May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so this week’s RoR offers mental health related resources including a comprehensive toolkit your nonprofit may use to promote awareness.
Welcome to this week’s edition of Resources of Relevance
(COVID-19-related Resources to Help You Sustain Your Nonprofit through the Pandemic.)
May is Mental Health Awareness Month which is a big deal in my world. My mother, and heroine, lived with schizophrenia for the entirety of her adult life. She was also a survivor of abuse. I know firsthand the pain she endured throughout her lifetime as a result of the stigma and discrimination she faced, especially during the early years of her diagnosis. Gratefully, our culture has positively shifted to a more compassionate place; however, there is much more advocacy to be done. One of the reasons I decided to become a social worker was to honor my mother and advocate for others with similar experiences as hers. I may not solely work within the field of the intervention and prevention of violence against women anymore, but I do have the privilege of working with many nonprofit organizations with missions that support people experiencing abuse and/or mental health complexities. One example is the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health. Check out their website for a multitude of information including tip sheets related to COVID-19: http://www.nationalcenterdvtraumamh.org/.
The mental health section of this week’s edition of Resources of Relevance includes links to national initiatives and tools to help individuals with their mental health during the pandemic. As usual, you’ll also find helpful resources on other topics such as financial sustainability.
Thank you for taking a look and please share with your colleagues.
May you remain healthy and know you are greatly appreciated.
We will get through this together!
– Julie Ann
FUND DEVELOPMENT, MARKETING & FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Many nonprofits are struggling to maintain operations and payrolls while revenue is decreasing. Spectrum Nonprofit Services’ article “From Sustainability to Survivability, How Nonprofits Can Manage Uncertainty Amid Crisis” offers steps to take such as understanding your cash position, assessing damage to revenue streams and looking at the dual bottom line. They also offer free downloads of a matrix map template and cash flow projection template. Click here to read more and download the tools: https://spectrumnonprofit.com/from-sustainability-to-survivability-how-nonprofits-can-manage-uncertainty-amid-crisis/
According to The Verge, people can now host fundraisers over Instagram Live! Instagram is making it easier for people to raise money for nonprofits by building a feature that allows Live viewers to directly support approved organizations. You can actually donate directly from the stream. Learn more about it here: https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21239965/instagram-live-fundraiser-button-nonprofit-update-ig?cid=pt&source=ams&sourceId=5237915
Financial consultancy CLA offers sound advice in their Innovation in Nonprofit Finance Blog post, “Financial Leadership in the Face of Impossible Choices.” According to CLA, “financial leadership during times like these requires an unflinching look at your current fiscal state and a willingness to seek and share solutions across your whole organization. Holding true to your mission will guide you towards thoughtful, compassionate, and effective decisions in the midst of hardship.” Find useful financial tools and creative approaches to navigate otherwise impossible choices here: https://blogs.claconnect.com/nonprofitinnovation/financial-leadership-in-the-face-of-impossible-choices/
LEADERSHIP & POLICY
A couple of weeks ago I shared a powerful meme on my socials that I first saw on Social Work Tudor’s FaceBook page. It read, “When you apply for your next job, the first question you should ask is, ‘How did you protect your staff during the coronavirus pandemic?’ That will tell you all you need to know about how they will treat you.” Yes, yes, and YES! I cannot agree more. The Ivey Business Journal explores this and other considerations in their article, “Maintaining Healthy Reputations During a Pandemic.” https://iveybusinessjournal.com/maintaining-healthy-reputations-during-a-pandemic/
Don’t miss Blue Avocado’s upcoming webinar: Live Q&A for Nonprofits on Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Workers’ Comp, Property & Casualty Insurance on May 14th from 2-3pm ET. Blue Avocado assembled three experts in this free webinar to cover these important topics. When registering, you can even share questions you want answered during the webinar. https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/515762619309278978
The Harvard Business Review (HBR) continues to impress me with thoughtful and practical articles to help nonprofit leaders navigate COVID-19. Their latest, “How Nonprofit Leaders Can Keep Their Organizations Afloat” is a must read. Here’s an excerpt: “How can underfunded, understaffed nonprofits continue to serve their communities during these dark times? Our nonprofits must survive so the least fortunate among us can recover from this pandemic. Even if your cause seems less relevant now — maybe run an animal shelter or a chamber orchestra — your organizations will be even more important as society again begins to function and people seek out love, communion, and beauty in the world.” Truth-telling indeed. https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-nonprofit-leaders-can-keep-their-organizations-afloat
EQUITY, INCLUSION, & SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Chronicle of Philanthropy published an important opinion piece titled, “Here’s How Nonprofits Can Get Americans to Fight the Racism Laid Bare by Covid-19.” The author explains, “We simply cannot and should not avoid talking about race. Rather than whether, the question now is how best to have conversations about race. How can social-change communicators best promote conversations about race and racism in ways that help people understand, and get them to act and support solutions that advance equity?” Again, I cannot agree more. The piece goes on to share four ideas to help communicate about race equity in the Covid-19 context. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Here-s-How-Nonprofits-Can/248656?utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_1181181&cid=pt&source=ams&sourceId=5237915
“For those of us concerned with gender equity, the current situation also magnifies the inequities faced by women, particularly women of color. Women are more likely to hold jobs in the industries hardest hit by the pandemic — such as travel, retail, domestic work, child care, and personal services — and in those deemed essential, such as food service and health care.” Generosity’s “Centering Women of Color is Key to COVID-19 Response,” offers this call to action, “As we all do our part during this crisis, we need to bear in mind the unequal impact of this pandemic across race, class, and gender, and ensure that the solutions being proposed and implemented center those most affected.” Read the entire post: https://generocity.org/philly/2020/04/30/centering-women-of-color-is-key-to-covid-19-response/?utm_campaign=Generocity%20Editorial%20Email&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=87446422&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9IlOvKN1QREPpP9IQaKgvQs1KL_ITIalV_qY7XmzKqgBThAcmXvyHqITEM5zW9xFYzASxP&utm_content=87446422&utm_source=hs_email
Listen to this 3-minute audio by NPR titled, “The Coronavirus Doesn’t Discriminate, But U.S. Health Care Showing Familiar Biases” to hear how physicians in public health and on the front lines are saying that in the response to the pandemic, they can already see the emergence of familiar patterns of racial and economic bias. In fact, “in one analysis, it appears doctors may be less likely to refer African Americans for testing when they show up for care with signs of infection.” Take a few minutes out of your day to learn more: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/02/825730141/the-coronavirus-doesnt-discriminate-but-u-s-health-care-showing-familiar-biases
MENTAL HEALTH
If you’re like me, I always prefer texting or “facetiming” someone over a phone call. In fact, I’m so bad at returning phone calls that my father made a point to learn how FaceTime with me because he dislikes texting as much as I dislike talking on the phone. On a more serious note, individuals hesitant to reach out via phone may now use the Crisis Text Line to receive support from a trained crisis counselor who are prepared to help with issues such as the isolation of coronavirus, anxiety, depression, and emotional abuse. They even have trained volunteers available to work with youth on topics like bullying. Counselors will help texters sort through feelings by asking questions, empathizing, and actively listening.
Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a counselor for free 24/7.
https://www.crisistextline.org/
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports a 40 percent increase in calls to its hotline since the pandemic began. Launched at the start of Mental Health Awareness Month, HBO created a PSA focused on the anxieties caused by Covid-19. This star studded video’s empathetic tagline is “It’s OK to not feel OK. It’s OK to talk about how Covid-19 is making you feel.” If you have a few minutes and want some warm fuzzies, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhqYoB4QtLI
Mental Health America (MHA) has created a comprehensive toolkit for Mental Health Awareness Month. If you haven’t heard of MHA, their mission is to promote mental health and prevent mental illness through advocacy, education, research and services. Access the free toolkit here: https://mhanational.org/mental-health-month-2020-toolkit-download
And, to find a wealth of COVID-19 mental health resources compiled by MHA, click here: https://mhanational.org/covid19#MentalHealthInformationForDiseaseOutbreaks
Apparently Yale University has a Center for Emotional Intelligence (CEI) — who knew? CEI has assembled experts for a series of webinars on how to use emotional intelligence to combat COVID-19 anxiety. Experts address ways of maintaining emotional health, regulating emotions, and developing resilience using emotional intelligence strategies. You can watch them by clicking the below link. Full disclosure, I haven’t listened to them all yet, but I’m willing to bet that Yale is putting out trustworthy stuff. https://news.yale.edu/2020/03/24/yale-webinars-using-emotional-intelligence-combat-covid-19-anxiety