While nonprofit board members are not usually involved in the day-to-day activities, they are ultimately responsible for managing the organization and making important decisions that fulfill fiduciary duties to both the organization and public that it serves. In this article, we’ve compiled five of our top financial management best practices for nonprofit board members.

As more and more of us receive our vaccinations, there is a longing to go back to pre-pandemic normalcy. But if there is one thing we have learned during the past year of living with Covid-19, it is that we can no longer ignore systemic inequities in our society exposed by the disproportionate suffering of the most vulnerable in our own communities. As citizens and responsible philanthropists, it is time to reflect on how our own actions have contributed to these inequities and to rethink how we give. Philanthropic organizations themselves are reflecting and responding with a new direction in grantmaking called trust-based philanthropy. Trust-based philanthropy is rooted in transparency, equity, humility, and collaboration. It is an approach to giving that aims to redistribute power between funders and nonprofits in an attempt to better meet the needs of the communities we are trying to serve.

The pandemic has blown through our communities like a hurricane, canceling plans, changing priorities, leaving families grief-stricken, frustrated, and angry. As the pandemic anniversary approaches, we see encouraging signs of resilience and recovery, and some common themes in nonprofits’ approaches to tackling challenges.

Young professionals have much to offer in the way of fresh perspectives, growing professional networks and skill sets that may include social media and an understanding digital technology that fill in gaps in your organization.

First Steps: Becoming a Tech-Savvy Nonprofit

With all of the challenges presented by COVID-19, staff capacity and funding are two of the biggest areas of concern for nonprofits right now. Here are some key tips for being able to think through adopting new technology and not overwhelming yourself in the process:

• Start small and align any new systems with your priorities. If you’re like most organizations, your formal plans for 2020 probably flew out of the window and you may feel like you’re reacting and planning week to week. Even so, you probably have some key goals at this point: engage current donors for year-end giving, recruiting volunteers, or planning a successful virtual event and programs. To keep things simple, make sure you
  

With many people working from home, juggling virtual learning for their kids, and dealing with other commitments, hopping on yet another Zoom call can seem overwhelming at the end of the day. Remote engagement and technology are definitely necessary, but you should be mindful and strategic about how you use them to make sure your outreach is effective.

Virtual events have become a necessity for nonprofits to consider during COVID-19 due to the need for social distancing and health concerns. If you are in the process of planning a virtual event, there are some key ways that technology can help with fundraising and engagement.

As nonprofits face the challenges of laying off employees and wanting to assure that they receive unemployment benefits to care for their families, it is important to understand how unemployment insurance works and how to minimize the cost to the organization. There also may be opportunities for employees returning part time to collect unemployment benefits.

The statistics on how people of color are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 are disturbing. What steps can we take to help address those challenges now and into the future?