The pandemic strengthened the resilience of many nonprofits. The Foundation’s grant partners adapted to their changing circumstances, first by necessity, and then, opportunistically. Once they could look beyond the immediacy of the crisis, these same nonprofits began to envision how they might re-emerge from it.
Some, like Downtown Pittsburgh-based nonprofits, still face unique, ongoing challenges. Other organizations have leaned into promising COVID-related adaptations. Experiments in service delivery, virtual programs and donor engagement during the pandemic revealed opportunities to refine business models and boost revenue. For some nonprofits, these calculated risks require a longer runway to successfully take off. Others need more capacity to test theories or build a reliable plan to boost the health of their balance sheets.
Working alongside these grant partners, The Benter Foundation developed a Re-Emergence Fund and committed to other strategies to support these transitions. We’re still identifying ways to be helpful. But in the interest of learning together, we’re highlighting partner works-in-progress here. We hope you’ll come back periodically to read more, from the agencies themselves, about their efforts to re-emerge even stronger from the pandemic.