Over the course of the past few weeks when all of the conferences, workshops, and in-person meetings I would have attended have either been canceled or moved exclusively online, I’ve been on a listening tour of sorts through Zoom, Google hangouts, and the good old-fashioned telephone.
Participating in meetings digitally has its pluses and minuses.
As an extrovert, I’m fueled by the energy and interactions of in-person meetings, so missing that face-to-face connection is a bummer. However, one of the bonuses is that I’m listening more intently. I’ve taken copious notes while chatting to colleagues, clients, and friends in the greater association and nonprofit world, and as I reread them some common themes keep appearing.
Reaching out to my network, I hear everything from fear and frustration to exhaustion, and obstacles. But I also hear communities coming together in a crisis. We truly are all #inthistogether
While everything is on pause and associations and nonprofits worry about renewals and funding, they are not letting the grass grow under their feet. Most are taking a proactive, positive approach to helping their members and the communities they serve.
I’ve noted 8 things the association and nonprofit peers I’ve been talking to are doing to bridge the gap until we can all get safely back to our desks.
1. Pivoting to Current Issues
Organizations that need loans, grants and programs, are laser-focused on finding those and aiding their members. That means switching gears from what they had been working on, to figuring out avenues within the $2 trillion federal stimulus bill. They’re also grappling with making sense of the more than 500 state COVID-related bills that have been introduced and/or enacted to support their industry’s workers and interests.
Here at FiscalNote we’ve pulled together a great policy map to help you track those COVID-19 issues.
2. Building a Database and Staying Visible
Some organizations are using this time to build their base, recruit members, and clean or enhance their data so they’ve got a team of advocates to take action when the time comes. I’m helping one client sift through hundreds of available data points to better understand who their large and diverse membership consists of, whether they're active on social channels (and which ones), do they give to political candidates, are they registered to vote, what is their age range, and so on.