Beyond survival mode: Organizational resilience capabilities in nonprofit arts and culture fundraising during the Covid‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Organizational resilience remains an under-explored topic in the nonprofit management literature (Searing et al., 2021). Despite an increasing number of studies framed by management perspectives and organizational theory, their focus is on how forprofit organisations react against external crisis by developing 'resilience capabilities'; ways of understanding and of working designed to reduce uncertainty and restore balance to the organisation (Lengnick-Hall, et al., 2011;Williams et al., 2017). This article draws on literature on 'resilience capabilities' and on in-depth interviews with nonprofit fundraisers, carried out during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, to examine how they compensated for a sudden drop in financial revenue by devising alternative, strategic ways of fundraising. It argues that non-profit fundraisers deployed cross-capability building, which combined and merged emotion-related and behavioural capabilities to achieve strategic, practical results.

Opportunities for organizational learning and innovation: A nonprofit case study duringCOVID‐19 in Hong Kong

“…First, echoing existing studies (Dierkes et al, 2001;Herrero & Kraemer, 2022), the findings of this study indicate that external shocks can serve as an impetus and opportunity for actualizing organizational learning. Arguably, NPO A was able to demonstrate its reflective, generative approach-an underlying premise of the narrative development process (Garud et al, 2011)in the face of emergent challenges in the community, which had ultimately led them to enhance its adaptive capacity by implementing novel solutions collectively (Strichman et al, 2007).…”

Deep pockets or empty coffers? Functional expenses, contribution revenue and the ability of nonprofits to pivot during COVID-19

“…This financial crisis was further exacerbated for nonprofits with a social service mission experiencing a large increase in demand for services/ program spending (Cardwell, 2009). Indeed, Herrero and Kraemer (2022) specifically identify nonprofit organizational resilience as an under-explored topic in their paper examining organizational resilience in UK nonprofits during COVID-19. Similarly, Witmer and Mellinger (2016) recognize a gap in the nonprofit resilience literature.…”

“…Cantor (2020) emphasized the importance of tone and messaging in maintaining connections with and ultimately soliciting donations from donors during COVID-19 when relying on digital engagement, such as emails, became a necessity. Using interviews, Herrero and Kraemer (2022) examine how arts and culture nonprofits in the UK adapted their fundraising approach in the face of limitations on in-person interactions during COVID-19, noting the importance of digital engagement in fundraising during the pandemic and suggest its importance in the future for nonprofit fundraising crises.…”

Identifying essential nonprofits with a novel NLP Method

“…At the same time that many social assistance nonprofits saw increased demand for their services, the loss of jobs and income in the overall economy led to a decline in donations to these same organizations. Some organizations responded by building and expanding upon cognitive, behavioral, and relational capabilities within their fundraising operations (Herrero & Kraemer, 2022). However, if some of these nonprofits could no longer operate, the local or state government might need to fill the gap with its own resources.…”