It is easy to understand how the pandemic has affected many businesses. Places like Amazon, Walmart, and Publix have had some of their best fiscal years ever. Restaurants, movie theaters, and airlines, on the other hand, have struggled to stay open and profitable as customers either could not or would not use their goods and services. We are asking in this article, “What has happened to charities because of the pandemic?” Unfortunately, the answer is clear, and most charities have been suffering over the past year as they struggle to survive on either donations or government support.
1. Massive Job Losses For Donors
Many charities rely on individual donors or private foundations to make a budget. When those donors lose their income or private foundations are not fully funded, the trickle-down effect on charities is natural and debilitating. With the job numbers being what they have been, it is easy to see how many charities found it challenging to operate at total capacity when many of their donors could not give at their regular rate.
2. Shrinking Government Funds
Some charities rely heavily on government funding and grants. Many of these charities operate in schools, government buildings, or programs that depend on those institutions to be open. When the government closed up shop, many of those nonprofits could no longer operate, which meant they could no longer ask for government funding. While the PPP loans and disaster relief grants helped, many organizations did not cover what was needed to operate.
3. Increased Giving to Medical Charities
The coronavirus pandemic has spurred roughly $13 million in medical and vaccine research donations. That is good for those in the medical field fighting against Covid and being expected when a pandemic hits. However, this means that a massive piece of the “giving pie” was taken up by something other than their cause for different charities. People who would usually have given to the small nonprofit serving the homeless were instead giving to help fight the global pandemic. That diversion of funds can be the difference in keeping your doors open or shutting down.