Nonprofit Montgomery is an alliance of nonprofit organizations serving Montgomery County, MD.
We work to strengthen nonprofits in the county, advocate for the sector, and catalyze action to solve the community’s toughest challenges.
Weekly COVID-19 Response with County and Local Leaders April 22, 2020
Join Nonprofit Montgomery for our weekly virtual meeting with Montgomery County and nonprofit leaders on Wednesday, April 22 at 11am. This will be an opportunity to hear from our County officials and receive updates on the local covid-19 response.
County Government Updates and Q&A:
Council President Sidney Katz
Vickie Buckland, Chief Operating Officer, DHHS
BB Otero, Special Assistant, Office of the County Executive
Caroline Sturgis, Assistant Chief Operating Officer, Office of the County Executive
Montgomery County Volunteer Center
Molly Callaway, Director
Sector Update - Early Care and Education:
Joanne Hurt, Executive Director, Wonders Early Learning & Extended Day
Tiffany Jones, Head Start Policy Council and Community Action Board
Jennifer Arnaiz, Resource and Referral Center, DHHS
When: Wednesday, April 22, 11am-12:30pm Where: On Zoom. Once you register you'll receive an auto-email with all the details. RSVP HERE *Please be sure to to put any questions in the comments section of the registration.
Save the Date: 4/29 Senator Chris Van Hollen will be joining us on our weekly call.
Montgomery County Public Health Emergency Grant (PHEG)
Applications are open
The application for the Public Health Emergency Grant is open. Here is the link to the webpagewith information to help you get ready to apply. We anticipate that the funds will go quickly—so apply as soon as possible.
ICYMI: 4/15 Weekly COVID-19 Response Meeting Councilmember Will Jawando and InfoMontgomery
On April 8, Nonprofit Montgomery hosted its fourth weekly meeting with county leaders including Councilmember Jawando who spoke about his Renter Relief Bill. Attendees also heard from the Collaboration Council's InfoMontgomery as a resource for nonprofits and from local philanthropy.
InfoMontgomery: provides detailed information about health, education and human service resources throughout the County. There is an updated list of COVID-19 related resources for the community. Nonprofits can reach out to them by emailing admin@infomontgomery.org.
ICYMI: Nonprofit Montgomery's Public Health Emergency Grant Webinar for Nonprofits
On Thursday, Nonprofit Montgomery partner Franca Brilliant answered questions about the new PHEG Program. Click here to see the video and here to view her presentation.
A few take aways:
Organizations have to show a 50% loss since the disaster declared compared to a comparable period previously. Funding for first round of applications (approximately 50% of total funding) is a maximum of $10,000 plus a potential $2,500 for support for teleworking.
With these constraints the grant is likely to work best for organizations who have significant earned income, eg childcare providers, performing arts groups, ESOL providers, and who need short term assistance while they look for other resources.
There is a complicated formula for calculating the loss in revenue but essentially the County will compare a monthly average revenue from pre-COVID-19 operations to March 2020 revenue. The amount you will be awarded is based on revenue lost, not any additional costs incurred because of the emergency.
It is important to read the FAQs and the Executive Regulation to ensure that revenue calculations are done correctly. [NOTE: one of the questions on the webinar had to do with organizations that only had quarterly financials for the post emergency period. In that case, the monthly average revenue would be multiplied by three as a basis for comparison to the post emergency revenue).
Applicants may use the funds for a wide range of operating costs, and may use these funds along with other funds from state and federal sources such as the PPP or SBA disaster loans.
Funds may not be used to cover costs covered by insurance or for wages paid to employees who are eligible for unemployment at the same time.
The application asks for a percentage breakdown of how the funds will be used if awarded but the County has said that they understand that the percentages and use may change because conditions are evolving so rapidly.
There is no deadline for the application and there does not appear to be a specific grant period other than the duration of the public emergency. Organizations can apply monthly until the grant funding expires.
Nonprofit Montgomery COVID-19 Survey Results
The state of uncertainty in the nonprofit sector is reflected the results of a survey of Nonprofit Montgomery member organizations conducted from April 9-10, 2020. In what might be a perfect storm for nonprofits, members report both unanticipated costs and cancelled or postponed fundraising events and a decline in services leading to revenue losses.
75% of nonprofits (36 of 48) reported experiencing unanticipated costs associated with the Covid-19 emergency. These included equipment, training and IT support to adapt to working remotely, the need for extra cleaning and cleaning supplies, purchase of personal protective equipment, increased personnel costs and additional assistance provided directly to clients.
Nonprofits are experiencing revenue losses due to cancelled or postponed fundraising events and campaigns. 79% anticipate a decline in revenue from March to June, 2020 ranging from $4,000 to $1 million. 60% of nonprofits have canceled or postponed fundraising events scheduled to take place March-June.
The good news is that nonprofit organizations are quickly adapting their services to continue to support clients. 79% of respondents have adapted programs to online platforms and 60% are conducting individual outreach to clients. 15% are providing more services due to increased demand.
Nonprofit Montgomery COVID-19 Resource Page
Visit our webpage with updates, resources, and news from the sector, as well as from the County government, philanthropy, and more.
Maryland State Arts Council Emergency Grant
In response to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) has created special grant opportunities that provide emergency funding to arts organizations and artists in Maryland as they adjust to losses sustained because of programming, operations, and events that have been modified or cancelled. Learn more here.
NEW! MORE Evaluation Network Meet Up
Calling the MORE Evaluation Alumni Network! Need any support modifying evaluation strategies in the era of COVID-19? Join Nonprofit Montgomery and Sharp Insight on Wednesday, April 22 for a virtual alumni gathering via Zoom. This event will begin with some overarching ideas presented by Jana Sharp, followed by an open discussion by participants.
Please bring an evaluation challenge that your organization is facing and come ready to help troubleshoot and support evaluation colleagues in our community. Registration open to all MORE alumni.
When: Wednesday, April 22 from 1-2pm Where: on Zoom (you'll receive the details once you register) Cost: Free! Click here to RSVP.
Navigating Uncharted Waters During a Period of Hyper-Change
Impact on Financial Health and Continuity
We are all faced with the challenge of responding to “hyper change”. This multi-part series will provide fiscal and financial strategies and guidance for nonprofit leaders and their organizations during this time of uncertainty. When and how should you protect your organization’s assets? How best to position financial resource utilization during a hyper-change period until “true” recovery begins.
In Part I of this series, we will begin by exploring a framework for a thoughtful approach that favors using a financial bias of protecting the financial position of a nonprofit organization when considering key management decisions that must be made.
When: Monday,April 20 at 10-11am Where: on Zoom (you'll receive the details once you register) Cost: Free! Click here to RSVP.
Check out Gellman's blog that answers questions such as ....
Can donors use the charitable deduction for pre-paid fees for events that have been cancelled if the donor lets the organization keep the fees in lieu of a refund?
Join 20 Degrees co-founders Tom Bartlett and Sara Gibson for a discussion of the COVID-19 Nonprofit Toolkit they designed for nonprofit leaders. The goals of this two-part webinar will be:
Introduce you to the available resources, explaining their purpose and outputs.
Guide you through the critical steps and questions in the creation of scenario plans and related tools
Prepare you to complete the one-page plan driving your COVID-19 response
When: Part 2: Tuesday, April 21, from 3-4:30pm This is a two-part series with different content at each session. Where: on Zoom. RSVP and you'll receive an email with all the details. Cost: Free! Click here to RSVP.
Personalized Strategy and Financial Consultations
Nonprofit Montgomery in partnership with Orgforward, and with support from DHHS, is expanding the consultation and coaching that has traditionally been reserved for our FIRM program. We are offering members the opportunity to receive a coaching session with Justin Pollock of Orgforward to help with immediate strategy or structure decisions you are faced with.
A small team from your organization will have 1.5 hour to meet via Zoom with Justin to think through and plan around a current issue you are facing or decision you are trying to make.
These sessions could help you with:
make strategy or structure decisions
develop financial forecasts for various short and long term scenarios
help prioritize goals and determine what it will take to advance those goals in the current environment.
Nonprofit Montgomery partner Sharp Insight generously shared their list of Zoom bombing prevention tips and other safety measures. Thank you Sharp Insight! Here are a few tips:
File transfer: Disable to prevent someone sharing a corrupted file.
Only authenticated users can join meeting: Consider enabling, although this will require all attendees to be from a registered email address or to use a password.
Co-host: Consider enabling so that more than one person is able to mute others or otherwise control the meeting.
Waiting room: Consider enabling if you want to individually approve all attendees to join.
Legal Advice/COVID Relief Programs
The DC Bar Pro Bono Center is offering free legal advice to nonprofit organizations and small business owners. You may submit a request for legal assistance reviewing your options under the CARES Act and other loan and grant programs. Consultations will last up to 1 hour. Please fill out the online form.
Advocacy for Nonprofit Supports
Maryland Nonprofits, a Nonprofit Montgomery partner, started a petition to Maryland's Congressional Delegation with suggested priorites that include: funding, assistance in state budgets, priovisions to the CARES act and much more. Sign the petition here.
