UW News
More than a year into the pandemic, Washington nonprofits have shown resiliency in serving their communities and staying afloat, a study from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington shows.
The new study explores not only how the pandemic economy impacted donations to, and the operations of, charitable organizations, but also how nonprofits responded to the simultaneous call for racial justice.
“The dual pandemic created challenges and opportunities for funding, service delivery and operations,” said Emily Finchum-Mason, a doctoral candidate in public policy and one of the report’s authors. “Changes made by nonprofits and funders will bring long-term benefits in terms of access to services and a greater focus on addressing racial inequities.ut the short-term sacrifices — especially for smaller, BIPOC-led and -serving organizations — were significant. And those sacrifices are ongoing.”
The study marks the second phase of research into the effects of the pandemic on Washington’s nonprofit sector. The first phase, published in fall 2020, surveyed more than 200 organizations and showed how donations were down, community needs were up, and called on governments and other institutions to step up their support.