Food banks and other nonprofit groups are dealing with the decline of volunteers, staff and revenue while trying to provide services during COVID-19. | Adobe Stock
Food banks and other nonprofit groups are dealing with the decline of volunteers, staff and revenue while trying to provide services during COVID-19. | Adobe Stock
A new study from the University of Washington found that many nonprofits are fighting to deliver as they face extensive staff and volunteer shortages at a time where donations are usually sufficient.
Fewer volunteers and donations are likely an effect of the COVID-19 impact, with health safety measures in place and more people unemployed.
The study was conducted by the Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, which is at the University of Washington.
"Overall, nonprofits report that funding is down 30%, and demand for services is up more than 10%," Nancy Bell Evans faculty director, Mary Kay Gugerty, a professor in the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, said in a release about the report. "Health and human service organizations that are typically engaged in direct service report that demand for services is up 28%. Individual donors can support nonprofits and take advantage of the CARES Act's $300 charitable deduction, which is only available in 2020."
The study noted that even Giving Tuesday's, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, impact may be dulled because of the virus.
"While many nonprofits have tried to rapidly adapt to new ways of delivering services, a lack of sustained, unrestricted funding jeopardizes their viability over the long term," co-author Emily Finchum-Mason, a doctoral candidate in the Evans School, said.
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