest. I feel that humanity was given a reality check and we have to choose to grow from this!

Filed Under: Blog

Good Financial News You Can Use

April 7, 2021 by admin

The Lilly School of Philanthropy has projected that 2021 and 2022 will see positive gains in philanthropy, with a 4.1% increase in 2021 and a 5.7% increase in 2022. Individual/household giving is expected to have a year-over-year increase of 6% in 2021 and 3.9% in 2022. This is in spite of 33% of nonprofit executives expecting a decline in philanthropic giving, according to the CCS Fundraising Survey January Report. However, most of those nonprofits are basing their projections on not being able to host fundraising events.

Furthermore, according to an article in the March 30 Chronicle of Philanthropy, financial experts are also projecting a positive outlook as we head further into 2021 and beyond, based on the following:

1) Strong growth in the Gross Domestic Product

2) The stock market is near an all-time high and remains relatively unscathed by the pandemic

3) Government spending has provided temporary relief for many nonprofits, along with also shoring up states so that support can continue locally

4) February’s jobless rate was at 6.2%. While this recovery has been a “K” recovery – with many people still struggling to recover, having a large percentage of the workforce that has significantly recovered, bodes well for charitable giving and optimistic projections.

Filed Under: Blog, Finance

Validated!

March 3, 2021 by admin

By Sharon Danosky

Any of you who have worked with me or heard me talk know how much emphasis I put on building donor relationships, not building relationships has been one of the primary reasons that donor retention has dropped so dramatically in the past 10+ years.

Building relationships has also been one of the reasons that philanthropy grew during this pandemic – because nonprofits were reaching out to the donors and having frank, authentic conversations. Donors welcomed it and gave generously. An article in the NewYork Times just validated this, as did a new report by the Leadership Story Lab, called “Transforming Partnerships with Major Donors.”

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising, Members

245 Years and Still Waiting

March 3, 2021 by admin

By Sharon Danosky

In a letter dated March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams writes to her husband, John Adams: “I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.

Nearly 250 years later, equity is still not yet within reach…

  • Women CEO’s at nonprofits earn 75% of what men do, according to Candid’s “2020 Nonprofit Compensation Report,” which is based on informational tax returns from more than 100,000 organizations
  • Women only account for 60% of the leadership in small nonprofits
  • Women of color face even greater pay gaps and more obstacles to career advancement

COVID-19 has exacerbated the inequities. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 1 million nonprofit jobs have been lost and because nearly 75% of nonprofit employees are women, they have shouldered most of the losses. Women also had to leave their jobs when schools and childcare shut down.

The inequity in pay shudders throughout every aspect of a woman’s life. From the quality of life she can offer herself and her children, to retirement, to wealth accumulation for her heirs, even to our basic sense of self-worth. 

These discrepancies are perpetuated throughout our sector, and most especially at the board level, where there are fewer women on nonprofit boards and the ramifications of these discrepancies fail to be heard.       

Having been in this field a few decades now, I find it more than infuriating. We need to recognize the value in each other. We who have been in the field need to mentor new talent and stress their worth and value. We need to hold our male colleagues accountable. And we need to continually fight for every woman we hire – and pay her equitably from the start of her career. And board members need to think about the hiring practices of nonprofits that allow woman to be paid less money and not receive adequate health care benefits – assuming they will be on their husband’s health plan.

I hope, as we emerge from this pandemic, we commit to creating a world that is equitable for all and we challenge the norms that have become our country’s habit and history – for way more than 250 years.

Filed Under: Blog, Governance

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  • Perspectives on COVID-19: One Year Later
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  • What are Functional Expenses and Why Do They Matter to Nonprofits?
  • Validated!
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