WEATHERING THE STORM

Nonprofi t veteran Je Jowdy on the fi nancial future of charitable organizations

e Jowdy’s role as president of Light

J house Counsel, a consultancy  rm for nonpro ts, allows him to put his years of experience in nonpro t leadership and fundraising to work helping charitable organizations develop strategic initiatives, raise awareness of their mission and  nd donors. With the pandemic and subsequent safer-athome orders resulting in fewer programs, the cancellation of fundraising events and limited volunteer opportunities, nonpro ts are facing dire  nancial challenges and uncertainties surrounding the path forward. Post Editor Geert De Lombaerde chatted with Jowdy about the shockwaves the pandemic sent through the nonpro t sector and how organizations can regain their  nancial footing.

What have been your main takeaways from the shock the pandemic created?  e  rst one is something of an evergreen:  e good times can hide a lot of nonpro t sins and the money  ows a lot more easily. In the bad times, the importance of best practices is even more evident. For example, having several months’ reserves set aside.  at way, when bad times come, you still have to adjust but you can look at things from a higher level.

Times like these also bring into focus the  duciary role of a board member. A lot of people take it more seriously all of a sudden, but they should have been taking it seriously all along. A lot about being on a nonpro t board is about common sense and good judgment. After all, you’re running a public trust.

When it comes to putting money aside, are there benchmarks?  e standard can vary. It can be three months, six months or a year of expenses. We recommend at least three months and preferably more. Organizations with those type reserves are weathering the storm and providing their services.

A lot of nonprofi ts have put out calls for support in the past few months. How do you talk to clients about crisis communications like that?  e worst thing a nonpro t can do is to disconnect.  e  rst step should have been reaching out to donors and expressing concern for them.  is concern must be genuine and should be ongoing.  en, they should share how the pandemic is impacting their mission and how they are responding. After this, it is entirely appropriate to ask for support.

First, you need to know your donors and how they are impacted —  nancially and in terms of health — by this. Second, the appeal should be as personal as possible and it should be about the donor and the di erence they can make. Even in a pandemic and recession, people still care about the organizations whose missions are closest to them.  ey will respond to the degree they are able.

Be sure to have an ongoing dialogue with your donors in ways as personal as possible. We are encouraging our clients to make lots of phone calls and use lots of video — from personalized messaging to CEO updates.

Je Jowdy

Do major donors typically work according to long-term plans that might not be very a ected by shocks like this one? Many major donors have assets and plans to weather  nancial storms such as these.  ey know that the economy will recover.  ey see opportunity.  ese donors have a longer-term  nancial perspective. You need to know your donors and who is impacted and to what degree. Many industries are thriving right now, some are doing OK and some are very challenged. Some people are very stressed and others are bored and ready to get back to a more familiar routine.

What do you see as trends coming out of this? Overall, the shell shock seems to be over. However, no one can predict what the next few months will bring. As the economy reopens, we don’t know how fast the recovery will follow and how soon a vaccine will be in place. Many nonpro ts that rely predominantly on earned income are taking a big hit — this can range from performing arts organizations that are not performing to others organizations that are reopening to partial capacity. Colleges and universities are facing uncertainties on what fall will look like on their campuses.

For fundraising, I am optimistic. People in Middle Tennessee and beyond are very generous and rise to the occasion. We see many nonpro ts on track to meet their annual fundraising goals and paths to success in some signi cant campaigns that have been ongoing.