The new buzzword of “resilience” is everywhere, but what does it mean for nonprofit organizations? During COVID, many nonprofits were forced to suspend or readjust their programs, cancel fundraising events, and/or lost contracts. Even though there are many reports on what happened to employment and loan programs, we don’t know much about why and how nonprofits chose how to react.

So what do nonprofits say about what happened and what helped them get through the COVID pandemic? We asked nonprofits to describe their organization’s capacity — finances, board structure, etc. Then, we asked how they responded to the pandemic. The biggest influence on how nonprofits react will surprise you!