By Jonathan Williams | Development Coordinator
July 2020
Background
St. Croix Foundation for Community Developed officially launched the Nonprofit Consortium through a series of table conversations amongst over 50 local nonprofits in the fall of 2016. The Foundation initiated this collective action nearly one year to the day prior to the 2017 hurricanes, Irma and Maria. Several months after that first convening, the Foundation partnered with Nonprofit Consortium members to host its first of five Philanthropy Retreats and Forums, including a special convening with a focus on Environmental Justice and the implications of the restart of a decades-old oil refinery.
The Consortium is now a collective of roughly 30 civic entities that has birthed broader national partnerships, raising awareness about St. Croix and the powerful work being conducted by the nonprofit sector. With a singular focus on nurturing enhanced collaboration, the Consortium is now actively gathering data and developing strategies to address the new realities of COVID-19. Against the backdrop of ongoing hurricane recovery and preparedness with the onset of the new hurricane season on June 1st, the Nonprofit Consortium is fostering sustainable resiliency practices. We extend our deepest appreciation to our GlobalGiving partners for their support and are pleased to share the work of the Nonprofit Consortium over the last three months.
Holding Space
The civic community has endured many challenges- most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to understand the challenges that organizations are facing, the Foundation continues to HOLD SPACE for our nonprofit leaders to ensure they feel connected as we collectively navigate the economic and health-related challenges surrounding the pandemic. We have designed a webinar series to take place throughout the remainder of 2020 to provide space for nonprofits to share innovations and strategies for adapting or transforming program service delivery models. We continue to serve as a Community Convener for nonprofits so that we can all connect, collaborate, and meet current challenges together. We thank funders like GlobalGiving that continue to support the work of this Consortium, which enables us to reach vulnerable populations and leverage resources for broader impact.
4th Annual Philanthropy Retreat Connects Local Nonprofits and National Foundations
In February 2020, St. Croix Foundation, in partnership with the Nonprofit Consortium, hosted 15 partners from national foundations and associations ranging from the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, Nathan Cummings Foundation, and Council of Foundations to the Southeastern Council on Foundations and Association of Black Foundation Executives. As discussed in our March Report, the retreat entitled The Power of People and Place: Status Matters, connected executives with over 20 local nonprofits in the Nonprofit Consortium for a focused conversation around political status, social equity, community resilience and nonprofit capacity building. The retreat and forum provided a priceless opportunity for leaders to have an unfiltered view of the deeply entrenched social, political, and environmental issues that necessitate a collaborative civic sector. The retreat also afforded NPC members the opportunity to unveil the results of a survey instrument developed in the fall of 2019 to begin capturing real data around the health, viability, and functionality of nonprofits on St. Croix. SCF was able to capture the reactions and experiences of Foundation Executives in a short video that can be viewed here.
St. Croix Foundation Launches Covid-19 Survey Instrument
In early April 2020, St. Croix Foundation convened the Nonprofit Consortium partners to gauge how organizations were responding to Covid-19. The Foundation was interested in organizational health, specifically around funding and how individuals were responding to global uncertainty. In order to capture data, the Foundation launched the first survey instrument, Nonprofit Consortium Emergency Capacity Assessment, with questions assessing financial outlooks, technology needs, development capabilities, human resource changes, access and engagement with community partners and constituents, and program service delivery methods. Results from that survey indicated that, on a scale defined as not concerned/concerned/very concerned, of the organizations polled 64.29% were very concerned about the loss of fundraising revenue, 100% were concerned or very concerned about program service delivery, and 53.85% were concerned about engaging stakeholders due to technology gaps.
Because the pandemic has caused a great shift in the daily lives of all of our partners, the Foundation was also interested in mental health and polled on areas pertaining to work-life balance and how those changes were impacting performance. During the month of July, the Foundation will be hosting three webinars with nonprofit consortium partners to assess the survey instrument and its results while gaining a better understanding of the shifts that have happened over the last three months since the initial survey. The Foundation will distribute a follow-up survey focused on areas relating to cash-flow, assessing the success of program service delivery adaptations, and gauging individual needs of partners’ families such as safe access to healthy food, healthcare services, and community. The Foundation hopes to analyze these responses with the goal of developing a deeper strategy for supporting nonprofits and for case-making under the new reality of Covid-19.
St. Croix Foundation Relaunches CARE Fund with Focus on Open Doors
Originally launched within days of catastrophic Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, the CARE Fund raised and awarded $1.8 million in the immediate aftermath of the 2017 storms, providing direct support to frontline relief efforts and long-term resiliency initiatives. St. Croix Foundation has now established the CARE Fund as a permanent Fund, with the flexibility to evolve with and respond to emerging community needs resulting from natural, political, economic, or social crises.
The Foundation has established four priority areas to be addressed under our retooled CARE Fund including 1) programmatic support for frontline responders, 2) data collection for strategic recovery, 3) resiliency & systems innovation prioritizing youth & education, public health, and food security, and 4) the Open Door Fund. While all priority areas include support for members of the Nonprofit Consortium and propel innovative, collaborative initiatives, the Open Door Fund is designed for member organizations to, very simply, help “keep their doors open.” With most nonprofits functioning with little or no operating reserves, the Foundation is keenly aware of the challenges Covid-19 is presenting for our essential civic community to keep the lights on and continue delivering services. This fund will support nonprofit organizations by awarding less restrictive operating grants to steady and fortify nonprofits, particularly those standing on the frontlines of this crisis.
Looking to a future under COVID-19
Amidst an ever-evolving landscape due to COVID-19, St. Croix Foundation has taken this time to reflect on how we can best support our nonprofits by gathering data and networking with national and global partners. As a predominantly Black and Brown community, with no federal voting power, the U.S. Virgin Islands epitomizes the case for racial and economic equity – and it emphasizes the importance of collaborative, community-based collectives like the Nonprofit Consortium. As such, the Foundation is committed to providing financial support, introducing and exploring innovative practices, and most importantly nurturing collaboration locally, nationally, and globally. We share so many similarities with underserved communities on the mainland and developing communities around the world, and what we know is this: those who sit on the frontlines of injustice and inequity are often the ones who are tapping into some of the most innovative and sustainable solutions!
We thank our partners at GlobalGiving!
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