Year: 2020

Silhouette of Wild Cat rollercoaster at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. Photo by Will Meyers on Unsplash
Blog

Reopening: What’s Top of Mind for Nonprofits

July 15, 2020 Erika Robertson

The first 3 conversations in our Considerations for Reopening series each saw over one hundred participants from nonprofits across the state. If you were able to join us, your questions and suggestions strengthened our nonprofit network. There’s still time to register for Imagining the Workplace of the Future on Thursday, July 16. We heard you. Covid-19 has impacted every level of your life and work. You are concerned about: Mask requirements, Clean and safe facilities, Ongoing uncertainty, and Emotional wellbeing of clients, coworkers, and yourself. Mask Requirements Wearing face coverings in public is now required in the state of Washington. […]

Thanks for everything you do!
Blog

Valuing and Supporting Executive Directors

June 24, 2020 Laura Pierce

Executive Directors (EDs) face many pressures, including fundraising, leading the staff team, setting strategy, and maintaining relationships with many donors, funders, partners, and community members. They may struggle to meet the differing expectations of staff, board, and key community stakeholders. Since most nonprofits are chronically under-resourced, they are holding a great deal of day-to-day management of their organizations as well. ED jobs are now more challenging than ever. Last year, we did a lot of listening to EDs across Washington and summarized what we learned in our Executive Learning Needs Assessment. Among other things, we affirmed that EDs have different […]

Resources for Nonprofits

Planning for Reopening

June 22, 2020 Laura Pierce

During the pandemic, many nonprofits have temporarily shut their doors, while others have ramped up to provide essential services. How do we plan for the coming year, knowing that there is no going back to “normal”? […]

Black, Indigenous, & People of Color Executive Directors
Blog

Black, Indigenous, People of Color Executive Directors Emergency Meeting

June 15, 2020 Guest Contributor

Washington Nonprofits is pleased to provide administrative support for gatherings by and for Executive Directors who are Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color. This first gathering is being called on an emergency basis by Andrea Caupain, Victoria Santos, Ananda Valenzuela, and Jodi Nishioka. Dear fellow executive directors of color, We are calling for an emergency meeting of BIPOC EDs in Washington State, taking place virtually on 6/18 from 3-5 pm. As society grapples with a racist police system and pervasive white supremacy that continue to harm and kill Black people even while Covid-19 disproportionately affects BIPOC communities, we EDs of […]

Blog

Forgiveness Rules for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

May 27, 2020 Laura Pierce

On May 21, 2020 Washington Nonprofits presented a webinar on “COVID-19 & Nonprofits: Understanding Forgiveness Rules for the Paycheck Protection Program.” You can access the webinar recording and resources in this post. Keep scrolling for more resources and Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Updates. Webinar Resources: Presentation Slideshow Case Study Application Case Study Worksheet (navigate by choosing the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet) Corrections & Notes from the webinar: 1. Future Changes. There will likely be future changes to the application and additional rules issued by the SBA. Hopefully, the new rules will make it easier for borrowers with smaller […]

A rural, tree-lined highway stretches to a clouded sunset
Blog

Staying Sane During the COVID-19 Pandemic

May 13, 2020 Guest Contributor

Covid-19 continues to profoundly alter our world as we seek to cope with it…. we are all in the midst of it and cannot see its boundaries. No one is outside this trauma. So how can we hold ourselves, our organizations, and our communities together? We can learn from some principles that come from understanding organizational trauma and recovery.
1. Contain the experience and create safety and stability.
2. Understand that what you and others are feeling is normal.
3. Accept that with no road map we will make mistakes.
4. Share experiences and feelings with each other.
5. Collectively make meaning from those experiences.
6. Identify pockets of resilience in your organization.
7. Celebrate unity, caring for each other, and coming together. […]

Blog

Member Spotlight: YAMA (Yakima Music en Acción) – Walking the Talk with Leadership and Equity

May 11, 2020 Julia Hunter

Yakima Music en Acción, called YAMA by their community, looks like an after-school music program on the surface. With three youth orchestras, they provide a space for third through 12th graders, from 22 different schools in the Yakima School District, to learn how to play classical music. Dig a little deeper and you can see it’s more than an orchestra. It’s a leadership program centered in diversity, equity, and inclusion work, that has a significant impact on the young people who participate. The authenticity of this impact is possible because YAMA walks the talk, striving to incorporate what they teach […]