The Forge in Greensboro, N.C., a workshop for students, artisans, trade professionals, and hobbyists, had recently expanded its facility to 13,000 square feet when the Covid-19 pandemic struck last year.
The nature of the nonprofit’s work didn’t allow for virtual operation, so it shut down for two months, and then reopened at greatly reduced capacity. It was a significant blow to an organization that relies on membership dues for most of its revenue and had recently stressed its finances with the expansion, says Joe Rotondi, its executive director.
“We put ourselves in a vulnerable spot,” he says.
Now, like other nonprofits across the country, the Forge is on the verge of returning to something approaching its fully operational pre-Covid status as public-health officials signal that the threat of the pandemic is rapidly diminishing.
”It’s encouraging, but it’s still a little scary,” says Rotondi.
The scary part, say charities and nonprofit advocacy groups, is establishing safe and sensible workplace guidelines at a time when there remains confusion about the dangers still posed by the pandemic. Is it time to require some or all employees to return to the office? If so, how many days a week? How can nonprofits prevent long-term work-from-home arrangements from exacerbating inequities for people who take advantage of them? Should mask requirements be relaxed for people who are vaccinated? How do nonprofits verify people’s vaccination status?
“It’s a really tough situation out there right now,” says Suzy Lee, director of nonprofit strategy and engagement at Forefront, which represents charities and grant makers in Illinois.
Regardless of the challenges, momentum is building for nonprofits to move back toward pre-pandemic operations, with some adjustments.
“In the last week, the ball seems to be rolling much faster toward reopening,” says Steve Hayes, executive director of the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium, an organization in North Carolina that works to strengthen the management of nonprofits.
New York Road Runners, a charity that advocates and organizes events for runners, will be asking employees to come into the office at least two days a week, says Thomas Moore, director of individual giving. Teams will pick one day per week when everyone on the team will be in the office.
Among other challenges concerning him, Moore says he is worried about how long-term remote work could create inequities in the workplace.
“How can we make sure it’s fair across the board for folks who want to stay remote for most of the day versus someone who’s there every day?” asks Moore. “You start thinking about promotional opportunities, and is someone going to get favoritism because they’re in every day, and how do you ensure that doesn’t happen?”
Help Navigating the Minefields
Nonprofit associations across the nation are hosting webinars and posting guidance on their websites to help charities navigate the minefield of legal and ethical issues in play as they plan for full or partial transitions from remote work to being back in the office.
The Foraker Group, a nonprofit umbrella group in Alaska that serves and represents charities throughout that state, has been fielding a broad range of questions related to postpandemic transitions, says CEO Laurie Wolf.
Vaccinations policies are among the toughest. “We have a lot confusion about what they can require versus what they should require,” Wolf says.
Many charity leaders say they want to promote vaccine use and create a safe space for employees without violating the Americans With Disabilities Act or interfering with religious beliefs, Wolf says. Striking that delicate balance can create confusion.
“We have a lot of organizations in turmoil,” Wolf says. “They don’t know what to do now.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added to the confusion with its recent abrupt shift on mask wearing, she says. The CDC now says that people who are fully vaccinated generally can go without masks indoors and out.
Lee, the Illinois association leader, agrees that the recent change in CDC guidelines “threw everything up in the air” just as many nonprofits were zeroing in on their new return-to-office plans.
Most charities in the state are leaning toward not having vaccination requirements while asking employees to share their vaccination status to help people gauge the risk of being in the office, Lee says.
Anne Gingerich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofits, says there’s been a notable shift in recent weeks in the type of questions her organization is getting from its nonprofit members.
Organizations that previously sought help on figuring out work-from-home policies are now seeking information on polices related to returning to the office, says Gingerich.
“Everyone is maintaining some degree of caution until more of the population gets vaccinated,” she says.
One big question being raised is whether nonprofits should require employees to get vaccinated, says Gingerich.
“We recommend working with employees and not employing strict policies that may alienated workers,” she says.
‘I Don’t Know Who’s Vaccinated’
Lydia McCoy, COO of the Colorado Nonprofit Association, said many people in her state are eager to get rid of masks, especially if they’re vaccinated, while others are still nervous about working in a mask-optional environment.
“It’s a time when you really want to just give in and go back to normalcy, but that’s not the situation we’re in,” she says.
McCoy agrees that the CDC’s recent shift on mask guidelines “caused a lot of consternation about what the right thing to do is.“ McCoy says she’s also nervous about the return of in-person events. “People aren’t wearing masks, and I don’t know who’s vaccinated,” she says.
Jeanne Tedrow, CEO of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, says indecision over the path ahead has affected her own organization as well as those it represents. Tedrow says the center decided two months ago that this year’s annual conference, like the previous year, will be all virtual.
“We’re sticking by that decision, but like many organizations, we’re wondering, did we make the right decision?” says Tedrow.
When it comes to mask and vaccination policies, state association officials say they are directing people to follow state and federal guidelines.
But Tedrow adds that’s not enough.
“Talk to your employees. Ask them if they will feel safe in space that previously felt unsafe,” says Tedrow. “Consider a phased-in approach. We need to take time to be really thoughtful.”
Jim Klocke, CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, says most charities are going through a careful process of collecting information before deciding on next steps. Among those charities that do plan to ask workers to return to their offices, many are providing 90 days’ notice so employees have time to adjust, he says.
“In this state, the reopening process is beginning, but it’s going to move slowly and in stages,” Klocke says.
Meanwhile, nonprofits that saw productivity hold up strongly amid the pandemic may permanently adopt more liberal work-at-home policies, says Klocke.
The Way Forward
Rotondi, leader of the Forge in Greensboro, was busy buying benches at a Home Depot for a workshop when he answered the phone to discuss his organization’s path forward. Although it’s time to start relaxing restrictions, the specifics are tricky, he says.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly how many people we can have gathered. It’s a gray area,” he says.
And of course, politics has come into play in the debate over mask usage, Rotondi says. The nonprofit’s board leans liberal and favors mask wearing, but some people who pay dues to use the facility have conservative viewpoints and are pushing back. The nonprofit recently started experimenting with allowing to people to go mask free when working solo in isolated areas of the shop.
“We’re trying to toe the line,” says Rotondi. “We are a space that values different perspectives while navigating a public-health issue.”
Emily Haynes contributed to this article.
