NEW ORLEANS – Today, the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) announced the release of a new study, The State of Nonprofits in Southeast Louisiana: The Impact of COVID-19. GNOF commissioned the research by the University of New Orleans Political Science Department (UNO) as a part of its comprehensive response effort to help nonprofits, philanthropy, and civic organizations better understand the impact the pandemic has had on the critical nonprofit sector.
“This study shows that forty-three percent of nonprofits in our region are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and nearly three-quarters of them have been impacted financially from canceled fundraisers to interruptions in their fee-for-service programming,” said Andy Kopplin, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “As we work our way through this crisis, GNOF believes that maintaining a strong and robust nonprofit sector is critical to our region’s future. Our region depends on nonprofits for over 55,000 jobs, as well as for their work addressing urgent needs from health care to homelessness to food security, for educating out-of-school young people, taking care of seniors, and providing cultural opportunities that give us inspiration and joy.”
Since the start of COVID-19, GNOF has awarded over $2 million in grants to individuals and nonprofits battling the pandemic and hosted 18 webinars/town halls with over 1,800 nonprofit leaders across the region to provide expert and technical support to those navigating the crisis.
GNOF also hosted GiveNOLA Day on June 2, 2020 which raised a record $7.1 million to support over 800 nonprofit organizations, demonstrating strong community support for the nonprofit sector.
The State of Nonprofits in Southeast Louisiana: The Impact of COVID-19 was developed from an online and phone survey of nonprofits in the region, and includes baseline nonprofit data, insight into the impact of COVID-19 on the organizations, as well as how nonprofits across the 13-parish region are responding and resourced amidst COVID-19. The study found that 43% of nonprofits surveyed are providing services due to COVID-19, but over 70% have experienced financial losses due to COVID-19’s impact on its ability to fundraise.
In response to the findings of the study, GNOF will take a number of steps including to provide more operational support in discretionary grants while expediting its grant process to get money to nonprofits faster. The study also includes recommended action for nonprofits and philanthropy.