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Here is an important piece of background information to consider.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 16, 2020, employers across the US got the green light they had been waiting for from the\u00a0<\/span>Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<\/a>. The EEOC affirmed that businesses and employers may require employees to receive a vaccination as a condition of continued employment and can require proof of COVID-19 vaccination.<\/p>\n Employees who refuse to be vaccinated can be banned from the workplace.<\/p>\n However, what makes this a daunting challenge for employers is the continuing skepticism about the vaccine, and research that suggests almost 40 percent of Americans will probably not or definitely not get the vaccine.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been reading several high-level articles about this upcoming predicament and I want to share two pieces that impressed me and may be helpful for your preparations for reopening.<\/p>\n The first item I want to share is from\u00a0<\/span>SmartBrief<\/a>, a newsletter that you may already been reading on a regular basis.\u00a0<\/span>Hinda Mitchell<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>has written an excellent article called,\u00a0<\/span>Talking vaccines: The new communications hurdle for employers<\/em>.<\/p>\n In it she addresses the question of how can employers lead their teams through this new conversation? She advises that smart communications will strike the balance between education and data with empathy and values. Mitchell offers the following recommendations to position your organization for success.<\/p>\n The next few months provide a valuable opportunity to lay the groundwork within an organization to communicate effectively about anticipated vaccination policies. Ultimately, nonprofits should begin communications with the end in mind — a safe, healthy and vaccinated workforce.<\/p>\n The second article I found on the website of the\u00a0<\/span>Council of Nonprofits<\/a>. They point out that according to\u00a0The Washington Post<\/em><\/a>, “The twin crises of pandemic and recession are straining the region’s philanthropies and could force as many as a third of nonprofits to close or merge before the economy recovers.”\u00a0<\/p>\n In the\u00a0words<\/a>\u00a0of Stanley Litow, a professor at\u00a0<\/span>Duke<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Columbia<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Universities, “No sector of the economy is more vital to achieving equality and social justice, or more deserving of support, than nonprofit agencies that are directly responsible for ensuring the social safety net doesn’t completely shred.”<\/p>\n The Council of Nonprofits website highlights Mario Morino\u2019s article,\u00a0<\/span>The Big Reset: Guidance for Nonprofits<\/em>, as highlighted on the site\u00a0<\/span>Leap of Reason<\/a>. Morino suggests the following strategies for nonprofits to follow to prepare for our new reality. He provides links to many helpful resources you may enjoy.<\/p>\n Ask the hardest questions of all: Is our organization still essential? If our community has to decide which nonprofits are essential, how does ours fare? If we have to cut back, what programs and services must continue? SeaChange’s publication\u00a0Tough Times Call for Tough Action<\/em><\/a>\u00a0offers an excellent framework for exploring these issues.<\/p>\n To give you a relatively quick way to prioritize the risks to your organization, we’ve built this basic\u00a0triage tool<\/a>\u00a0specifically for nonprofits, borrowing concepts that healthcare organizations typically use in medical triage. You can download and tailor to reflect your critical issues.<\/p>\n You may also want to engage in scenario planning to augment your core planning processes and provide ways to think about plans for contingencies that may arise over the next 12-18 months. I’d start with Monitor Institute\u2019s \u00a0COVID-19 scenario planning for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>and The Bridgespan Group’s\u00a0<\/span>Making Sense of Uncertainty: Nonprofit Scenario Planning During a Crisis.<\/em><\/p>\nWhat will your nonprofit\u2019s approach to this ticklish but real dilemma be?<\/h3>\n
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Guidance from nonprofit professionals may be helpful for your organization.<\/h3>\n
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